Episode 1: Dirt-2-Doors™ Origin Story

Jax Harper

Alright, Cody, before we get to all the big solutions and bold philosophies, I gotta ask the question people are probably yelling at their car stereos right now: Why’s the development industry such a mess? Like, why is it so dang broken?

Cody Douglas

Man, Jax, you’re not wrong—it really is a mess out there. And it’s not just one thing. The whole system’s built so everybody’s pulling in their own direction. Developers are worrying about their piece, cities are stressed out with too few people and too much work, lenders only see the numbers, and contractors… well, they’re usually brought in after half the decisions are already made. It’s like having a football team where nobody calls the plays, you know?

Jax Harper

Yeah, but isn’t that kinda just—uh, how it’s always been done? Like, silos, right? Everybody working in their own bubble. Is that the main reason stuff gets delayed or falls apart?

Cody Douglas

Absolutely, that’s a huge piece of it. And, especially around here in Texas and over in Oklahoma, cities are strapped. I'm talking departments with two, maybe three people trying to do the work of ten. They barely have time to keep up with the basics, never mind chasing down every little thing that needs fixing or updating. And when something slips through the cracks, it can go sideways fast.

Jax Harper

You’ve got that story, right? About that city infrastructure thing—you gotta tell it because, honestly, this one blew my mind the first time you shared it.

Cody Douglas

Oh man, yeah. So, here’s the deal: there was this aging pipe—just some boring maintenance thing the city was supposed to replace for, maybe, twelve grand. You know what happened? Nothing. Nobody had the bandwidth, nobody owned it. They kept punting it. Then—bam—it blows. Suddenly they’re looking at a million-dollar fix and all sorts of property damage. No one was evil, no one was dumb—it’s just how things work… or rather, don’t work, because everybody’s too spread out and nobody’s really talking.

Jax Harper

Yeah—nobody wants to spend twelve grand until it costs a million, right?

Cody Douglas

That’s it. So, you add that up across hundreds of cities, developers, contractors—it’s no wonder everybody’s frustrated, and projects stall or fail all the time.

Jax Harper

Okay, so I’m sitting here thinking—if everyone in the room knows it’s a mess, why hasn’t somebody fixed it? Like, why is Dirt-2-Doors even needed?

Cody Douglas

You’d think someone would have, right? But, honestly, the industry gets pretty stuck in its ways. What we built with Dirt-2-Doors, it’s the whole lifecycle—from the literal dirt under your boots, to the day you hand someone the keys. We handle due diligence, planning, funding, construction, delivery, all under one roof. No handoffs, no finger-pointing, just one team actually accountable for the results.

Jax Harper

So, wait, you’re not just building—you're quarterbacking the whole game. That’s kinda wild. I mean, people always talk about “turnkey” but it’s never really, ya know, turn the key and you’re done.

Cody Douglas

Exactly. “Turnkey” is usually just marketing. The secret sauce here is communication—building a system where everybody’s talking. No more scattered teams, mismanaged entitlements, waiting four months for someone to review a drawing. Everything’s coordinated. And if something starts to slip, it doesn’t stay hidden till it’s a disaster.

Jax Harper

I gotta say, that seems… almost annoyingly obvious. Like, why hasn’t anyone done this before? Is it just stubbornness, or—

Cody Douglas

It’s a little bit of everything—old habits, silos, fear of change, fear of getting blamed. Plus, innovation has always come with a fight. Folks in this world… they see something new, and their first instinct is to poke holes in it. But when you can show results—bring order to chaos—eventually, people see you’re not just messing around. You’re here to make it work.

Jax Harper

Yeah, and these pain points—delays, confusion, teams tripping over each other, they add up to real money and real headaches. So, being the guy who takes the punch and just says, “We’ll handle it”? That’s different.

Jax Harper

So let’s talk big picture. Dirt-2-Doors is a system, yeah, but this is also a mission—it’s more than just getting stuff built. Like, Tex-Star’s all about tackling those projects nobody really brags about, right?

Cody Douglas

That’s right. Municipal work—fixing that stormwater line, rehabbing the park bathrooms, keeping the fire stations up to code—these are jobs the “big fancy” firms usually ignore. But these are the projects that keep your neighbor’s basement dry and your schools open. That’s what drives us. Somebody has to step up and build a system for these high-need, low-glamour jobs, because they matter. And the only way to do it right is by connecting everybody who really cares.

Jax Harper

Which brings us to the Shared Services Network. This one’s nuts; I didn’t even know a network like this could exist. Over thirty-four thousand people—designers, engineers, realtors, technology experts, Tribal partners, lenders, contractors, labor supply chain partners. That’s like... a small city, all working together? And they actually talk?

Cody Douglas

They do now. I’ll give you an example—we had this little city up in rural Oklahoma, drowning every spring because their drainage plan was a joke. They couldn’t afford a big full-time engineering team, but a firm in Dallas—we brought ‘em together through our network. Two weeks of open calls, data shared, designs swapped, and—done. Drainage issue that had dragged for years? Fixed in weeks. That’s what’s possible with real collaboration.

Jax Harper

So, you’re saying the old walls come down when everybody’s part of the same team. And the community wins. Not complicated—just, uh, way harder to wrangle in real life than it sounds.

Cody Douglas

Yeah, but if you care enough, and you refuse to just accept “the way things are,” you can pull it off. That’s the mission. Connecting vision to infrastructure—making sure what matters actually gets done, and done right.

Jax Harper

Alright, Cody, I think we left ‘em with a lot to chew on. Folks, that's the Dirt-2-Doors origin story—broken systems, one crazy fix, and a whole new way of doing business. Cody, thanks for letting us peek behind the curtain. We’re just getting started—so if you wanna understand how this all really works, stick around for the next one. Appreciate you, Cody.

Cody Douglas

Appreciate you too, Jax. And thanks to everyone tuning in—go build something great, and we’ll catch you next time on Dirt-2-Doors Radio.