How Three College Students Built a Nonpartisan App to Track Congress Using AI

From AI Inspiration to Congressional Transparency: The Politik Story

James VandeHei Jr., 21, a rising senior at High Point University and Division I soccer player, shares how he and two friends built Politik, a nonpartisan app that launched on the App Store this week.

Their inspiration came from an unlikely source: his father’s January Axios Finish Line letter on AI, which arrived as VandeHei was exploring the technology himself. Alongside Charlie Stallmer of Holy Cross and Chris Brophy of the University of Denver—both college juniors—he began brainstorming an app to make complex congressional data accessible.

Why Politik? The Problem with Public Congressional Data

After a summer in Washington, D.C., the trio realized that while voting records, campaign finance, and legislative activity are technically public, they’re practically buried. Even on Congress.gov, analyzing a single bill requires deciphering dense legislative language—something most people shouldn’t have to do.

Politik—taglined “Congress in Your Pocket”—aims to change that. The app is a nonpartisan, data-driven guide that breaks down how leaders vote and where their campaign funds originate. Users simply enter their ZIP code, and Politik provides personalized insights. The app also allows users to ask questions about legislative procedures and hypothetical voting scenarios on trending bills.

No Coding Experience? No Problem—Thanks to AI

None of the three founders—all international relations majors—had prior coding or development experience. Yet, for the first time in history, that wasn’t a barrier.

Using AI, they mapped out a strategy and learned new skills: creating motion graphics, animations, automated email campaigns, and app prototypes. Their secret weapon? Nate Laquis, a self-taught programmer and AI expert who, like them, had no formal computer science background. A finance major driven by curiosity, Laquis built the entire Politik app in under three months and has since launched Kanopy Labs, a software-building agency.

Democracy, Now with Receipts: The App Store Debut

The result? A fast, smooth app that debuted on the App Store this Thursday—built without any of the founders studying computers or software development. Their message is clear: AI levels the playing field, making technical projects achievable for anyone with passion and curiosity.

Lessons Learned: How AI Can Amplify Your Passions

VandeHei reflects on what the project taught him about AI:

AI amplifies your passions. That’s true for everyone—me, my dad, Nate, my grandmother. Every day, there’s a new model, a new tool, a new must-use product. My advice: Pick one thing you’re truly passionate about and explore it with AI. You’ll learn more about AI than you do the actual topic.

Context Is King: Building Smarter with AI

VandeHei emphasizes the importance of context in AI workflows:

• Create skills and memory files for your model to reference for everyday tasks.
• Example: They use Claude Code to analyze video content. Each time they film, Claude reviews past posts, brand guidelines, and video development skills—reducing a process that once took hours to just 20 minutes.

Prompt Engineering Matters: Don’t Rush the Details

He cautions against cutting corners in AI interactions:

Take pride in your prompt. Sounds simple. But the more time you spend with an LLM, the more tempting it gets to abbreviate or skip important details. That’ll