The Now City Labs team

We build for development because we do development.

The same team underwrites real deals, designs real places, and writes the software. Our tools come out of that work, not the other way around. That is what lets us build technology a developer can actually trust.

Who we are

Executive team.

A small executive team, with industry advisors whose expertise is load-bearing for the work. We bring partners in for the right moment in the right project.

Erik Gillberg
Erik Gillberg
Co-founder & CEO

Erik has spent 30 years in property operations and development and 20 years building technology ventures across AI, mobile, media, and clean energy. He advises an AI sustainability platform, trained at MIT on emerging technology for cities, and is an EcoDistricts Accredited Professional. Real estate in one hand and software in the other is why Now City Labs can ship working tools instead of slide decks.

LinkedIn →
Ritchie Ju
Ritchie Ju
Co-founder & COO

Ritchie leads design, development, and operations. He holds a B.Architecture from Carnegie Mellon and a Master’s in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia, and is an MBA candidate at Johns Hopkins. He came from Lyft in New York, where he led bike-share expansion.

LinkedIn →
Why we can build this

Two disciplines, one team.

Most real estate software is built by people who have never closed a deal, and most development teams cannot build software. We sit in the rare middle. We have underwritten capital stacks, run buildings, and shipped products, so the tools we make speak the language of the deal and hold up to a lender at the same time.

30 years in property operations 20 years in technology ventures MIT, emerging tech for cities EcoDistricts AP IDEO, human-centered design Carnegie Mellon · Columbia AI sustainability advisory
Industry advisors

Industry advisors whose expertise is load-bearing.

Michael H. Shuman
Michael H. Shuman
Local economies & capital

Economist, attorney, and one of the architects of the 2012 JOBS Act, and an adjunct professor at Bard Business School. He advises us on community-rooted ownership, local capital formation, and finance models that keep wealth in place.

LinkedIn →
Neal Payton
Neal Payton, FAIA, FCNU
Urbanism & planning

Directs the western U.S. urban and architectural design practice at Torti Gallas. He advises us on master planning, form-based codes, and entitlement strategy, with a focus on reviving declining centers, brownfields, and aging suburbs.

LinkedIn →
Where this fits

Part of Now City.

Now City Labs is the team behind Now City RDI, the expert human and AI systems at nowcity.ai. It is part of Now City Inc., a regenerative neighborhood developer and operator building on the West Coast for the long now, whose development services and neighborhood work live at nowcity.co.

Want to build something with us?

Tell us what you are working on. A short conversation is the fastest way to see if we can help.

Book a call →See Upside Explorer