Getting to “Hell Yes!” with Julie Blanc: Why Revenue Management Is More Than Math and Core to the Mission

💬 “You can’t optimize what you can’t see.” – Julie Blanc

After multiple startup exits and a career in VC, Julie Blanc zeroed in on one of multifamily’s most overlooked levers: pricing.

With Rentana, she’s not just offering AI-powered pricing suggestions. She’s building a transparency-first platform that gives operators and strategists full visibility into every decision.

🔍 Plain-English explanations of every recommendation 📈 Daily insights that go beyond rent and reveal what’s really blocking performance 💡 A system that aligns onsite teams, corporate, and ownership with shared goals

This convo was a game changer for me.

If pricing drives NOI, cap rates and asset value, why are so many teams still managing it with duct-taped spreadsheets?

👇 Here's what I learned:

• Revenue management is not about raising rents, it’s about hitting your goals

• The best customers are often those who tried to DIY it first

• Transparency isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a requirement

• Compliance and clarity matter just as much as lift

Julie’s approach reminded me: Hell Yes doesn’t come from hype, it comes from clarity.

#multifamily #proptech #pricingstrategy #revenueoptimization #hellyes

“We don’t sell resumes. We help leaders play chess, not checkers.” — Kelsi Cory

This episode is for anyone who's ever thought recruiting was just “filling seats.”

Kelsi Cory - founder of Cory Executive Recruiting joined us to break down what great hiring really looks like at the executive level. Spoiler: it’s not transactional. It’s personal.

🧠 What we covered:

• Why real recruiting is built on trust, not urgency
• What stealth-mode executive search actually looks like
• The 4 Cs framework she uses to match talent: Commute, Compensation, Culture, and Challenge
• How to stop being a vendor and start being a partner

💬 “If you're just taking orders, you're a vendor. If you're leveling with them, you're a partner.”

Kelsi doesn’t race to close roles. She builds relationships that compound. She’s called before the job is even posted and trusted because she’s not afraid to say “not yet” if the alignment isn’t right.

This one’s a masterclass in strategic hiring, leadership, and career moves that stick.

#GettingToHellYes #ExecutiveSearch #Leadership #Recruiting #PeopleStrategy #HiringForImpact #CultureMatters #LinkedInLive #KelsiCory

“We don’t sell showers. We sell lease-ups.” — Yovonne Kenny

This episode is a masterclass in operational selling.

Yovonne Kenny known for scaling Preferred Floor & Tile into an 8-figure brand and now leading at Palisade ACP joined us to break down why the real sale isn’t the product… it’s the performance outcome.

🚿 Her waterproof, groutless wall system cuts install time from 5 days to 2. But that’s not what sells. What sells? Faster unit turns. Happier residents. Lower churn. More lease-ups.

🧠 What we covered:

• Why maintenance delays = resident churn
• How to sell time savings, not specs
• What it means to align with ops, not just aesthetics
• Why distribution is won by reducing friction, not flashing features

💬 “If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no.”

Yovonne’s style is no-nonsense, ops-driven, and laser-focused on results. She speaks in work order velocity, not vanity metrics. And her sales approach? All about eliminating drag and unlocking NOI.

This one’s for anyone who:

✔️ Sells into SFR/BTR

✔️ Builds tech or services for ops teams

✔️ Wants to stop pitching features and start closing outcomes

#GettingToHellYes #PropTech #Multifamily #SFR #BuildToRent #Operations #LeaseUps #ResidentExperience #YovonneKenny #LinkedInLive

Getting to “Hell Yes!” with Dana Dunford: Why the Real Innovation in Proptech Starts with the Underdog

💬 “Fifty percent of it is just hard work. The other fifty percent is luck - right place, right time.” – Dana Dunford

Dana Dunford didn’t come from real estate. She came from Apple, Nest and a spreadsheet full of rental headaches. That mix led her to launch Hemlane, a property management platform built not for the REITs but for the 72% of landlords who self-manage.

📦 These aren’t the folks on CoStar. 🏘️ They’re the ones managing duplexes from two time zones away. 🧠 And they’re the future of housing, if we give them better tools.

What stood out most from our conversation:

✅ Innovation doesn’t trickle down. It bubbles up. ✅ If users won’t pay for it, it’s not solving their real problem. ✅ Don’t chase features, chase outcomes. ✅ And don’t build for logos, build for loyalty.

🔥 “You don’t start disruption from the top. You start at the bottom.” – Dana Dunford

If you’re in proptech, SMB SaaS or just believe in the power of overlooked customers then this one’s for you.

#proptech #startups #productstrategy #rentalhousing #hellyes #bootstrapped #founderjourney

What happens when innovation in PropTech slams into the bureaucratic brick wall of enterprise property management systems? Remen Okoruwa's answer: you build the middleware layer that makes it all work—faster, cheaper, and with less pain for everyone involved.

This episode dives deep into the realities of integrating with Yardi, RealPage, Entrata, and the rest of the acronym soup. Spoiler alert: it’s a mess. But Propexo is fixing it.

💥 Key Takeaways

• The Problem: PropTech startups can’t scale because integrations with major PMSs are a costly, slow, manual mess. Think $25K per integration, six months of red tape, and QA processes that feel like a dentist appointment.
• Why This Exists: Legacy PMSs treat APIs like gated toll roads—pay upfront or get lost. There's no rev-share model, no app-store mindset. Just cover charges and "maybe we'll email you back."
• Propexo’s Fix: A middleware platform that standardizes integrations across all major PMSs—plus built-in retry logic, dashboards, error visibility, and actual support. You get working integrations in weeks, not quarters.
• The Dirty Truth: Most vendors hack it with “human-in-the-loop” workarounds—manual logins, headless browsers, or SQL hacks. It’s risky, it violates TOS, and it breaks at scale.
• Unintended Consequences: Integration fees have warped PropTech’s go-to-market motion. Companies pick their TAM based on who they’ve paid to integrate with. That’s not strategy—it’s survival math.
• Remen’s Advice: Be T-shaped. Go deep on one skill, but build breadth across others. Whether you’re selling, shipping code, or closing AR—startups need athletes, not specialists.

🧠 Memorable Quotes

“You're not allowed to give a vendor login access, but everyone does it. That’s the industry workaround. Welcome to PropTech.” – Remen Okoruwa

“We built Propexo because engineering teams were wasting time wrestling SOAP APIs instead of building product.” – Remen Okoruwa

“Legacy PMSs are philosophically anti-innovation. Cover charge first, value second. That’s not how tech is supposed to scale.” – Guillermo Salazar

📌 Call to Action

🧠 Want to know why your PropTech MVP is dying in QA purgatory?

⚙️ Learn what’s really blocking integrations—and how to fix it.

🎧 Listen now to this brutally honest breakdown with Remen from Propexo.

🚫 “We don’t have competition.”

🛑 “We just need better marketing.”

⚠️ “Buyers will get it once they see the demo.”

Everett Lynn tried all of that—and learned the hard way.

After 8 years building Amenify, he figured out what really gets a buyer to say “Hell Yes!” (Hint: It’s not the pitch. It’s not even the product.)

👉 “You’re not trying to convince your buyer. You’re helping your buyer convince someone else.”

From losing deals to landing millions of units, Everett shares the truth about:

🔹 The juice vs. squeeze test

🔹 Why FOMU > FOMO in enterprise sales

🔹 What really happens when you pitch innovation teams without power

🔹 The one question that unlocked his entire sales strategy

🔥 “If they can’t explain your product in one sentence, the deal’s already dead.”

💬 Curious? Read the full story: [Insert blog link]

#PropTech #SalesStrategy #Amenify #B2BSales #GettingToHellYes #Startups #Founders #NOI #Multifamily #ResidentExperience

"Stay bold on your ish."

That’s how Amy Mark leads — with clarity, confidence, and culture-first energy.

She’s not here for corporate masks or playing it safe. She’s here to help her team (and this industry) get to “Hell Yes” — one authentic decision at a time.

In our latest conversation, Amy breaks down:

✅ How she bounced back from burnout

✅ Why timing matters more than titles

✅ How to set expectations that stick

✅ What real leadership sounds like (hint: it includes caulked baseboards, not buzzwords)

“People don’t follow perfect leaders. They follow real ones.”

🔗 Read her full story — it’s sharp, honest, and full of lessons that hit home: iriscx.com

#GettingToHellYes #MultifamilyLeadership #WomenInLeadership #AuthenticLeadership #PropertyManagement #TeamCulture #LeadershipMatters

🚨 Most leaders don’t get a “Hell Yes!” from their teams or customers. Here’s why—and what to do about it.

Leadership coach Rocky Garza dropped a truth bomb on our recent LinkedIn Live:

“When there’s a gap between someone’s capacity and your expectations, that gap fills with disappointment.”

If you’re chasing growth without clarity, you’re not building alignment—you’re building confusion.

🔥 People don’t buy perfect scripts. They buy conviction.

🔥 Culture isn’t what you preach—it’s what you tolerate.

🔥 Sales don’t start with a pitch. They start with identity.

We broke down Rocky’s most powerful ideas into a full blog post, and trust us—this one hits differently.

📖 Read the full post: Getting to Hell Yes with Rocky Garza → iriscx.com

#Leadership #Sales #Culture #GettingToHellYes #RockyGarza #TeamAlignment #ExecutiveCoaching #Trust #PeopleFirst #LinkedInLive

🚨 New on the blog: How to Get to "Hell Yes" in Multifamily 🚨

What does it really take to get buy-in—from your team, your clients, your partners?

👊 John Carlson, CEO of Mark-Taylor, shares how they built a culture where trust isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a business advantage.

In this candid interview, we talk:

✅ Internal selling vs. external persuasion

✅ Why principles beat processes

✅ How real transparency drives real results

✅ Turning site-level resistance into enterprise-wide innovation

🔥 “You don’t need perfection to earn loyalty. You need consistency and care.” — John Carlson

If you’re leading change in multifamily (or trying to), this is your roadmap.

📖 Read the full story here

#Multifamily #Leadership #Culture #Innovation #GettingToHellYes #PropertyManagement #MarkTaylor #RealEstate #CX

🚪 Hiring from resumes? That’s why you’re missing the mark. 📉 Hiring for alignment?

That’s how you get to Hell Yes! in selling.

Most multifamily teams aren’t building high-performing teams—they’re filling seats and hoping for the best.

📄 Job descriptions. 📥 Resumes. 📊 Candidate scorecards. 💬 Gut feelings when the interview ends.

Jonna Smith, founder of PeopleZest, has seen it all. That’s why she helps leaders stop filling roles and start solving problems.

Here’s what she’s learned about getting to Hell Yes in selling:

✅ If it’s not a “Hell Yes!”—it’s a no.

✅ The best hires aren’t on paper—they’re found through relevance, culture fit, and alignment.

✅ Your job as a leader? Get clear on the problem, coach your clients, and be brutally honest with candidates.

Jonna’s story isn’t just about executive search—it’s a masterclass in how to lead with courage, hire with purpose, and build teams that drive results.

👉 Curious how Jonna helps COOs, VPs, and owners say “Hell Yes!” to the right hire? 👉 Want to learn how to stop hiring resumes and start building teams?

Let’s get to Hell Yes!—together. 🚀