Point of Beginning

What Point of Beginning does

Point of Beginning, Inc. is a multi-discipline civil engineering, land surveying, landscape architecture, and materials testing firm headquartered in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, with additional offices in Green Bay and Sun Prairie. Founded in 2001 by Scott Groholski from a spare bedroom, the firm has grown to approximately 50 employees across three Wisconsin locations and holds professional licensure in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. Service lines span design engineering, construction engineering, boundary and topographic surveying, GPS machine control, FAA-licensed drone/LiDAR surveying, subsurface soil investigation, materials testing (including two WisDOT-qualified labs), and landscape architecture, delivered by Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors, Professional Landscape Architects, and certified technicians.

The firm serves both public and private sector clients across K-12 and higher education (a primary anchor, including athletic complex design), healthcare, retail-commercial (notably Dollar General/DGI Development with 70+ sites since 2008), residential, industrial, municipal, and transportation/WisDOT projects. Technology is built on industry-standard civil engineering and geospatial tooling — AutoCAD Civil 3D, Trimble surveying equipment, GPS machine control with 3D surface modeling, FAA-licensed UAVs for topographic and thermal imaging, and WisDOT-certified materials testing laboratories. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services contracts billed on a multi-year basis, with pricing customized per scope, complexity, and client type.

In October 2023 the company completed its transition to 100% employee ownership via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), one of approximately 2,500 fully employee-owned firms in the U.S. Scott Groholski retained the President role, and the firm continues to operate with its existing leadership team across engineering, surveying, geotechnical, and construction administration functions.

Name

Point of Beginning

Legal name

Point of Beginning, Inc.

Website

https://pobinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Point of Beginning is a 50-person Wisconsin-based civil engineering, land surveying, landscape architecture, and materials testing firm serving K-12, higher education, healthcare, retail, municipal, and transportation clients across the upper Midwest under a 100% employee-owned (ESOP) structure since October 2023.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stevens Point

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Civil Engineering: Civil engineering design and consulting services including site design, stormwater management, construction documents, and permitting for commercial, residential, and municipal projects
2. Land Surveying Services: Comprehensive surveying including boundary surveys, topographic mapping, ALTA/ACSM land title surveys, construction staking, and machine control for projects ranging from single-family residential to large municipal developments
3. Landscape Architecture: Professional landscape architecture services including site master planning, irrigation design, athletic complex planning, and recreational facility design
4. Materials Testing Services: Construction materials testing including concrete testing, asphalt nuclear density testing, soil/aggregates testing with certified technicians
5. Drone/ UAV Services: Aerial surveying, mapping, LiDAR, thermal imaging, and inspection services using FAA-licensed pilots

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Point of Beginning is a multi-disciplined civil engineering firm providing integrated land surveying, landscape architecture, materials testing, and construction engineering services for public and private sector projects. The firm delivers site design, permitting, construction observation, drone-based aerial surveying, geotechnical drilling, and machine control modeling for projects ranging from single-family residential to large municipal developments.

Product overview

Point of Beginning, Inc. is a multi-faceted civil engineering, land surveying, landscape architecture, and materials testing firm offering integrated services across three core divisions: Civil Engineering (encompassing Design Engineering and Construction Engineering modules), Surveying (including 3D-Drone Services, Transportation & Site Construction Layout, Boundary & Topographic Survey, and Machine Control), and Landscape Architecture. The company provides end-to-end project support from initial site evaluation and subsurface investigation through construction observation and materials testing, serving public and private sectors across Wisconsin and surrounding states. Services are delivered through a coordinated approach combining Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors, Professional Landscape Architects, field crews, and CADD technicians.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Civil Engineering
• Design Engineering
• Construction Engineering
• Surveying
• 3D-Drone Services
• Landscape Architecture
• Materials Testing
• Subsurface Soil Investigation
• Machine Control
• Site Maintenance and Athletic Field Improvements

Quantifiable outcome

• Delivered 70+ Dollar General stores across Wisconsin and Minnesota since 2008
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Riggs Site ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRich Riggs, owner of Riggs Site Consulting, partners with Point of Beginning to lead the Site Maintenance and Athletic Field Improvements program. This collaboration provides key elements to keep athletic fields playable and safe, including detailed maintenance programs with soil data analysis, personalized growing programs, and safety/playability testing (G-MAX ratings). Rich brings over 40 years of experience in green industry specializing in athletic fields at professional, college, and high school levels.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/point-of-beginning-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Point of Beginning