Alec Hartman is the co-founder and CEO of Welcome Homes, a startup streamlining the way people buy homes online. Alec was also a co-founder in a now publicly traded company Digital Ocean, that provides cloud infrastructure that helps businesses build and scale software applications.

Alec, a Florida native, talked to us about the evolution of the startup ecosystem in Miami and Florida, and how both city and the state situation have changed for tech people over the recent years.

Alec also discusses the origin story of Welcome Homes and shares a detailed market analysis that made him and his team start the company in a space that very few startups ever dare to disrupt. We go over the business rationale behind creating a company that builds customizable homes that are available to purchase online.

We also discuss how Alec’s company is making contractors’ lives easier and what level of technology people expect in their homes at the moment. Alec also shares his valuable insights regarding the housing market in the times of remote work and discusses how regulatory compliance and municipal codes impact the pricing and feasibility of certain homes.

We also talk about Alec’s startup journey, early days of tech in NYC and how Techstars program helped him build Digital Ocean.