Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Krick.
Hi Matthew, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Krick Design Build was inadvertently started in the midst of the Covid pandemic. During the lockdowns, Matthew Krick had some free time and decided to make the most of it by designing an Accessory Dwelling Unit in his backyard. Like many homeowners, Matthew was searching for a way to make passive income for his family by building a short term rental and he wanted a new garage. When the mask mandates started to ease in 2021 the construction started on his ADU. A couple of his neighbors took notice and asked Matthew if he would design a carriage house / ADU for them as well. Before he knew it, a couple neighbors turned into dozens of clients all asking for the same thing, an accessory dwelling unit in their backyard.
Up until this point Matthew was still working for a bigger architectural firm. During the day he would design hotels and apartments. However at night, he was working on a much smaller scale designing ADUs. In fall of 2022, there were enough projects coming in for Matthew to jump ship from his corporate firm and start his own business and thus Krick Design Build was established.
At first Krick Design Build was only involved in the architectural aspects. Most of the construction was handed off to various general contractors. These GCs were hired directly by the client and their skillsets varied. Many had never built an ADU, some GCs didn’t follow the drawings, and some GCs were never even onsite leaving their subs completely unsupervised. Matthew knew there had to be a better way. Around this time, Ken Krick moved back to Colorado. Matthew enlisted his father to help him start the build component of his company. Now with the combination of Matthew and Ken the entire process from the first sketch to the last coat of paint could be managed under one roof, ensuring a level of quality and efficiency like never before.
Since then we have continued to grow. We have hired more architects and partnered with more GCs to keep up with the demand. We’ve been in business for 3 years now and in that time we have designed and/or built 57 Accessory Dwelling Units. We have even branched out to design single family homes, duplexes, multi-family apartments, restaurants and other commercial spaces. We feel like we are just getting started and we look forward to growing our business even more here on the front range of Colorado.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Its been a fun ride so far, but the road has not always been smooth. When your a small business owner you have to wear lots of hats. In our second year, the business got much more complex when we started building our own projects and hiring actual employees. At the time, I was trying to do everything myself and got totally overwhelmed. Every day I was working 9 to 5 and then 8 to midnight. I’d sleep about 6 hours each night and then repeat that schedule the next day. Now that we are in our 3rd year, I’ve learned to let go and we’ve hired accountants to help with the finances, lawyers to write our contracts, insurance agents to find us the best coverage, designers to build the website, etc. This has let me focus on what I’m good at which is design and building beautiful projects for our clients.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Krick Design Build specializes in small scale residential Architecture, Design, and Construction in the Colorado Front Range. The company was founded by Matthew Krick who is a Licensed Architect and General Contractor, The goal of Krick Design Build is to offer a full key turn service for our clients and be there from the first sketch to the last coat of paint.
We specialize in accessory dwelling units, single family homes, duplexes, pop-tops, and multi-family.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The hardest lesson I’ve learned is how and when to tell the client “No”. When I first started, I would design everything on my clients wish list and include everything they asked for. Then after we’d get through permitting either us or another GC would provide an estimate for the project. When you design a custom home, you never really know the full price until all the architectural and consultant drawings are completed. The process takes a 6-12 months so prices can change drastically from the beginning of design to the start of construction. Some of our clients were shocked when they saw the actual estimate and then I’d have to backtrack and value engineer things from the design to fit my client’s budgets.
So now I’ve learned to tell clients from the beginning, they can’t afford that or they should reduce the scale of their project. Its a hard conversation to have, but its better than over designing and not being able to build the project.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.krickdb.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krick_design_build/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-krick-b67641162/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KrickDesignBuild
Image Credits
Some of the architectural photos were taken by Boxwood Photos.
