Windsor tech entrepreneur honored for construction industry innovation

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A Windsor technology company’s effort to streamline and centralize the information and decisions required to take development projects from concepts to completion has been singled out for a special business honour.

Listed in the entrepreneur’s category, Scelta founder David Mill was named one of the ’emerging leaders under 40 to watch’ by The Peak, an online business, finance and technology publication.

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Mill used his life’s savings to found Scelta in 2022 and has dedicated his efforts full-time to the company since January 2023. The firm has grown to include seven full-time employees and five interns and has been involved in developments worth over $500 million, with over 1,000 users of the software.

“It’s an honour to be recognized like this,” Mill said. “The team I work alongside has made this happen.”

Mill said recognition has stirred more interest from contractors, but the real impact has been in the interest generated among potential employees.

“It’s really helped with our talent attraction,” Mill said. “I think we got 100 resumes one weekend.”

Mill, 27, expects his staff to double in size over the next year and business to grow by 95 per cent year-over-year. His company has also begun to expand beyond the local scene, having now been involved in projects in London, Toronto and most recently a luxury spa in Seattle, Wash.

The rapid growth has surprised Mill, a former professional squash player before entering the construction industry as a project coordinator with Petretta Construction in 2021.

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It was from those experiences and mentorship at Petretta Construction that the idea for his business formed.

If we can design a vehicle online, we can do a condo

“I was tasked with meeting all the buyers of condos to help them pick everything out,” said Mill, a graduate of St. Clair College’s first construction project manager diploma program and Cornell University’s professional project manager certificate program.

“Then I coordinated with the sub-contractors. It was difficult for people to visualize their finished spaces.

“I thought if we can design a vehicle online, we can do a condo.”

What Mill’s team designed was software that offers pre-marketing and branding, helps with applications, early 3D visionary models and finished versions of projects set in their actual environment, virtual reality tours, sales support tools for real estate agents, communication portals that allow buyers to track build progress and help sub-contractors to know what exact finishes are required.

The Scelta 360 tool allows buyers to virtually walk through their home, right down to opening doors.

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“We’ve taken the entire process from start to finish and asked what piece of technology will each stakeholder need to make this project a success,” Mill told the Star.

“Contractors have found it’s helped them save hundreds of hours per week that they can dedicate to other things. They’ve told us it has changed how they operate and what their companies are capable of.”

The next phase of the business is the public launch of Scelta Map, which is free and will be available for the public to view on the company’s website (www.scelta.tech) on April 21.

The mapping tool will chart all the projects in various stages of development and planning in the city.

The tool will also help developers collect community feedback to aid in their application process and address local concerns.

“It’ll pull all the information about development in the area into one place,” Mill said.

He said Scelta will use the information his company collects from all the data points — development, price points, applications — to create industry-specific databases using artificial intelligence. Mill expects that tool to launch this month.

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Scelta has also teamed up with Picsume, another local technology company drawing national attention, to create a portal that will match talent with employers. That tool was set for activation on April 16.

Adding new company offerings is vital with the industry facing challenges created by tariffs, Mill said.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty with tariffs, so we’ve had to adapt, add new tools,” he said.

“A lot of companies are looking for more marketing/branding help and scaled-down versions of VR (virtual reality) programs. We’ve been able to make those adjustments and tweak prices to make it more affordable.

“The industry is definitely feeling tariffs. A lot of developments in the city are on hold.”

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Twitter.com/winstarwaddell

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