Welcome to Public Service: Designed with Data

When people hear we're building technology for government hiring, we often get the same response: "That sounds... hard."

They're not wrong. Government technology is challenging. The systems are complex, the stakes are high, and change doesn't happen overnight. But that's exactly why we're doing it.

Welcome to Public Service: Designed with Data, a newsletter about transforming how millions of Americans find their way into public service careers. We're Brendan Hellweg and Cherie Chung, co-founders of Holly, and we're on a mission to revolutionize government hiring through AI-powered software that treats people with the hospitality and care they deserve.

Why Now?

Right now, there are over 1 million vacant government jobs across America. These aren't just numbers – they represent essential services going undelivered, from maintaining our parks to keeping our communities safe. The average government role takes 135 days to fill (that's four times longer than the private sector), and the inefficiencies cost taxpayers $86 billion annually in overtime costs.

But beyond the statistics, there's a human story. It's the story of the friend who applied to six different city positions and never heard back. It's the story of the HR professional spending weeks manually reviewing job descriptions instead of connecting with candidates. It's the story of the public servant working overtime because their team has been understaffed for months.

These are the stories that drive us at Holly.

What to Expect

Every week, we'll share insights and stories about:

• The transformation of government work in the AI era
• Data-driven insights on public sector hiring and workforce management
• Behind-the-scenes looks at building technology for government
• Stories from public servants and HR leaders reimagining civic staffing
• Practical advice for anyone interested in public service careers or civic technology

We'll be building in public, sharing both our successes and our challenges as we work to modernize one of the most important hiring systems in the country. Whether you're a government employee, a civic tech enthusiast, or someone who cares about making public service work better, we hope you'll find value in joining this conversation.

Why Subscribe?

This newsletter is for you if:

• You're curious about the intersection of AI and government
• You work in public service or are considering it
• You're interested in civic technology and government innovation
• You want to understand how we're building technology to solve complex public problems
• You care about making government work better for everyone

Our Story

We met while pursuing joint degrees at Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School, united by a shared belief that technology could transform how government serves its people. Brendan brought experience from Baltimore's Innovation Team, where he scaled a workforce program from 0 to 275 employees in under a year. Cherie came from Propel, where she was an early employee helping scale the org to serve over 5 million low-income Americans and drove key initiatives such as a $200 million pandemic cash transfer program.

Together, we saw an opportunity to use AI to revolutionize how governments hire – not by replacing humans, but by eliminating the repetitive tasks that keep HR professionals from doing their most important work: connecting with people.

Join Us

We're at the beginning of an important journey to transform public service, and we'd love for you to be part of it. Subscribe to get weekly insights delivered straight to your inbox, and join a community of people who believe in building better public institutions.

Thank you for being here. We can't wait to share this journey with you.

Brendan & Cherie Co-founders, Holly

‍