PermitPortal

What do they actually do

PermitPortal is a hosted web app that helps real‑estate developers and brokers find candidate parcels and complete pre‑construction diligence faster. Users search parcels with mapped geospatial layers and an AI interface instead of stitching together MLS/GIS sources themselves (site, YC profile).

For a chosen parcel, the product auto‑generates zoning and due‑diligence reports (allowed uses, overlays, likely FAR/height, common entitlement paths), aggregates permit/application history into timelines, and surfaces owner contacts with one‑click outreach (including LOI examples). Teams can save and track sites, monitor applications, and produce consistent internal/client reports. The company onboards via demos and quick analyses (the site advertises a ~15‑minute setup) and is currently an early, hands‑on SaaS with a small team listed in YC’s Fall 2024 batch (site, YC profile).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Small independent developers (infill or mid‑sized projects): They spend days to weeks checking zoning, overlays, and permit histories and often can’t confidently estimate achievable density/height, delaying decisions and causing missed bids.
• Acquisition brokers and site‑finders: They stitch together MLS, assessor, and GIS data to find parcels and contacts; outreach is slow and hard to scale, so good leads go cold.
• In‑house entitlement/development managers at larger firms: They manage dozens of applications across cities with inconsistent timelines and paperwork, making schedules, fees, and resource forecasts unreliable.
• Architects and land‑use consultants: They repeatedly compile similar due‑diligence reports and citations, turning billable hours into admin work and increasing the chance of missed code references.
• Real‑estate investors and asset managers: They need fast, comparable feasibility reads; uncertainty around entitlements and local political risk forces extra buffers or passing on opportunities.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Leverage YC network and founder relationships to run free, hands‑on pilots on real deals, delivering decision‑grade reports; convert via small paid pilots plus case studies and direct referrals.
• First 50: Use customer referrals, targeted LinkedIn outreach, and group demos at local developer/broker/architect meetups; standardize a 30‑minute onboarding and templated reports to reduce lift per sale.
• First 100: Hire a dedicated seller to run multi‑site paid pilots and coordinate integrations with customer trackers; add referral partnerships (architecture firms, title/closing, land‑use consultants) to drive inbound and annual contracts.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

U.S. upper‑bound market spans construction, brokerage, architecture, and CRE management: ~919k construction establishments (Q1’23), ~102k real‑estate brokerages (1.49M agents), ~70k architecture businesses (or ~121k licensed architects), and ~140k CRE brokerage/management establishments AGC/Census, NAR, IBISWorld, NCARB, First Research.

Bottom-up calculation:

Focusing on orgs that actively do site sourcing and entitlement work: combine ~102k brokerages and ~70k architecture businesses with a subset (e.g., 5–10%) of the ~919k construction establishments that actually develop, yielding roughly 200k–260k potential U.S. organizations; the early reachable slice is a fraction of that (tens of thousands) NAR, IBISWorld, AGC/Census.

Assumptions:

• Only 5–10% of construction establishments are active developers needing repeated entitlement/due‑diligence work.
• Not all brokerages run acquisition for development; only a share (e.g., 30–50%) are likely buyers.
• Purchase likelihood varies by role and city coverage; early adoption concentrates in infill/mid‑market developers and acquisition teams.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Reonomy: National commercial property data and owner‑contact platform used for parcel discovery and ownership records; overlaps on site search and outreach, but less on city‑specific entitlement guidance.
• CoStar: Enterprise CRE data and analytics (listings, owners, public records, comps); competes for larger customers needing verified property records and portfolio analytics rather than AI zoning summaries.
• BuildFax: Aggregates permit and building history across U.S. jurisdictions; directly overlaps with permit‑history and timeline needs where accurate historical permits are the priority.
• Enodo: Automated underwriting/feasibility for multifamily (rent comps and pro forma modeling); overlaps with density/feasibility insights more than with owner outreach or permit monitoring.
• PropertyShark: Property‑reporting service (owners, zoning, permits, FAR/air rights) with strong coverage in dense markets; overlaps on parcel reports and zoning/FAR lookups used for diligence.