Pulley

The demand for EV chargers and data centers is double the supply. Available retail space hits an all-time low as demand outpaces new construction. Permitting timelines have gotten 4x longer. We all need faster permits…so what’s causing the slowdown? Join us for a LIVE discussion with Andreas Rotenberg on why permitting is pre-construction’s biggest bottleneck, and how we can fix it with software, AI, and experts. RSVP below for this event on September 10th, 12PM EST📆

Meet Simon Pepa (and his brother Gjovani). This pair knows what it means to be 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 👷♂️👷 Thinking differently isn’t always about big ideas, but the small ways you show up for clients. From cold calls and office walk-ins with donuts to high-profile builds nationwide, 5Points Construction was built on hustle and family values. Today, Simon serves as VP of Business Development, helping clients bring their projects to life. We asked him... 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? Our family came to America from Albania in the early 90s, and our father was always working in construction, whether as a laborer or a building super. By the time I was 6 and my older brother Gjovani was 10, we were tagging along with him and our uncles on small Brooklyn and Queens renovations. After college, I took my father’s advice, got my GC license in Florida, and together we started chasing clients. Sometimes that meant calling retailers cold, other times it meant walking into property management offices in New York City or Florida with a box of donuts. Those small beginnings helped us break into the retail market and beyond, and since then we’ve been fortunate to build projects across the nation. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? 1. Don't point fingers. Mistakes will happen. What matters is showing up with solutions, not blame. A partner of ours always says, “come with solutions, not problems,” and it stuck with us. 2. Master the drawings. Talent and hustle are great, but if you don’t study the plans deeply before a job starts, surprises will find you. 3. Flip challenges into opportunities. In construction, something will always go wrong. Every challenge is your chance to rise to the occasion and impress; it could be a retailer’s senior leader, a PM at your new firm, or a landlord on the project. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲? We make it a priority to treat every vendor and laborer like family. Without hardworking tradespeople, none of these projects would get built. When crews feel respected, they give their best to finish faster, quality goes up, and when things don’t go as planned, they’re eager to step in and help. 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: On the business side, my partners and I have been focused on weaving AI into how we run our office and support field management. On the personal side, life just changed in the best way, my wife and I just welcomed our first child. I can say with confidence that learning to be a father is more complex (and far more rewarding) than building out a high profile retail store, hotel, or ground up project across the nation. Thanks for sharing, Simon! 🤝

Speed matters in QSR — not just at the counter, but in permitting too. Doug Vallar and Reginald Parris will be at RestaurantSpaces to share how faster permitting can be a game changer for store openings, growth targets, and ROI. Want to connect while you’re there? Drop a comment below & we'll see you in October ☀️

My first RetailSpaces in the books - grateful to have attended with our co-founder Andreas Rotenberg and represent Pulley in Miami Beach! The event was a reminder of why I love this industry: retail is evolving, project teams are constantly innovating, and there’s no shortage of creative problem solvers pushing the envelope. It also proved how small the retail world is: I had the chance to catch up with familiar faces and spend quality time with customers. But not too small, I got to make some great new connections, with whom I’m excited to find opportunities to partner with. Other personal highlights: - A memorable graffiti tour in Wynwood - Comedy night with Nathan Macintosh - Daily morning swims in the Atlantic (much harder to pull off in NYC!) Thanks to influence group for having us!

𝗣𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸: 55% Faster Permit Approval in Mecklenburg County, NC 🚀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻: We received approvals 32 days ahead of target for a national retailer, cutting permit time in half from 10 weeks to just 4.5 weeks. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗜𝘁: - Pulley Pro Corey M. Albrecht, AIA, NCARB reviewed the submittal and caught multiple items early, avoiding intake rejecting and reduced rounds of comments with the city. - Corey also coordinated closely with the AORs and the AHJ, who allowed the team to address minor comments on the fly and keep timelines tight. - Maintaining persistent follow-up with reviewers kept the process on track. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: Our client saved more than 5 weeks. At $5,000/day turnover, that equates to over $190K in top line revenue created. When human expertise meets software efficiency, the results speak for themselves. Big shoutout to Corey M. Albrecht, AIA, NCARB👏

Do you know the ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ behind our ᴘᴇʀᴍɪᴛs? Meet Andriy Grygorenko, RA, one of our amazing permitting Project Managers! Andriy brings 9+ years of architectural experience, specializing in high-end residential and hospitality projects. Over the last 10 months with Pulley, Andriy has consistently earned recognition from clients for his attentiveness, clear communication, and ability to navigate complex challenges with ease. Fun fact: his passion for architecture was sparked in university after visiting the Winspear Opera House, inspiring him to switch from pre-med to architecture the very next day. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? Originally got involved with the built environment to positively influence how people live. However, after working in the AEC (architectural, engineering, construction) industry for years, I soon got very frustrated with the lack of modern tools available in the AEC space. It's hard to positively influence people when the industry is set up for failure. That got me interested in the tech space and building tools for AEC professionals. 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲. On the permitting side - I feel great about being super responsive and getting things to/from clients within minutes. On the Pulley side - I love being involved with all aspects of the business, and seeing how the entire machine works together to move the needle for customers. It's not just individual teams doing their own thing—everyone is working collaboratively every day. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁? All the features that keep me in Pulley and off the AHJ's website from the early 2000's :-) But on a serious note - I think the comment parsing/ comment response feature is awesome. As an architect, that would have saved a bunch of time and headaches. Keep up the great permitting work, Andriy👏

Our world is speeding up, but why does permitting often feel stuck in the past? 🏗️ It’s a question Andreas Rotenberg unpacked in our live webinar yesterday—thank you to everyone who joined us! If you missed the talk, don't worry, the full story is here: https://hubs.la/Q03H-bjC0 Share it with your team to explain why permitting can cause unexpected delays, and how we can fix it.

See you today at 12 pm with Andreas Rotenberg! Permitting doesn't get talked about enough, so we're digging into: - Why permitting is 400% slower while other sectors surge ahead - How to modernize permit tracking and communication - Practical strategies for navigating local permitting landscapes - The role of AI and technology in revolutionizing permit applications Join us LIVE here: https://hubs.la/Q03HMtG40

Permitting can feel like a black box. Tomorrow at 12 pm, we’re diving into why it's so complex today, and how we can make it better. See you on our LinkedIn LIVE tomorrow with Andreas Rotenberg 🎦 To tune in, register below and meet us here on LinkedIn at 12 PM!

Do you struggle to explain to your team why permitting is so challenging and unpredictable? Whether you're an executive, project manager, or architect, you'll want to join our LinkedIn LIVE event next week and here's why... Register in the comments⬇️