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How Lance Cayko Turned Grit, Design, and Smart Strategy into a Thriving Architecture Empire
In this episode of the Power Talk Show, we sit down with serial entrepreneur and architect Lance Cayko, co-founder of F9 Productions and co-host of Inside the Firm podcast. What follows is not just an architecture story — it’s a masterclass in grit, entrepreneurship, systems thinking, and design-led innovation.
Key Takeaways
- ✓ Lance began working construction at age 13, learning about profit and business economics from a family friend who ran a roofing crew.
- ✓ That early lesson in the difference between wages and profit shaped his entire approach to business.
- ✓ He deliberately trained across building trades, then architecture, then real estate development, to vertically integrate his career.
- ✓ F9 Productions was founded 15 years ago, intentionally during a recession, to force creativity and discipline.
- ✓ F9 splits its work roughly 50% single-family residential, 25% multi-family, and 25% boutique commercial and industrial.
- ✓ F9 differentiates on customer service, replying to any client inquiry within one business hour.
- ✓ F9 uses AI tools like ChatGPT, Grok and Gemini mainly for writing and communication, trained on Lance's own voice.
- ✓ Clients are increasingly showing up with AI-generated concepts, which F9 then develops with human design expertise.
- ✓ Sustainable design at F9 centers on carefully orienting buildings to the sun for natural heating and cooling.
- ✓ Lance has seen firms lose their service quality after scaling past around 12 staff members.
From the Farm to the Framework
Lance’s entrepreneurial spark ignited not in a design studio, but on a Midwestern farm and a summer job as a construction gopher at age 13. That early hands-on experience—and a pivotal conversation about profit vs. wages—shifted his mindset forever. Lance saw the difference between labor and leverage, and it planted the seed for a vertically integrated empire.
The DNA of F9 Productions
F9 Productions started amid the 2008 recession. While many feared the economic storm, Lance saw it as a pressure cooker for innovation. From the very beginning, Lance and his co-founder Alex placed client service above aesthetics, flipping the norm in the design world.
Today, F9 specializes in:
- Single-family residential (50%)
- Multi-family dwellings (25%)
- Boutique commercial projects (25%)
Their true edge? A hyper-responsiveness policy: every inquiry gets acknowledged within 1 business hour.
The Rise of Tech-Enhanced Architecture
F9 is no stranger to innovation. Lance integrates tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok into their daily workflows—not to replace, but to enhance the human voice in everything from client emails to RFPs.
“We don’t use AI as a starter. We use it as a polisher.”
Interestingly, it’s not just the architects bringing AI into play. Their clients are showing up with AI-generated concepts and visualizations. This collaboration is now reshaping how creativity is co-built between clients and designers.
Sushi, Sushi, and More Sushi
Ask Lance about what excites him most today? It’s building restaurants. F9 is currently in the midst of launching its first sushi restaurant build, with several more in the pipeline. A few years ago, it was homes. Now it’s boutique eateries. His north star? No regrets—professionally or personally.
Signature Projects
The standout project? The award-winning East Watch House. Featured in Dwell and Builder Magazine, it’s a shining example of how design, client collaboration, and craftsmanship can come together to create legacy
Scaling with Purpose
F9 isn’t interested in growing for growth’s sake. After watching peers lose their edge after crossing the 12-person threshold, Lance has learned that maintaining agility in service and quality often means staying lean.
“The more people you add, the harder it becomes to keep customer service at the level you want.”
Advice to Aspiring Architects & Entrepreneurs
Lance offers two clear takeaways:
- Architects: “Pick up a hammer. Know how your designs come to life.”
- Entrepreneurs: “Start in a recession. Your hunger will define your growth.”
In This Episode
00:00
Lance's Journey from Ranch to Roofing
07:22
What Is F9 Productions
10:31
Standing Out in a Competitive Market
12:39
How AI Fits Into F9's Workflow
15:36
Balancing Human Creativity and AI
16:48
The Project Exciting Lance Right Now
18:04
A Favorite Project: The East Watch House
19:01
Designing for Sustainability
20:39
The Hardest Part of Scaling a Firm
23:21
Advice for Architects and Entrepreneurs
“It's about buying yourself freedom from that anxiety.”
— Lance Cayko, Co-Founder, F9 Productions
“Go pick up a hammer.”
— Lance Cayko, Co-Founder, F9 Productions
“Coal becomes a diamond under intense pressure and heat.”
— Lance Cayko, Co-Founder, F9 Productions
About the Guest
Lance Cayko
Co-Founder, F9 Productions
Lance Cayko is co-founder of F9 Productions, an architecture, building and development firm he started with business partner Alex 15 years ago, deliberately amid the 2008 recession. Raised between a cattle ranch and a sugar beet farm in the Midwest, he began working construction at 13, later training as an architect at North Dakota State University. He describes himself as a serial entrepreneur who vertically integrated his career, architect, builder, and real estate developer, to capture value at every stage of a project.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is F9 Productions?
F9 Productions is an architecture, building and development firm co-founded by Lance Cayko and his business partner Alex 15 years ago, working across single-family homes, multi-family housing, and boutique commercial projects.
Why does Lance Cayko say a recession is the best time to start a business?
Because you'll never be hungrier, and financial pressure forces more creativity, discipline and speed than starting a company during easy economic times. He compares it to coal becoming a diamond under pressure and heat.
How does F9 Productions use AI in its design process?
Primarily as a writing and communication tool, trained on Lance Cayko's own voice and past work, used to polish emails, proposals and client correspondence rather than to generate original design work. Clients are also increasingly bringing their own AI-generated concepts for F9 to develop.
Why does F9 Productions limit how large it grows?
Lance Cayko observed two partner engineering firms lose their high level of customer service after growing past roughly 12 staff members, so F9 stays deliberately lean to preserve its one-business-hour response standard rather than scaling headcount for its own sake.
The Host
Navin Shetty didn't set out to build a media company
After a decade advising founders on go-to-market strategy across Dubai, Riyadh and Mumbai, Navin kept noticing the same gap: the most useful conversations he had happened off the record, over coffee, after the panel ended. The PowerTalk Show is that off-the-record conversation, recorded on purpose.
He hosts every episode himself — no rotating co-hosts, no outsourced pre-interviews. Guests get one rule going in: nothing is off-limits except numbers they’re legally required to keep private.
Under Business Talks Weekly, the show now anchors a small editorial operation producing written deep-dives, sponsor features and syndicated audio distributed across six platforms.
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