Ian and Sarah McCormick describe themselves as "not tech people." They also just produced a permit set in one hour that would have cost several thousand dollars and a five-week wait. It was issued the next day. This issue breaks down how a two-person shop building $5 million custom homes rebuilt their entire operation around AI — and what you can steal from it.

Ian McCormick came from a $600MM commercial GC. Sarah came from homeowner customer care. They moved to a mountain town, built a custom home company that operates like a commercial general contractor, and then tore out every tool they were using and rebuilt around AI. This issue covers what they switched, what they switched to, and the moment that makes every builder stop cold: a permit set done in one hour with Claude Design, issued the next day. If you've been on the fence about whether AI is worth the leap, this is the issue to read. Watch the episode →

A permit set for a custom home build typically runs a few thousand dollars and a five-week wait. That's not a complaint — that's just the cost of doing business in most markets.

Ian McCormick did it in one hour.

Using Claude Design, he produced a permit set that cleared review and was issued the next day. Not a simplified project. Not a workaround. A legitimate permit set for a $5 million custom home build in Telluride — one of the most demanding and expensive markets in the country.

That one result reframes every conversation about whether AI is "ready" for construction. The question isn't readiness. The question is whether you're willing to find out what's already possible.

Ian + Sarah McCormick, McDevCo: A Commercial GC Mindset in a Two-Person Mountain Town Shop

Ian McCormick spent his career at a $600MM commercial builder. Sarah came from homeowner customer care. When they left corporate and moved to Telluride, they didn't build a lifestyle business — they built a custom home company that runs with commercial-grade systems and a two-person headcount.

Their tech rebuild wasn't theoretical. They switched from BuilderTrend to Resio for project management, replaced Proton Mail with Google Workspace, dropped Zoom, and put Claude to work across the operation — IT migrations, permit drawings, client communication, and more.

What makes their story worth paying attention to: they're openly not tech people. They didn't hire a consultant or bring in a CTO. They evaluated their tools against what the business actually needed and made the switch. The results speak in permit turnaround times and job scope.

McDevCo is also currently hiring a Super Manager to run $5M+ Telluride builds end-to-end on their AI stack. Resume and a 2-minute selfie video → [email protected]

1. Audit your stack against one question: does this tool slow us down? Ian and Sarah didn't switch tools for novelty — they switched because specific tools were creating friction. BuilderTrend out, Resio in. Proton Mail out, Google Workspace in. Zoom out. The audit isn't about finding the best tool in the category. It's about finding the tool that removes the most drag from your specific operation. This week: list every tool your business touches daily. Mark the ones that create friction. That's your rebuild list.

2. Claude isn't just a writing tool — use it for technical deliverables. The permit set story isn't an edge case. Claude Design can handle technical documentation that used to require expensive specialists and multi-week timelines. IT migrations, permit drawings, specification documents — the ceiling on what AI can produce technically is higher than most builders have tested. Start with one technical deliverable you currently outsource. Run it through Claude first and compare.

3. Commercial systems work at residential scale — if you build them right. Ian's background in commercial construction is why McDevCo runs the way it does. Commercial GCs operate with documented systems, clear handoffs, and data-driven decisions. Those same systems — scaled and simplified — work for a two-person residential shop. AI makes the implementation practical. You don't need a $600MM company to run like one. You need the right stack and the discipline to use it.

4. Two people can run $5M builds — with the right infrastructure. McDevCo is a proof of concept for what lean operations look like when AI handles the administrative and technical load. That's not a staffing strategy — it's a systems strategy. Every hour saved on permit documentation, project management, and communication is an hour available for the work that actually requires human judgment. Identify the three tasks in your operation that eat the most time without requiring your expertise. Those are your first automation targets.

Beyond the Bid Circle is a peer community for builders scaling with systems and AI—the same builders who've escaped the 60-hour grind. Swap war stories, shortcuts, and real strategies with people who get it.