How I Helped Build an Industry From Zero

You build an industry by teaching people how to do the work well and then helping them find customers. That sounds simple. In practice it meant putting the people installing the surface ahead of the product, and keeping that order even when the product was what everyone asked about.

Starting with a trade nobody knew

When I started Resin Rock LLC in 2023, resin bound surfacing was a small corner of the USA hardscape market. I learned the trade in the UK, so I knew what a good installation looked like and what a bad one cost a contractor. Most American contractors had never laid it.

A material without installers is a pallet in a warehouse. The product only starts to matter once someone can install it properly, price it with confidence and stand behind it. That is the problem I set out to solve first.

Why training came before sales

Resin Rock runs installer training programs because I believe skill travels further than a sales pitch. A contractor who has laid the surface once, with someone watching, comes back with questions. A contractor who has only read a data sheet comes back with excuses when something goes wrong.

Forbes Scotland wrote about this on 1 August 2025 under the headline “How Tony Dyke Built An Industry-Wide Network Through Strategic Training.” The piece describes contractors across multiple states using the same specialized surface finishing techniques with remarkable consistency. That consistency is the point. When the work looks the same from one state to the next, customers trust the surface itself, and trust is what grows a category.

Skill travels further than a sales pitch.

The mindset behind it

I get asked about mindset more than tactics, so here is how I think about it. Industry building takes patience with the slow parts. The first installers in a new category are a small group who took a chance on something unfamiliar. Look after them and they become the proof the next person needs.

It also takes a willingness to be uncomfortable in public. I was someone who learned the trade in the UK, explaining a surface to American contractors who had never heard of it. Waiting until I felt like an authority would have meant waiting forever.

From a yard to a stage

The 2025 Global Recognition Award recognised the work behind the growth of resin bound surfacing in the USA. In 2026 I was honoured with the Business Elite “40 Under 40” Award at The St. Regis in New York. I presented Resin Rock at the World Stadiums & Arenas Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

I mention these because they show the idea can travel. A trade I learned in the UK ended up on a stage in Riyadh. That would have sounded unlikely to me at the start. You can see the photos and films on the awards and stage page.

What other founders can take from it

You do not need to be in construction for this to apply. If your industry is young, or your product is new to your market, the same logic holds. Teach people to do the thing well. Make it easy for them to succeed. Let their results carry the message.

I also learned to separate the product from the outcome. Customers want a driveway that lasts and a contractor who answers the phone. When I kept my attention on that outcome, decisions became simpler.

Where the first customers came from

A new industry has a chicken and egg problem. Homeowners want to see work before they commit. Contractors want proof of demand before they train. Somebody has to go first and live with the uncertainty.

I put my effort into making the first step small for contractors. Training gave them a way to try the surface with support behind them. Distribution made the materials easy to get. Both removed excuses, and neither depended on a contractor taking a leap of faith alone.

Patience with the slow parts

Building a category takes years, and most of those years are unglamorous. The 2026 trophy caption on this site says it took years of graft, and that is accurate. There were no shortcuts I could point to. There was repetition: another training class, another job explained from the start.

I think founders underestimate how much of the work is repeating the same message to new people. You get tired of your own story long before the market has heard it. Keep telling it clearly.

Questions people ask me

How did you grow resin bound surfacing in the USA?

Mainly through installer training and a distribution network. Resin Rock now has seven distribution locations supporting contractors, homeowners and commercial partners.

What does Resin Rock actually do?

It is a North American distributor of resin bound surfacing materials, kits and installer training. You can see the whole group of businesses on the companies page.

Can you help me build a market for something new?

That is exactly what my industry expansion consultations cover. We look at who needs to learn what, and in what order.

Work on your own industry with me

If you are trying to grow something that most people have not heard of yet, I would like to hear about it. Book a call and we will start with the first people you need to teach. You can also read more about me first.