Dakota Durden
Founder + CEO

As a humble product of a teacher and an engineer my roots are in construction, design, and agriculture. A small-town guy from Comfort, Texas, I spent my youth growing a deep regard for, and relationship with, the Texas Hill Country and the folks here. With most of my family in ranching, farming, and engineering, I gained an affiliation for ‘ranch-engineering,’ elemental materials, appreciation for humble and effective design, and above all, a passion for the work. I began building things as a child with my parents and grandparents and started framing custom homes at age twelve.   

While attending Texas A&M’s construction science and business schools for college, I gained a love of leadership when I resurrected the AGC (Assoc. General Contractors) Student Chapter there. Starting with a base membership of 6, I graduated after leading the group to over 200 students, gaining sizeable contributions for the department, and becoming the largest student-run organization in the College of Architecture.   

After graduating in 2008, I moved back to the San Antonio region where I was blessed with exposure to tough projects. Albeit a painful four years, my experience through that time that is one of the reasons I’ve been able to tough it out these years growing GRIT Co.   

In 2012, I started the firm, focused on commercial construction and design, and by 2015 the team was placing over $55 million in volume. In 2017, I bought out all shares to become the sole owner and CEO, and more importantly to pivot towards the diverse firm GRIT Co. is today. Shortly after, I ventured into luxury homes. I’ve built the Creative division of GRIT Co. to support design efforts for both commercial and residential projects, and to stand up on its own providing a variety of very cool design services like digital art, websites, brands, advertising, and marketing. After recognizing a demand for qualified high-end wood scopes services, the millworks shop, and self-performance teams were added. Having our very own custom shop elevates GRIT Co. with an unparalleled ability to design custom work, and provide superb, high-quality craftsmanship. The flexibility to design and build at this level, at times on the fly, is a resource set that almost no other design and construction firm can offer.