We Cover Commercial Construction. If you are in commercial construction as an Architect, Engineer, Contractor or Owner, this is the show for you. Hosted by Dillon Mitchell, PE, Founder of Kowabunga Studios
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September 10, 2026Episode 45510 min
#455 - Our Growth Trajectory: Lessons from Bezos's 1997 Letter
Dillon reflects on VDS's explosive growth — tripling, then nearly 8x'ing revenue year over year — and the challenge of writing a founding document to guide the company's future. Drawing inspiration from Jeff Bezos's 1997 shareholder letter, he discusses why concise, well-considered writing matters, and how building a "flywheel" for a project-based engineering firm is different from a typical business.
September 8, 2026Episode 4545 min
#454 - Summer Internship Recap
In this episode, host Dillon reflects on VDS's first summer hosting two engineering interns, from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Michigan State University. He shares how the interns toured a range of live projects — from a massive million-square-foot warehouse to a gymnasium, a brewery, and a church build — gaining hands-on exposure to different construction types and complexities. Dillon dives into the technical breadth the interns experienced, including lighting and power distribution design, data infrastructure, security and access control systems, fire alarm design, BIM modeling, and power system studies in SKM. He discusses why construction and electrical engineering career paths are often overlooked for students outside civil engineering, and outlines VDS's plans to recruit at Rose-Hulman's career fair and other top universities this fall. The episode wraps with reflections on what makes a strong technical foundation for newcomers to the field — starting with Ohm's Law — and why VDS is committed to growing its internship program going forward.
September 3, 2026Episode 45314 min
#453 - Deadlines, Hiring, and Surviving the Growth Curve
Dillon shifts from macro trends to the day-to-day realities of running a construction engineering firm. He talks through how his team stays ahead of aggressive project deadlines, his philosophy of growing talent through internships rather than poaching senior engineers, and the balancing act of keeping a sales pipeline full enough to keep new hires busy without burning them out. He closes with a candid look at the seasonal grind — how his travel and workload swing from near-zero in summer to nonstop once interns head back to school.
September 1, 2026Episode 45210 min
#452 - Data Centers, Power, and the Race to Space
The demand for AI compute is exploding, but is growth truly exponential? Dillon breaks down why power generation — not construction — is the real bottleneck holding back data center expansion, and how that ripple effect hits memory production, GPUs, and fab manufacturing (Micron, TSMC, NVIDIA). He also explores how legislative gridlock in the U.S. could push data centers overseas to the Middle East, or even into orbit, as SpaceX's Starship makes space-based compute a surprisingly viable option.
August 27, 2026Episode 45110 min
#451 - The Real Bottleneck: Why Power, Not AI, Will Decide the Next Decade
In this episode of the Construction Corner podcast, Dillon dives deep into the AI-driven data center boom and what's really holding it back. He argues that while demand for electrical engineers and construction is set to grow significantly, the true bottleneck isn't chip supply or capital — it's power generation and transmission, tangled up in legislative and utility delays. Along the way, he unpacks how memory shortages, fab construction (like Micron's long-stalled New York facility), and hyperscaler CapEx spending from the "Mag Seven" all ripple through the supply chain together. The conversation then takes a turn toward the future: could data centers eventually move off-planet? Dillon walks through how SpaceX's Starship and V3 satellites are multiplying available bandwidth, how NVIDIA has already tested GPUs in space, and why space-based or off-shore data centers might become the answer once terrestrial power and jurisdictional constraints become too limiting — pointing to alternatives like the Middle East as jurisdictions more willing to host this infrastructure.
August 25, 2026Episode 45013 min
#450 - The PE Path: Is a Four-Year Commitment Worth It?
In this episode of the Construction Corner podcast, host Dillon shares a candid look at his own engineering career path — from two internships and full-time work at a small electrical safety firm, to transitioning into the A&E industry and eventually earning his PE license. He breaks down the typical four-year journey toward licensure, why company size and culture matter early on, and how attrition can accelerate your career if you stick around long enough. Dillon also offers practical advice for engineering students and young professionals: talk to upperclassmen and alumni about their real experiences, understand how a good (or bad) manager shapes your day-to-day, and don't sleep on taking your FE exam early. He touches on which disciplines most need a PE (civil, structural, electrical, some mechanical and chemical), the freedom a PE license provides for consulting or starting your own firm, and wraps up with a discussion on construction's outsized role in the economy — including the massive data center CapEx spending driving growth into 2026.
August 18, 2026Episode 4495 min
#449 - Leadership, Growth, and Grit: What the VDS Summit Is All About
Dillon shares everything you need to know about the Vertical Design Build Summit, returning October 1st in Chicagoland. With speakers from Quanta Services, Helix Electric, McCarthy, and a Green Beret leader, the intimate 100-seat event covers workforce, pre-construction, leadership, and company growth. Dillon also reflects on what made last year's inaugural summit so memorable — and why this year's is going to be even better.
August 13, 2026Episode 44816 min
#448 - Cutting the Noise: Social Media, the Economy, and Staying Focused on What You Can Control
In this episode of The Construction Corner podcast, Dillon shares a broad business update and discusses his decision to remove himself from social media in February. He explains how tuning out cultural noise has improved his focus and operational mindset by keeping his attention on factors he can control. Turning to VDS, he announces a new website, infrastructure upgrades, and team growth. He notes the importance of managing client pivots and project scope changes without taking them personally. Business development is accelerating, evidenced by signing more NDAs in two weeks than in the last six years. This growth is driven by large, confidential data center projects, where electrical engineering now commands 30–35% of total project value, reordering traditional construction dynamics. Finally, Dillon highlights VDS's geographic expansion across the Pacific Northwest and multiple states—including Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, and California—alongside upcoming fall recruiting events at three to four universities.
August 11, 2026Episode 44710 min
#447 - Why Electrical is the Trade of the Decade — And What That Means for Your Career
In this episode of the Construction Corner podcast, host Dillon breaks down why electrical is arguably the fastest-growing and most future-proof trade you can enter right now — and what aspiring tradespeople need to consider before choosing their path. Dillon opens with a striking data point: Google just reported $205 billion in capital expenditures for 2026, all flowing into infrastructure — and for the first time since going public, the company is cash flow negative, a sign of just how aggressively the tech industry is building. With the US sitting at roughly one-eighth of China's energy production capacity, Dillon makes the case that electrical infrastructure spend isn't slowing down anytime soon. From there, he walks through the four main paths within the electrical trade — utility/lineman work, data center electrician, commercial/industrial, and residential — breaking down the tradeoffs of each in terms of job stability, lifestyle, travel, and earning potential. He explains why he tends to steer people toward commercial and industrial work: longer projects, bigger budgets, and less dependence on the housing market's boom-and-bust cycles. Dillon also zooms out to remind listeners that electrical isn't the only trade with a bright future. Plumbers, sheet metal workers, HVAC techs, carpenters, and structural tradespeople are all critical — and often overlooked — as infrastructure projects grow in scale and complexity. The episode wraps with a candid reminder: the "right" trade depends as much on where you live and what kind of life you want as it does on market demand. Whether you're in a rural area or near a major metro, the trades offer a path — you just have to choose the one that fits your goals.
August 6, 2026Episode 4465 min
#446 - Building Client Relationships in a Labor-Short World
In this episode of the Construction Corner podcast, Dillon and John pull back the curtain on what drives Vertical Design Services — and what drives them personally. With 15 years of experience in electrical engineering, Dillon shares why he thrives on the front end of projects: crafting proposals, sizing equipment, and building the one-line diagrams that most contractors struggle to put together on their own. Dillon also reflects on his background in software and automation — spending nearly a decade in Revit building layout tools for commercial projects — and how stepping back from that technical side allowed him to grow into his true strengths: client relationships, project management, and business development. They open up about the day-to-day reality of juggling 20+ projects at once, why picking up the phone beats email every time, and how Vertical Design Services differentiates itself by sweating the details other firms leave on the table — like ladder tray routing that typically gets passed off to contractors. Finally, they look ahead at what scaling the business means over the next 6–12 months: building out the sales side, cultivating new partnerships, and continuing to grow in markets where blue-collar relationships and trust are everything.
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