How Andrew Curtin built Construction Wave, a B2B outlet covering the UK's construction industry
He charges upwards of $15,000 for each sponsored webinar.
In May 2022, Andrew Curtin launched a niche B2B media startup covering the UK construction industry. He had no audience, no formal business structure, and no clear roadmap for growth.
But within weeks, something unexpected happened: one of the world’s largest crane manufacturers handed him a $10,000 sponsorship.
“I just think they felt sorry for me,” Curtin joked.
That early vote of confidence—however charitable it may have been—gave Curtin the runway he needed to hire his first editor. Two years later, his company, Construction Wave, has grown into one of the most prominent media brands in its niche, generating revenue through high-ticket sponsorships and launching its own industry conference.
This is the story of how Curtin went from freelance marketer to media founder—and how he built a profitable B2B outlet in one of the least digitally native industries in the world.
From Advertising to Construction Consulting
Curtin didn’t begin his career in media—or even construction.
After earning a master’s degree in marketing, he started out in advertising, first working in-house for Kerrygold in the U.S. before joining a London-based ad agency. Like many agency employees, he quickly found himself burned out by long hours and low margins.
“It sounds sexier than what it is,” he said of agency life.
At the same time, he had a unique connection to construction. Growing up in Ireland, he spent summers working for his father, a small contractor.
“Dad just threw me in with the toughest guys and just said, learn your trade,” he recalled.
That background—and his social ties through Irish sports leagues in London—eventually opened the door to freelance work with construction firms.
He began by creating tender presentations and simple websites for contractors who had little to no digital presence.
“They thought I was a genius coming in and doing a five-page website,” he said.
Charging around £2,000 per project, Curtin gradually built a steady freelance income—eventually earning about £4,000 per month. That was enough to convince him to quit his agency job and go out on his own.
From 2018 through early 2022, he worked full-time as a freelance marketing consultant for UK construction companies.
Identifying a Media Opportunity
Over those four years, Curtin developed deep insight into the industry—not just how construction projects worked, but how the business operated behind the scenes.
“I got first-hand experience of how the back office of construction works,” he said.
At the same time, he was developing a growing fascination with media.
“I’m a media geek,” he said. “I love the media business.”
The turning point came when one of his clients suggested he build a media company instead of continuing with consulting.
“You’re not going to become a millionaire with freelance consulting,” the client told him. “There is an appetite and a need in this industry to have a new media property.”
Curtin began analyzing the competitive landscape and saw an opening. Many incumbent trade publications were run by aging leadership teams and had struggled to adapt to digital formats.
“I was like, yeah, let’s do it,” he said.
Launching With No Audience—and No Plan
Construction Wave officially went live in June 2022.
Curtin had no team, no distribution strategy, and no legal entity set up. The product itself was rudimentary: a newsletter that aggregated construction news, particularly large contract wins.
“I didn’t have a clue what I was doing,” he admitted.
Early growth was painfully slow.
From June through December, the newsletter accumulated just 100 subscribers.
“I think a lot of people look at Morning Brew and think they’re going to skyrocket straight away,” Curtin said. “But when you’re in such a niche industry, it takes time.”
Part of the challenge was distribution. Construction professionals don’t spend time on consumer social platforms.
“They don’t use Facebook, they don’t use Instagram, they don’t use Twitter,” he said. “They look at LinkedIn and they look at their email.”
With no algorithmic growth channels, Curtin resorted to brute-force tactics.
At one trade show, he rented an iPad and walked the floor asking attendees to sign up for his newsletter—only to be kicked out by organizers and forced to delete the contacts he collected.
“At the start it’s like hand-to-hand combat,” he said.
The $10,000 Lifeline
Just a few months after launch, Curtin cold-called Liebherr, one of the world’s largest crane manufacturers.
He pitched them candidly: the audience was small, the product was unproven—but there was potential.
“They gave us 10 grand up front,” he said.
That sponsorship changed everything.
It provided enough cash flow to survive the early months—and allowed Curtin to hire his first employee, Rory, a former BBC journalist.
“Rory came in and really took some leadership… and helped put a framework in place,” Curtin said.
Building a Real News Operation
The addition of an experienced journalist marked a turning point for Construction Wave.
Up to that point, the content had been largely aggregated news and basic reporting. With Rory onboard, the publication began producing more original journalism and deeper analysis.
“Rory really scaled the amount of output,” Curtin said.
Over time, the team expanded to include additional reporters, increasing production to 5–8 stories per day. The editorial mix evolved to include:
Contract wins (the industry’s “bread and butter”)
Executive moves
Deep-dive company profiles
Coverage of M&A activity
Financial analysis
Curtin saw a particular opportunity in uncovering the stories of under-the-radar companies.
“A lot of these companies are quietly making billions of pounds per year, but we don’t know much about them,” he said.
Paywall incoming…
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