In a recent appearance on PropTech Pulse, HappyCo Founder and CEO Jindou Lee sat down with host Shelley Robinson to discuss the evolution of maintenance technology, the role of AI in property operations, and why the industry's "unsung heroes" deserve more recognition.
Jindou’s unconventional path to PropTech began in video gaming at Midway Games, where he worked on titles like Mortal Kombat and Gauntlet Legends. A pivotal lesson from that era shaped HappyCo's design philosophy: make it so intuitive that users don't need a manual.
"We can't sit in the living room next to a gamer and teach them how to play," Jindou recalled his manager telling him. "It just has to work." That principle became foundational when building software for maintenance technicians – traditionally not the most tech-savvy user group.
Today, HappyCo serves over 5.5 million units across 175 employees, having evolved from a mobile inspections app in 2013 to an end-to-end maintenance and multifamily operations platform.
When discussing AI's role in multifamily operations, Jindou emphasized the importance of giving users control while leveraging automation. HappyCo's JoyAI takes a collaborative approach to work order scheduling, presenting AI recommendations visually while allowing supervisors to override and adjust assignments as needed.
"Giving users control over AI is very important," Jindou explained. "That builds trust, and once they have trust, then they'll let it run automatically."
The ultimate goal? Eliminate the 30-40% of a maintenance technician's day currently spent on administrative tasks – filling out purchase orders, entering endless fields into management systems – and redirect that time toward actual maintenance work.
The episode wrapped with Jindou announcing the return of Fixed Summit, the industry's only conference dedicated exclusively to maintenance professionals. After a successful inaugural event in the Pacific Northwest, the second edition will take place in April 2025 in Texas.
"There are conferences for the leasing persona, but we found there wasn't anything for maintenance," Jindou noted. "Actions speak louder than words".
So HappyCo built Fixed Summit — a conference that's evolved into something so much bigger: a movement putting maintenance professionals where they belong, at the center of multifamily operations and resident experience.
From building software that just works to AI that earns trust and experiences that truly celebrate maintenance teams, HappyCo's mission always comes back to one thing: the people… it’s all about the people.
See how JoyAI works for your team: Explore HappyCo.
Join the “Built Different” Movement: Register for Fixed Summit.
Lindsey Henn, HappyCo PR
E: lindsey.henn@happy.co
M: +1 (626) 893-42298
