# Forest Flager

> Forest Flager is the CEO and co-founder of Parspec, an AI-native software platform modernizing the construction supply chain. A Stanford PhD in computational design optimization, Flager spent years in academia and at SoftBank-backed Katerra before launching Parspec in 2021 with co-founder Pratyush Havelia. The company has raised $31.5M (including a $20M Series A in July 2025 led by Threshold Ventures), grown revenue 4x in 12 months, and counts four of the five largest U.S. electrical distributors - representing $70 billion in global annual sales - among its customers. Parspec automates product selection, quoting, and submittal generation, cutting submittal creation time by 55-80%.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-Founder at Parspec
- **Organizations:** Parspec, Stanford University, Katerra, Ove Arup & Partners, Project Production Institute
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Civil Engineering, Stanford University, MDesS (Master of Design Studies) in Digital Media, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, MEng in Structural Engineering, MIT, Ph.D. in Civil Engineering / Computational Design Optimization, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Parspec, raising $31.5M total including a $20M Series A at 3x seed valuation, Grew Parspec to serve four of the five largest U.S. electrical distributors ($70B in global annual sales), 4x revenue growth over 12 months at Parspec

## Career timeline

- **1996-2000** — B.S. Civil Engineering at Stanford University
- **2001-2002** — Master of Design Studies at Harvard GSD
- **2002-2003** — MEng Structural Engineering at MIT
- **2003** — SOM Foundation Structural Engineering Traveling Fellowship - studied sustainable construction in Japan vs. Western approaches
- **2003-2006** — Structural engineer at Ove Arup & Partners, London (sports venue design)
- **2006-2012** — Ph.D. at Stanford in computational design optimization
- **2013-2017** — Postdoctoral Research Associate and Lecturer at Stanford University
- **2017-2021** — Director of Software and Design Automation at Katerra (SoftBank-backed off-site construction tech)
- **2021** — Co-founded Parspec with Pratyush Havelia
- **2022** — Parspec raises $11.5M seed round led by Innovation Endeavors
- **2025** — Parspec raises $20M Series A led by Threshold Ventures; 4x revenue growth in 12 months

## Achievements

- Co-founded Parspec, raising $31.5M total including a $20M Series A at 3x seed valuation
- Grew Parspec to serve four of the five largest U.S. electrical distributors ($70B in global annual sales)
- 4x revenue growth over 12 months at Parspec
- Built a database of over 6 million construction products
- SOM Foundation Structural Engineering Traveling Fellowship (2003)
- Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer at Stanford University
- Director of Software and Design Automation at Katerra (SoftBank-backed $2B+ construction startup)
- Published researcher in computational design optimization, building envelope design, and structural optimization

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — Parspec raises $20M Series A led by Threshold Ventures at 3x seed valuation; announces expansion into order management and contractor portals
- **2025-07** — Parspec expands with Project Portals and new distributor partnerships
- **2025-05** — Featured speaker at Future Forum 2025 discussing how AI is reshaping organizations
- **2024-12** — Parspec reports 4x revenue growth over prior 12 months; database exceeds 6 million products

## Links

- Website: https://parspec.io
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/forestflager
- GitHub: https://github.com/flagersgit

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/forest-flager
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-12