Clark County natives Ryan Fink and Ty Frackiewicz are serial entrepreneurs. Their latest tech startup, Digs, combines their collective passions for artificial intelligence and homebuilding. The company’s web-based software creates digital blueprints and helps homebuilders manage collaboration.
Fink and Frackiewicz were childhood friends who later became business partners, working together on ONtheGO Platforms and Streem, which used augmented reality for home service technicians.
“We really like solving problems, being creative and moving fast,” said Fink, chief executive officer at Digs. “Being in an early-stage company environment lets us do that in really unique ways.”
Fink had a background in artificial intelligence, working with the technology for years. Frackiewicz, Digs chief product officer, started as a homebuilder before diving into the business world, eventually running Amazon Pay Global before moving to Digs.
After their last company Streem was acquired, the men started thinking about how to create a digital twin of a home to help homeowners. They decided to start at the source of the home, creating a collaboration platform that would manage projects for builders with the ultimate goal of having that digital twin.
“Then, we can create a really nice experience post-build for the homeowner,” Fink said.
Digs’ software, while ultimately a way to manage the building of a home, lets different vendors and contractors collaborate in a single place but using different digital layers.
A painter can input paint colors for specific walls. A flooring company can indicate which flooring is being installed and where. A contractor can measure a space online without needing to be on site with a tape measure. Homebuilders can create a digital copy of the home, as opposed to a binder of plans to store for future use.
And they can all use the software to talk to each other or the homeowner.
The company interviewed dozens of homebuilders before Digs software developers ever wrote any code, Fink said.
Success
The company has made waves in the industry. Although it just launched in 2023, it’s already received its second round of $7 million from Oregon Venture Fund and Legacy Capital Ventures.
Ron Wagner, who does new home sales and design at Ridgefield-based Cascade West Development, said he loves the transparency of everything happening on one platform during the entire building process.
“Digs makes all my communication with vendors and customers so seamless,” said Danielle Scroggins, purchase coordinator at Cascade West.
In less than two years, Digs has been used by homebuilders across the country. And the team recently unveiled a post-build portal for homeowners, easily connecting homeowners with home service technicians.
Wagner said he sees Digs doing for the building industry what the iPhone did for everyday communication.
“One of our main principles here at Digs is honesty — always with positive intent,” Frackiewicz said. The team culture involves having open and honest conversations.
“It really leads to building an amazing product at a really fast pace,” Frackiewicz said.
The men decided to open their company in downtown Vancouver, with half of its 25-member team operating from there and half working remotely.
With more and more successful tech companies stemming from Clark County, they felt comfortable operating here.
“We’ve told every single teammate we’ve hired, our intentions are to build a really big, sustainable brand and company,” Fink said. “We’re going to continue to grow here, and Vancouver is going to be our (headquarters) for as long as we can.”
The company recently hired former Drop CEO Jef Holove as chief operating officer to help develop the platform’s marketplace.
Fink said the company is one both he and Frackiewicz are passionate about.
“This is a brand that we can build that can be around for a very long time,” he said.
