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Young Disruptor

An interview with Christian Lawrence, founder of RISE Modular

From an early age, Christian Lawrence (the 29-year-old CEO of RISE Modular) had an entrepreneurial spirit. The Minneapolis, Minn.-based company, which he founded in 2018, is thriving as a full-service commercial volumetric modular manufacturing and construction firm. They serve multifamily and hospitality clients throughout the central US from a 150,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Owatonna, Minnesota.

We recently spoke with Lawrence about RISE and his atypical path into modular construction.

Christian Lawrence of RISE Modular.

Offsite Builder (OB): Tell me a bit about your background – where are you from, growing up, hobbies, family life?

Christian Lawrence (CL): I was born and raised in Minnesota, in the Twin Cities. I was always active in sports, especially hockey, golf, skiing and hiking. These days, I enjoy spending time on the water. Ever since I was young, I knew I wanted to do something entrepreneurial.

OB: You majored in economics and had internships in finance. What drew you to these fields?

CL: I always liked math and statistics. As I began to consider what field to study, I thought learning finance would be useful to whatever career I pursued. After college, I worked in investment banking and private equity. I thought I’d be working on Wall Street, but eventually, I realized I wanted to return home to the Twin Cities. When I moved back, I started working in private investment.

Inside the RISE plant.

OB: Why did you decide to leave finance and move into real estate?

CL:  I got into finance to build up a useful skill set and thought it was a strong foundation that could lead me to any industry. Architecture and design were long-time interests of mine. I have always loved looking at buildings and the built environment, and have always loved planning spaces.

When I worked for that Twin Cities private investment firm, I pursued real estate investment. As I was working on an apartment development deal, I quickly learned that construction costs were outpacing rent and wage growth. While the affordable housing crisis is a significant challenge, it also presents a huge opportunity to think differently.

Construction is one of the country’s largest industries, yet it has had few productivity gains in the last 80 years. The industry is highly fragmented and has had little tech adoption compared to other industries. After learning this and experiencing it as a developer, I viewed construction tech, particularly modular construction, as promising and wanted the experience of building a project that way.

Alvera Apartments, a market-rate RISE project in St. Paul, Minnesota.

OB: Do you see your economic/finance perspective as a positive advantage?

CL: Absolutely! When approaching an industry with disruptive technology, it’s helpful to have a unique perspective from those who have been in the industry for a long time. I look at it as more than a way to build. It’s a business opportunity. I have a broader perspective and can look at it as an investor and a developer.

OB: How do you view the industry differently than those who are older and more experienced?

CL: That the industry has been largely void of technological change was perplexing to me. It makes sense from a high level that an industry would adopt new technology, but construction hasn’t done so. In general, I don’t have the old ways rooted in my mind; I don’t assume that things have to be done as they have always been done. I grew up with technology; it’s ingrained in me.

Alvera Apartments’ penthouse clubroom.

OB: Why did you choose modular rather than conventional construction?

CL: With construction costs so high, I viewed modular as something that would continue to grow. So, I started researching it and found it compelling. It was a fundamentally different approach, rather than incremental change. I also saw that it had been successful in other regions of the world, particularly in Europe and Asia.

OB: RISE’s niches are multifamily and hospitality. How did you choose them?

CL: We are very focused on our target markets and don’t want to be everything to everybody. I came to focus on multifamily development since my first project was in this sector. I began touring factories across the country and, to be honest, much of what I saw left a lot to be desired in terms of the manufacturing process and quality. In addition, I couldn’t find one manufacturer who could do a large-scale, commercial-size project in the Midwest.

I began to map it out, did the research and saw that there was not a single supplier in the middle of the country who could handle a 100- to 200-unit project. But there’s a huge demand for multifamily units at all price points here and throughout the country. I viewed the multifamily market segment as ready for disruption.

A kitchen in one of RISE’s Alvera apartments.

OB: What’s your vision for RISE and how do you differentiate yourselves from your competition?

CL: My vision is to be a market leader in multifamily. We take a different approach from our peers and don’t view anyone as a competitor. In terms of volumetric modular, there’s far more demand than supply. We’re not just a manufacturer who says, ‘I’ll build projects.’ On some of our projects, we serve as the developer and general contractor. We’re more collaborative and get involved with projects early on. We aim to be a key project partner, not just a vendor or supplier.

This can be seen in a recent project we did that’s one of the largest multifamily modular projects in the country. Alvera Apartments is a seven-story, market-rate building in St. Paul, Minn. It has a complex design on a tight urban site and the quality is superior to a lot of what is being built today.

OB: Where do you see the industry going in the next 5-10 years?

CL: I think it will grow at a significant rate. The fundamental macroeconomic factors that led us to start RISE remain true today. Traditional construction faces increasing labor costs and less availability. I believe there will be more market adoption of volumetric modular across all segments, particularly multifamily.

I also think there will be some consolidation. A handful of companies will have a national reach and greater capacity. In terms of RISE, while we want to expand, we’re emphasizing quality and execution and putting our clients above growth.

OB: How are you prepared if the market goes down?

CL: The vertical we operate in continues to be vastly undersupplied and is currently supply constricted. Multifamily is also more resilient than single family. There’s a great need for affordable housing, so we’re in a relatively good position. We view it as relatively low risk.

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