Procore Technologies Inc. has seen significant growth since Rory Budnick (pictured), the company’s engineering manager, joined the team three years ago. Now with an employee base numbering more than 1,000, activity in international markets, and high-profile clients like LaGuardia Airport, the company is working harder than ever to maintain its supportive culture in the midst of such rapid expansion.

“The biggest thing that we’re working on right now technically is scaling, which is an exciting problem. … We’re working a lot on performance. We have about 2 million users, so it’s sort of like the best problem to have, where we have such high demand that now we need to meet it,” Budnick said.

Though Procore integrates two historically male-dominated industries of construction and engineering, the company has worked hard to ensure inclusion and equality for women in the field. As the company scales, Budnick is hopeful that this culture will grow with it.

“Procore has been a really supportive place to work. … We’re making diversity a priority and realizing that our employees need to be happy to get the best work done,” Budnick said.

Budnick spoke with Rebecca Knight (@knightrm), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing event in Orlando, Florida. They discussed Procore’s efforts to recruit and retain diverse talent in an industry that continues to lobby against such initiatives, as well as talked about tangible strategies for creating opportunities for everyone in tech.

Keeping diversity a priority

Such rapid growth has necessitated solid planning from Procore around both work and employee development processes. Its first measure is vetting during the hiring process.

“We look for three qualities, and they are ownership, optimism and openness. … We’re looking for people who work well with change, are excited about our growth,” Budnick said.

Internally, Procore upholds a commitment to company-wide transparency through all-hands meetings and new diversity initiatives that are open to all. “We just started a diversity and inclusion council as part of our efforts to kind of begin tackling the problem of increasing the number of women in tech,” Budnick said.

Despite recent attention to the more outspoken individuals in opposition to her cause, Budnick remains determined and optimistic. “You have to … believe in yourself despite what others are saying, not give people’s opinions power over what your abilities actually are. … Things are trending in the right direction,” Budnick concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

Photo: SiliconANGLE