Adam Ludgate’s Career Story
Co-founder – Cirkuit
This series features the professional journeys of a wide range of individuals across Canada’s real estate development industry. Often, these stories highlight how rewarding careers in real estate development are the result of following your interests, fostering personal and professional networks, and keeping an open mind about what a career in real estate development might be.
Meet Adam Ludgate – Co-founder – Cirkuit.
How did you get started in your career?
After graduating from the Computer Science program at the University of Calgary, I quickly found myself working in software development at a local tech company that specialized in developing software for the oil & gas industry. After 15 years working in software development in Calgary and overseas, I co-founded my own tech company which focuses on real estate and PropTech.
What inspired you to pursue this career path?
From childhood, I was obsessed with computers, wanting to leverage them for all they were capable of. The application of technology in real estate was primarily driven by the desire to help reduce risk at buildings and gain better visibility into how buildings operate. My co-founders and I are very much inspired by the idea that we can use technology to make insurance more affordable for real estate owners and managers.
Tell us about a project or achievement you are most proud of.
An achievement that was both mine personally and also attributed to the entire cirkuit team is helping one of our biggest customers receive a material improvement to their insurance policy. This success is attributed almost entirely to our water leak detection technology. It took us years of work to achieve this goal, and we believe this is only the beginning of what is to come in technology applications in risk reduction. We’re incredibly proud of this achievement.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in the field?
For those starting out in commercial real estate, I would suggest going to building a network within the industry as a top priority. The CRE world is a very interconnected industry, and relationships are a huge driver of success. Whether those relationships are with owners, PM companies, or vendors/service providers, the connections are everywhere and critical to getting things.
Do you belong to any association groups, and if so, do you volunteer?
I belong to several groups, including A100, B.I.G. (Building Intelligence Group, Calgary chapter co-founder), and BOMA. I volunteer in a leadership/organizer capacity with B.I.G. and I also volunteer as a coach with WestHills United Soccer Club.
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