About Speki
Hi, I’m Ben.
I’m a Perth-based architect and the founder of Ben Caine Architecture, a bespoke residential practice, and Leanhaus, a studio specialising in Passive House and lean construction. I’ve spent my career designing homes, and I’ve seen how much the process depends on getting hundreds of small decisions right.
How Speki started
In 2018, my team and I got tired of managing selections through scattered spreadsheets, email threads and showroom brochures. So we built our own editable specification templates in Google Sheets. They saved us hours on every project, and our clients loved having a clear, guided way to choose their finishes, fixtures and products.
After about 50 projects, a builder we worked with asked if he could buy the templates for his own business. That’s when I realised this wasn’t just a tool for our studio. Builders and designers everywhere were dealing with the same chaos. Speki grew out of that request.
What’s in a name
Speki is an Old Norse word meaning wisdom or expertise. It’s also a nod to the spec, the specification at the heart of every well-built home. That’s what Speki aims to be: expert knowledge captured in a spec everyone on a project can trust.
Where we’re going
Only around 2–3% of Australian homes are designed by an architect. I want to bring the rigour of architectural practice to the other 97%. Today, Speki helps builders and designers create structured, builder-ready selections, using AI visualisation and product matching to turn ideas into real, buyable products. Next, we’re bringing homeowners and building product suppliers onto the same platform, so everyone involved in a home works from one source of truth, from first inspiration to final handover.
We’re starting in Australia, but we’re building Speki for anywhere homes are built.
With thanks
Speki wouldn’t be where it is without the organisations that backed it early. Thank you to Curtin Accelerate, Plus Eight and CERI (the Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation) for incubating an early-stage idea, giving it structure, and connecting us with the mentors and community that helped shape it.