This month, TPN’s Parking Professional Spotlight features another interesting, determined, and hardworking leader: Jordan Justus, CEO of Automotus.   

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To understand Jordan’s work and his core values that drive it, it’s worth beginning with the company he co-founded with Harris Lummis in 2017.  This team entered the parking industry to address cities’ curb management problems.  Jordan summed up the curb dilemma: “The U.S. has abundant parking, but people compete for a few ‘valuable’ spots due to human behavior patterns around visibility and convenience.”  He also said that the curb is undervalued: people choose cheap curbside parking instead of using the more expensive garage options. Both factors lead to curbside congestion, as parkers, deliveries, rideshare vehicles, and micro‑mobility all compete for the same space.  To redirect curb parking behavior, Automotus partners with cities to help them evaluate what’s happening there and find solutions to congestion. 

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Entering early in the smart-curb, computer-vision space gave Automotus “first-mover” advantage in automated curb management.  Their initial small and mid-sized city pilots focused on proving computer vision accuracy for vehicle detection, dwell time, and curb activity classification.  Importantly, Automotus built its platform with an emphasis on privacy-first architecture (edge processing, no raw video storage).   

 

Under Jordan’s leadership and Harris’ tech genius, Automotus has grown to include curb analytics platforms, commercial loading zones, automated payments and enforcements, freight, dynamic pricing, and multi-use curb ecosystems.  Scaling for use in major cities in 2022, Automotus has received national recognition for its leadership in computer-vision-based curb management.   The numbers highlight their success: cities report 94% reduction in double-parking hazards, 53% increase in turnover, and 16% reduction in congestion/emissions.   

 

Automotus also partners with cities to align their parking policies with their stated goals (Vision Zero, economic vitality, reduced congestion).  By knowing who is using the curb, how long, and in what way, and where the highest-value activity occurs, cities can rely on real-time curb data to shape their policies.1  Automotus brings a unique technological approach that is solving real problems.   

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Now to Jordan!  Jordan is quick to give credit to his team for their incredible talent and work ethic.  His co-founder and CTO, Harris Lummis, and Head of Computer Vision, Prawal Kotamraju, and their teams are technical geniuses.  However,  Jordan leads this team by growing and supporting their customer base, understanding what customers’ needs are, expanding their product line, championing his team, and by thinking BIG.  In speaking with him, I noticed these core values:  

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Curiosity and Life-Long Learning 

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Jordan emphasized that curiosity “looks around corners and anticipates challenges,” and is critical in a rapidly changing industry.  In the past, he has hired team members with impressive credentials but has come to value curiosity and life-long learners above these.  Jordan remembers his college professor, Paul Orfle, the founder of Kinkos.  “He was dyslexic and ADHD, said he never was able to read a book, basically failed all of his classes through all of his education, but was always incredibly curious, personable, and I think, like everybody I know who has similar brain chemistry, has an ability in many ways to hyper-focus and really get locked into things.”   Which leads me to my next value: 

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Perseverance and Determination 

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This relentlessness is necessary to create “new categories” for products, to tackle complex projects, and to stick through challenges.   Jordan attributes his success in this industry to perseverance, especially because many companies enter and exit quickly.   Having the tenacity to be “in the weeds”, take risks, and stay continually ambitious allows Automotus to raise the bar.   He says, “It’s not easy, but a lot of it comes down to just perseverance.” 

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Commitment to Impact & Outcomes 

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Or, in other words, customer and mission focused.  Jordan’s strengths include partnering with cities to understand what is working, how to improve products, and how to expand solutions.   Aligning with mission-based vision, Jordan focuses on safety, economic benefit, Vision Zero goals, and community needs - not just business outcomes. He leads his team through the complexities of city policy and implementation. “It’s not about updating parking policies for parking policy’s sake, but it’s about achieving the stated goals of the city” for the next 5, 10, or 15 years.  He emphasizes that “you need a team that really, really cares about the actual outcomes and the end results for our city partners and their constituents.”   

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And, finally, Collaboration & Openness to Feedback. 

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Jordan stresses the necessity of surrounding himself with good people and being a partner to cities rather than a vendor.  He also praises the innovator’s mindset – one that is receptive to feedback, curious about other’s opinions, and resistant to rigid visioning.  Innovation, he comments, “really takes a village” and feedback provides an opportunity to grow, even if it’s uncomfortable.   

 

A Good Fit 

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Jordan summed up that he is always trying to communicate better, chart a better and more ambitious vision, and figure out how to best bring the right folks to the business.   As I wrapped up the interview, I asked him what job he would be terrible at – he laughed and said, “Most of them.”  Jordan shared that he has ADHD and, while his personality and testing well took him a long way in school, there are a lot of things that he could not do well.  Fortunately for him and for Automotus, the unique problems to solve and the opportunities to engage and collaborate with interesting people provide something different to do every day.  That and the room to operate freely have been a great fit for him.   

 

Jordan got me thinking about curiosity and I found this quote that I thought would make him smile.  What do you think?    

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"I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent; curiosity, obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my ideas." ~ Albert Einstein 

 

Kim’s Conclusion 

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I would like to add the following to my list of advice from parking professionals: 

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1. Be curious and invite feedback.  

2. Lead with a “mission vision” in mind for yourself and for your customer.  

3. Work hard, work hard, never give up, work hard, work hard.  

4. Lead with respect and tailor motivation to the individual. 

5. Invest in your network and industry involvement. 

6. Be proactive in client relationships for long-term success.   

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Parking newbie, take note!   I think this is great advice at work, with friends, and in your home.   

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Leigh Thomas’ article on the challenges faced by the trucking industry is very similar, though larger scale, to curb management.  You can read it here. 

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Automotus is continuing to build their team, so if you are interested, please visit automotus.ai/careers.  Jordan also recommends looking at Pittsburg, Hoboken, Philadelphia, Miami, and many others that are at the forefront of parking management from a policy as well as an implementation perspective.   

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If you’d like to learn more about Jordan Justus, I really enjoyed listening to The Savage Leader’s podcast featuring him in 2024.  Ep. 63: Jordan Justus on Automotus’ Mission to Reduce Congestion, Improve Safety, and Cut Emissions — The Savage Leader