Having a hard time finding a construction loan / hard money

[Joseph Matarazzo]

I found an empty lot of land which I want to build a spec house on. I can pay cash for the land, but need money for the construction costs. I ran the numbers, and even on the conservative side it is a profitable project. 

I reached out to two hard money lenders so far and got rejected from both of them. I am hoping that someone can point me in the right direction of what I can do to obtain a loan for the construction costs. 

The reason that the hard money lenders turned me down is because they believe I have no experience. I have tried to explain to them that I am a civil engineer working in construction management for over 12 years, and that my partner is a licensed architect who owns a residential design-build company and has built homes in the area for over 30 years. The only difference is that this one we are doing ourselves and not for someone else. (crazy logic in my opinion). 

Any advice on what I can do to get a construction loan?