Why I Moved On from Zonegoat

# Why I Moved On from Zonegoat

*Not every tool makes it. Here's why I paused Zonegoat's zoning playbook and started building Zonefox instead.*

---

## What I Built

Zonegoat started as a straightforward script.

Give it an address, and it would find commercial properties that matched zoning requirements—like setback distances from schools, or proximity to hospitals. All based on public zoning codes.

This was before "AI" was the default answer to everything. I built it the hard way: by manually collecting and structuring zoning rules from dozens of Michigan municipalities. I even built a "Zonegoat Watcher" to monitor for changes on local gov sites and auto-update the database.

It was a handcrafted zoning encyclopedia. And it worked.

---

## What Went Right

* The data engine worked.

* Real estate agents were intrigued.

* We proved we could automate part of the zoning due diligence process.

* Our monitoring system was ahead of its time.

---

## What Went Wrong

### 1. The Trust Gap

The biggest barrier wasn't technical—it was psychological.

Commercial real estate pros make million-dollar bets on zoning data. And they weren't ready to trust a tiny startup without a legal or municipal background.

Even when we called city officials ourselves, we got conflicting answers.

Zonegoat wasn't a "must-have" yet. It was a vitamin, not a painkiller.

They *liked* it—but not enough to *buy* it.

---

### 2. The Speed vs Accuracy Dilemma

We could simulate zoning scenarios and generate property matches.

But it didn't matter.

By the time zoning changes were published and verified, the best deals were already gone—or agents had done the work manually.

In this market, "accurate but late" is just another way of saying "useless."

---

## Why I Paused It

Zonegoat wasn't a bad product. I didn't have the right team.

Without a trusted legal wrapper or enterprise-grade credibility, it was too much of a leap for most users.

I realized the problem wasn't just data.

It was **trust**.

And that wasn't something I could fix with another feature.

So I paused. But I didn't walk away.

---

## What I Learned

* **Trust is a moat**: If your competitors walk in with a JD or a city planner badge, you're already down 3-0.

* **Being "niche" isn't enough**: If the pain isn't urgent, users won't switch—even if your solution is clever.


---

## Why I'm Rebuilding with AI

Now? Things have changed.

AI's not just accepted—it's expected.

So I'm building **Zonefox**.

This time, it's not just a scraper or a static database.

It's a system that **turns zoning maps into live, queryable layers**—automatically.

* Upload a paper zoning map? Zonefox digitizes it.

* Need live updates from city council changes? We track that.

* Want verified zoning overlays for new projects? That's the core product.

It's the same vision—but rebuilt for an AI-native world at a much larger scale.

---

## Status

Zonegoat is on pause.

Zonefox MVP is already built, but I'm exploring ways to go even beyond, where we can use AI to augment the generation.


**If you're in proptech, urban planning, or real estate automation and want to collaborate—let's talk.**

*Built by N Shipyard. Always shipping.*