The Daily ChaseEmail me

I can't code. Turns out that doesn't matter anymore.

Anyone can build software now and fix the real problems in their business. Here's what I'm building, and how to start.

See what I'm buildingStart here

Guests First · our iOS app · in the App Store

What I'm building

Things I built that run every day.

I'm not a developer. Each of these started as a problem in a business I'm close to and a conversation with Claude Code. Most run at Hugga Retreats, the cabin retreat my family owns in the Hocking Hills; one runs at a pickleball club across town. Sample data below; the real ones have real people in them.

iOS app

Guests First puts our whole cabin operation in one app

Hugga runs on turnovers, hot tub chemistry, maintenance, and fast replies to guests. Our cleaners, inspectors, and I all work from this app. When a guest writes in, AI drafts the reply and I approve it in one tap. When a cleaner finishes, AI grades the photos against our standard before anyone drives out to check. It's a real iPhone app in the App Store, which I still find a little hard to believe.

Why I built it

We were running four cabins on paper checklists, group texts, and a shared inbox. I wanted one app on everyone's phone.

  • React Native
  • Firebase
  • Hostfully
  • AI drafts
  • App Store

Sample data. The real one runs at Hugga.

Weekly email

A build report that names its own bottleneck

Every Friday the whole team gets one email: the single thing holding up the build, who owes it, and a button to sign off. The tracker decides who owes what and Claude writes the summary. Everyone signs off or flags what's wrong. On weekdays, a nudge goes only to the person holding up the limiting factor. I stopped running the status call.

Why I built it

We're building a lodge with a GC, an architect, and an engineer, and I was tired of status calls where everyone says it's fine.

  • Next.js
  • Claude
  • Resend
  • Vercel cron

Sample data. The real one runs at Hugga.

Ridgeline Lodge build report, week of Nov 2: the grading plan is holding up permits

Ridgeline Build Reports to Dana, Marcus, Priya, Owen · Fri 4:02 PM

Build report · Week of Nov 2

The grading plan is holding up permits

Hey Dana,

Limiting factor

Final grading plan

Civil engineer to GC, was due Fri Oct 30

3 other items wait on it: county permit submittal; excavation start; utility trenching.

Where we are

Framing drawings are done and the GC has a sitework price in hand. Everything downstream is waiting on the grading plan, which slipped four days. Once it lands, permits go in the same week.

On track?

  • At risk: permit by Dec 1. Grading plan is four days late.
  • On track: budget. Sitework came in under the allowance.

On you (2)

  • Approve the sitework price (due Wed Nov 4)
  • Pick the exterior stain color (needs a date)

To sign off, put a date on the item without one. You can do it on the page.

Take two minutes to read it and sign off. Do you agree on the limiting factor, and what chance do you give Fri Dec 11?

Read and sign off

2 of 4 signed off · flagged: Marcus · waiting on: Priya, Owen

Ridgeline Lodge · Sample data · Replies go to the owner
Weekly email

Our numbers, in my inbox on Sunday night

Revenue, occupancy, guest feedback, and what to fix, in one email the whole team reads. Bookings, payments, reviews, and surveys get pulled together automatically. The highlights come first, the details after. I get a preview on Saturday. The team gets it Sunday.

Why I built it

I was logging into five dashboards on Sunday night and still couldn't say how the week went.

  • Next.js
  • Hostfully
  • Resend
  • Vercel cron

Sample data. The real one runs at Hugga.

Weekly Review, Oct 26 to Nov 1

Weekly Review to the team · Sun 6:00 PM

Weekly Review · Oct 26 to Nov 1

Weekly insights

  • Two fall-color weekends pushed occupancy to 82%, the best week since July.
  • Direct bookings were 41% of revenue, up from 33% a month ago.
  • Wi-Fi came up twice in Willow. A router swap is scheduled for Tuesday.

Performance

Revenue$6,164+12% vs last year
Bookings9+2
Occupancy82%+9 pts
Avg Daily Rate$268+$14
RevPAR$220+$31

Compliments

"The hot tub was spotless and the welcome note made our weekend." Birch, 5 stars

Minor gripes & issues

  • Willow Wi-Fi drops in the loft (2 mentions).
  • One guest couldn't find the firewood. Adding it to the arrival text.

Sample data · Sent to the team every Sunday, owner preview on Saturday

Phone app · The Pickle Lodge

Clean Kitchens keeps 51 pickleball courts clean

The Pickle Lodge runs three facilities in Cincinnati with 51 courts between them. In pickleball the kitchen is the zone by the net, so the app that keeps them clean is called Clean Kitchens. Dry cleans are due every 14 days and wet cleans every 30, so each court's color is just math on today's date. Open issues and how busy a court is push it up the list. Maintenance requests get a due time, before and after photos, and a daily 7 AM email for anything overdue. Every court has a score, staff see which ones need attention first and log the clean with a photo, and the GM gets one digest a morning. It's a web app the staff added to their home screens.

Why I built it

Three facilities, 51 courts, and no single place that said which one was due for a clean or had an open issue.

  • Next.js
  • Firebase
  • Vercel Blob
  • Resend
  • PWA

Sample data. The real one runs at The Pickle Lodge.

Before all this

Where I've been

  1. 2013

    The Daily Chase

    Bought the domain and started a WordPress blog. It has been a blog, a portfolio, and now this.

  2. 2019 to 2025

    InsurGrid

    Co-founded an insurance software company in Silicon Valley as the non-technical founder. Acquired in 2025.

  3. 2023 to 2025

    Anadro

    Residential solar plus bitcoin mining. Wound down. Worth doing, worth stopping.

  4. 2025 to now

    Hugga Retreats

    Moved home to Cincinnati and took over a cabin retreat in the Hocking Hills. The first real use case for everything on this site.

Start here

If I can do this, you can. The setup takes an afternoon.

I wrote down the setup I use, the way I wish someone had written it for me: accounts, laptop setup, the five-step loop I follow every day, and the prompts I paste. No coding background needed.

Read the guideMy prompts
Claude ProClaude Code itself$20/mo
GitHubStores your code and every version of itFree
VercelPuts the app on the internetFree to start
FirebaseSign-in, database, photosAbout $0 to $2/mo
Chase Beach
About me

Chase Beach

I grew up in Cincinnati, then spent 10 years in Silicon Valley as a tech founder. I was the non-technical founder, so I speak owner, not engineer. After selling my company in 2025, I moved back home with my family.

Hugga Retreats, our cabin retreat in the Hocking Hills, became my first real use case for what AI can do for a business run by non-technical people. Everything on this page was built and tested there first, with real guests, real staff, and real money on the line.

Building something too?

I'd love to see it. Email me what you're working on, what you're stuck on, or just say hi. I answer every one, and the best part of doing this in the open is hearing what other people are making.

chasetbeach@gmail.com