From "ambitious but stuck" to
confident commercial developer.
Stop circling commercial development and start building it.
You can already see what could be built there.
You drive past empty lots, rundown buildings, and tired industrial sheds — and you can already see what should go there.
You've watched residential players get rich. You've watched commercial developers get richer.
You know the upside is bigger. The deals are cleaner. The numbers are real.
But every time you sit down to actually do something about it, the same thing happens.
The feasibility feels made up. The jargon feels like a foreign language. The risk feels enormous.
You don't know which deals to chase, which to walk from, or who to even ask.
Your partner asks how the "property thing" is going. You change the subject.
You're not lacking ambition → You're lacking a system.
Here's what hasn't worked.
YouTube videos at 11pm. Books with great theory and no template. Forum threads where everyone's an expert and nobody's built anything.
Maybe you've already paid for a course. Seven grand, twelve grand. The guy hasn't done a deal since 2017. The "case studies" are recycled.
You've consumed thousands of hours of content and you're still stuck on the same question you had at the start:
The problem isn't you. The problem is that nobody is actually teaching commercial development.
This is why I built The Active Developer Method™.
It's the system I use to run $45M in active projects across industrial, office, and retail.
And it's the system I now teach inside Development Navigator.
It works in three compounding layers — most courses give you the first one and stop.
The Foundation
The frameworks, templates, and language of commercial development. Site selection. Feasibility. Funding. Council. Construction. Exit.
Everything you need to walk into any meeting — bank, council, JV partner, broker — and not get steamrolled.
The Live Fire
Every two weeks, we jump on a live call. Sometimes I break down a deal I'm actively working on. Sometimes we go deep on a single topic. Sometimes we work through a deal someone in the group brings to the call.
And every call ends with your questions. Real ones. The stuff you've been stuck on for two weeks.
Not theory. Not polished case studies from three years ago. Real deals, real money, in real time.
Most courses give you case studies from years ago. DN puts you in the room while the deals are still open.
The Operator Network
A community of like-minded people moving in the same direction as you. Asking questions. Sharing wins. Pressure-testing each other's deals.
These could be the people you JV with one day. The people you refer deals to. The people you call when you need a second opinion at 9pm on a Tuesday.
Layer 1 without Layer 2 is theory. Layer 2 without Layer 3 is a spectator sport.
The Active Developer Method™ compounds all three.
Jack Chaffey
Director of Development, Stripes Group
Practitioner, not professor.
I'm Jack Chaffey. I'm Director of Development at Stripes Group — a vertically integrated regional construction and development company.
Right now we have $45M in projects either delivered or moving through DA, construction, or completion. Industrial. Office. Retail. Hotel sites. Mixed-use. Subdivisions.
I'm not "consulting on the side." I'm not coasting on a deal I did in 2014. I'm in council meetings this week, on construction sites this week, in QS reviews this week.
I started Development Navigator because the same DMs kept landing in my inbox.
"Jack, I've done a few residential flips and I want to make the jump. Where do I start?"
"Jack, I've got a site under contract and I have no idea what to do with it."
"Jack, I've spent four grand on a course that taught me nothing. Help."
I built DN to be the program I wish I'd had. Real frameworks. Real deals. Real operators. No theatre.
What's actually happening inside DN.
"Now I'm running feasibilities with ease and confident for my first commercial development."
"I'd done renovations before but was scared to step into commercial — afraid of wasting money or making a costly mistake. DN gave me a roadmap, tools, and support."
"This course has quite simply fast-tracked my development journey. Jack teaches the real-world strategies that matter and just proven methods you can use straight away."
— Tony W.
"As a residential developer, it clearly outlines the differences between resi and commercial. I love the detail."
— Erin W.
"It really is like having a mentor or additional team member in your panel of professionals."
— James T.
"Absolutely rated the course — it was so good for me as a beginner and really helped put me in the right direction."
— Jake M.
From inside the operator network
A small sample of what gets posted in the community on a typical week — real deals, real plans, real members.
Here's exactly what you get when you join Development Navigator.
The Active Developer Method™ CurriculumLifetime access
Hours of video modules covering every stage of the commercial development cycle — from site selection through to exit. Watch in order or jump to what you need on the deal in front of you.
Live Deal BreakdownsLifetime access
Every two weeks, I break down a topic or deal. You get the real numbers, the real conversations, the real decisions. Ask me anything in the live Q&A. Recordings stay in the platform forever.
The Operator NetworkLifetime access
A private community of like-minded people making the jump to commercial. Post your deal. Get feedback. Find JV partners. Build the network that actually closes deals.
The Feasibility & Deal Toolkit
Every spreadsheet, checklist, and template I use on real developments. Feasibility model. Site qualification checklist. Council pre-DA briefing template. Bank submission framework. Plug-and-play.
Direct Message Access to Jack
Stuck on a deal? Send me a message inside the platform. I read and respond personally.
Plus, when you join in the next 30 days, you also get:
The 90-Day Feasibility Fast-Track
Within your first 90 days inside DN, I'll personally review one of your live or prospective deals. You send me the site, the numbers, your assumptions. I send you back a recorded video walkthrough of what I'd change, what I'd kill, and what I'd push harder on.
Total value of everything inside Development Navigator
$21,482
Most operators in your position spend that on a single mentor day, a half finished degree, or a course taught by someone who hasn't built anything in five years.
Your investment in DN is significantly less.
Apply below to find out what it is — and whether you're a fit.The "Show Up and Find Out" Guarantee.
Here's what I'll commit to.
Join DN. Complete the modules. Show up to two live calls. Post one feasibility for review in the community.
Do those four things in your first 30 days, and if you don't feel that DN has materially advanced your understanding of commercial development — message me, and I'll refund you in full.
Honest answers to the questions you're already asking.
There are two kinds of operators reading this page.
The first will close this tab, watch three more YouTube videos this week, and tell themselves they'll "look at it again next quarter."
Next quarter will look exactly like this one.
The second will book the call, get the answers, and be inside DN before the end of the month — building the foundation while their friends are still consuming content.
One year from now, those two operators will be in completely different places.
P.S.The developers I work with privately all started exactly where you are right now — watching commercial happen from the outside, knowing they're ready for the bigger game but not sure how to step into it.
Apply below. We'll talk. If it's not a fit, we'll tell you and point you somewhere useful.