For people who want to build
Help test the idea.
I’m looking for an engineer and a permitting professional, with a distinct role for each. We’ll agree on a short experiment and a clear finish line.
Find your role ↗An independent civic product exploration
Permit friction is
revenue friction
I’m JJ. I’m exploring AI-assisted permitting as a way to help viable projects get built sooner and grow city revenue. I’m looking for people to help test the idea.
Current stage: ideaFirst area to investigate: Chicago permitting
01 / Why this matters
The financial case.
- YC estimates $16 billion in additional annual city tax revenue nationwide if building permit approvals took one-tenth as long. YC’s scenario estimate ↗
- Boston budgeted $60 million in FY2026 property-tax revenue from new growth in its tax base. Boston’s budget forecast ↗
These figures show the potential stakes. Neither measures revenue gains caused by faster permitting or by this project.
Proposed first experiment
Would an earlier check make an application more complete?
Choose one permit category. Review redacted application packets with a permitting professional. Build a small checker and compare its output with their judgment.
- 01Does it catch genuine omissions?
- 02Does it ask for anything unnecessary?
- 03Does it save checking time?
- 04Is the result useful enough to keep testing?
02 / Two ways in
For people who know the friction
Bring a real problem.
Work in government? Apply for permits? Help others navigate public services? Tell me about a specific process that deserves a closer look.
Describe the workflow ↗03 / Who’s behind this
I’m JJ.
I’ll do the work with you.
I’m a copywriter and creative technologist exploring useful applications of AI. I’ll lead research, product design, prototyping, testing, and documenting what we learn.
This starts with listening to people, understanding a workflow, and finding out whether a small tool makes it easier.
More about JJ ↗