Smith Lane Podcast

Welcome back to Smith Lane! We are thrilled to welcome our first in-studio guest: Matt Koratich, the Director of Community Management for Lennar Homes in Southwest Florida.

Lennar, one of the largest homebuilders in the United States, prides itself on delivering exceptional community experiences with top-notch amenities and engaging programming. In our conversation, Matt delves into Lennar's holistic approach to managing these communities, emphasizing the importance of continuous improvement and uniting all the players—from groundskeepers to pro shop staff—under one shared vision of creating places people truly connect with and don’t want to leave.

This episode is a great listen for anyone interested in the process of holistic community management and the importance of creating authentic connections between team members and residents. Join us for this insightful conversation along with a touch of Auburn vs. Alabama rivalry between Matt and Monaca. We hope you enjoy this listen as much as we did creating it!

About Matt

Matt Koratich is the Director of Community Management for Lennar Homes in Southwest Florida. With a decade of experience in community management, Matt manages a diverse group of communities, ranging from small condominiums to large-scale master-planned communities with multi-million-dollar restaurant and golf course operations. Matt is a highly motivated, intuitive, and results-driven leader armed with exceptional management skills in delivering vision, innovation, and strategic planning. Matt enjoys giving back to the community through volunteering. He is a volunteer board member of the Zoning Board of Appeals for the City of North Port and participates in Lennar’s focused acts of caring through the Lennar Foundation. Previously, he volunteered with the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, whose mission is to expand recreational boating safety through education.

Connect with Matt

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattkoratich/

https://www.lennar.com/

Episode 5 of Smith Lane welcomes April LaMon, CEO and Co-Founder of Alosant, to discuss her company’s transformational mobile apps and the role they play in building community.

Alosant specializes in developing community-branded apps for master planned community residents and home shoppers that streamline information and foster community building. Having witnessed firsthand the impact of Alosant's products on various OnPlace communities, we delve into the role of connection in the emotional experience of choosing a home and engaging with a place. Join us for insights into the evolution of Alosant and its innovative approach to placemaking.

About April:

April LaMon, CEO & Co-Founder of Alosant, is an experienced entrepreneur and technology expert with a penchant for developing innovative digital platforms, software solutions, and operating systems that seamlessly connect real estate developers/homebuilders and their communities with residents, prospective home buyers and local businesses. Alosant has grown significantly and now powers native apps for more than 100 of the fastest growing and most innovative master-planned communities across the country. 

April is also the host of the Alosant Innovator Series podcast where she shares one-on-one conversations with the industry's most innovative leaders.

Connect with April:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprillamon/

https://www.alosant.com/

Welcome to another episode of Smith Lane! We’re thrilled to present a conversation with Deana Vidal, the Director of Brand Strategy at John Burns Research & Consulting (JBREC) and a leader at the New Home Trends Institute (NHTI).

In this episode, Deana shares her fascinating work, blending her background as an architect with design and data to identify, understand, and solve consumer pain points. She describes the balance between hard insights and gut instinct, emphasizing the importance of projects evolving with the communities they serve and remaining authentic to your brand.

Through personal stories, Deana provides an invaluable understanding of a place and the people who live there. She shares about her path to becoming an architect, which grew from the inspiration she felt spending time in Manhattan, New York. She also shares an anecdote about visiting San Francisco when it was nearly a ghost town during the pandemic, and how the experience shaped her understanding of placemaking and the important role that people take in bringing places to life.

This is a must-listen episode of Smith Lane, diving into the mind of one of the industry's best and brightest – plus – an exciting announcement about the New Home Trends Summit towards the end of our conversation!

About Deana

Deana has a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She founded the Young Professionals chapter for the BIA Bay Area in 2020 after recognizing the need for more young and future leaders within the local homebuilding industry. She has received accolades recognizing her commitment to bettering the built environment and supporting industry professionals. Recent awards include: 2023 Professional Builder 40 under 40 recipient; 2021 Rising Rock Star Award from Commercial Real Estate Women’s Network (CREW) Bay Area; 2020 Associate of the Year Award from the Building Industry Association (BIA) Bay Area; 2020 Rising Star Award from the BIA Bay Area Professional Women in Building. She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the BIA Bay Area as the Vice Chair of Associates.

As Director of Brand Strategy for John Burns Research & Consulting and as a leader at the New Home Trends Institute, her role is twofold. She and the NHTI team focus on design, consumer, and trend tracking nationally to identify what is shifting and translate that into how it influences home design, community development, and industry innovation. She also works closely with the JBREC team to ensure that we are amplifying and growing our company’s brand and our team members’ personal brands in an effective, authentic, and sustainable way.

She is passionate about finding practical applications and giving deep, insightful feedback to help companies and communities make impactful decisions. Deana has a rich history of research, business strategy, marketing strategy and experience working with businesses and startups around the world from multiple industries (tech, food, retail, architecture) to develop methods to help companies grow strategically.

Connect with Deana:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/deana-vidal/

https://www.instagram.com/newhometrends/

https://jbrec.com/experts/deana-vidal/

Episode 3 of Smith Lane welcomes Chris McComas, the driving force behind MVP Sports & Social. Chris has turned his passion for bringing people together through athletic competitions and games into a thriving company.

Having previously collaborated, Monaca and Chris dive into the mutually beneficial relationship they forged. Their discussion delves into Chris' strategies for fostering strong community ties. MVP Sports & Social consistently creates connections thanks to its high demand and reliable turnout. What initially began as a quest to create an inclusive space quickly transformed into an exclusive club due to its rapid growth, necessitating larger facilities to accommodate the crowds.

With the nation's largest cornhole league, national partnerships, and an impressive customer turnout rate, Chris and MVP Sports & Social are primed for future expansion and investment. This success not only reflects Chris' unwavering commitment but also underscores the profound impact these types of partnerships play in building community.

Learn more about MVP and their leagues at https://mvpsportsandsocial.com/. 

You can also download their new app, available on Apple IOS or Google Play stores.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mvp-sports-and-social/id1637846084

In Episode 2 of Smith Lane, we sit down with the dynamic Dan Slone, an author, lawyer, and self-described “vision wallah” who co-founded Vertical Vision PLC. Join Monaca, Callie, and Dan as they delve into some subtle nuances that shape a community's identity and sense of belonging.

With over 40 years of legal practice under his belt, Dan has been instrumental in empowering local, national, and international non-profits, guiding them to tell their stories by aiding town founders in crafting narratives that enrich their communities. Moreover, he's been a catalyst for entrepreneurs striving to introduce innovative, world-changing products, helping them resonate with environmentally conscious consumers.

Throughout this episode, Dan’s passion for placemaking shines as he introduces his concept of "‘heartware’ vs. software," emphasizes the significance of biodiversity in fostering vibrant communities, and explores what “fourth place” signifies to him. Alongside discussions on placemaking, Monaca, Callie, and Dan share personal anecdotes about their own ‘Smith Lane’ experiences, forging deeper connections through shared stories.

Dan brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective to the table. His insights are invaluable for anyone involved in placemaking. Join us for this enlightening conversation and stay tuned for more episodes of Smith Lane!

About Dan

Dan lives in Virginia, USA with his wife, dog, and two cats.

Dan’s day-job is sustainability law. He has had the great honor to represent many leading non-profits in the US working on sustainable buildings and pedestrian-oriented communities, as well as with developers of sustainable communities and new, alternative energy companies. He is co-founder and partner in Vertical Vision where his title is lawyer and vision wallah. He recently started BluLightning, a company focused on virtual trainings in urbanism, sustainability, and biodiversity.

Dan has written three fantasy novels under the name Dan Slone, and parts of 12 nonfiction books, mostly under the name Daniel K. Slone. He is currently completing Saving the Dark Night and Her Children: Resisting Artificial Light’s Encroachment, which is due out in the fall of 2024.

He grew up on the Gulf of Mexico where he developed a deep love of the ecology and its inhabitants. In the fall of 2023, he gave a presentation at the Rural Renaissance Roadshow in Bentonville, Arkansas entitled “The Role of Local Wildlife and Dark Skies in Making Places We Love”, reflecting his work with developers and homeowner associations in creating connections between biodiversity, darkness, and buyer appreciation of place. Besides degrees in law and political science, he has a degree in philosophy, which is why the characters in his novels are always lost.

You can find information on Dan's books at www.danielkslone.com or his Facebook page. Information on wildlife and darkness can be found on Dan's new website. 

Contact Dan regarding speaking or working with your community at www.verticalvision.legal or [email protected].

Welcome to Episode 1 of Smith Lane! In this episode, Monaca and Callie sit down with the remarkable Lesley Deutch, Managing Principal at John Burns Research & Consulting. With over 25 years of consulting experience within the real estate industry, Lesley brings a wealth of knowledge to the conversation.

Monaca and Callie start the episode by reflecting on the role that Lesley has played in the foundation of OnPlace and establishing her credibility as an expert in the real estate industry. 

Lesley then delves into the art of placemaking, emphasizing the importance of understanding demographics to create spaces that resonate with diverse communities. Her unique perspective stems from years of investing time in getting to know the residents, providing her with invaluable insights on accommodating varied needs.

Lesley doesn't stop there – she opens up about her enlightening newsletter, "Dear Consultant," offering a glimpse into her world of industry wisdom. The episode concludes with Lesley's astute predictions on how current immigration trends may shape the real estate market in 2024 and beyond.

Tune in for a captivating conversation filled with insights into the dynamic world of real estate, as Smith Lane continues to bring you engaging discussions with industry trailblazers.

Join your hosts of Smith Lane Podcast, Monaca Smith Onstad and Callie Friedman, for this introductory episode!

Tune in to learn the story behind our podcast name, get to know more about the hosts, and uncover the topics we'll be diving into each month.