In Good Company: EliseAI Multifamily Podcast

Clover Sharpe holds one of the more unusual seats in multifamily. After over two decades in the industry, she’s now the VP of People & Brand Experience at Zocalo Community Development, a Colorado-based real estate developer. She initially began in learning and development training onsite teams, but now has ownership across people, brand, and technology adoption under one role. Jacob Kosior and Clover get into why Zocalo removed "manager" from every onsite leadership title and replaced it with "director," the mentorship program that helped one of her properties cut turnover from 36% to 13%, and why she thinks resident retention comes down to details as small as knowing a resident's dog's name. They also talk about what she believes actually separates the leaders and innovators moving multifamily forward, and her hot take on using AI as a thinking tool. This episode was recorded live at TechCon with the Apartment Association of Metro Denver.In this episode: 01:08 - This or That 02:06 - Her role: people, brand, and technology under one seat 03:09 - Why brand isn't the logo 05:02 - The hospitality bar for resident retention 08:31 - The real root cause of multifamily turnover 11:59 - Building the next generation of leaders before promoting them 15:23 - What changed when technology adoption became her job too 20:51 - The one trait she sees across every strong leader 22:52 - Her AI hot takeNew episodes twice a month. Follow the show so you never miss one. In Good Company is a multifamily podcast by EliseAI. 🔗 Learn more: https://meet.eliseai.com/4nSeP7b

Teddy Abdelmalek is SVP of Business Development at HH Red Stone, the management arm of HH Group. He’s spent more than 20 years in student housing and conventional housing. Today, HH Red Stone now manages more than 10,000 units across the country. Teddy is leading their gradual expansion. Jacob Kosior and Teddy get into why owners grow jaded after cycling through management companies, the fee model that ties a manager's pay to NOI so they only win when the owner does, and why passive management no longer holds up. They also dig into the owner operator edge in a shared market, methodical growth over excessive speed, and how AI fits into the puzzle. The throughline underneath all of it: manage every asset like you own it.In this episode:00:26 - Jacob’s introduction of Teddy01:08 - This or That03:20 - What separates the managers who win from the ones who stall07:32 - Property management vs asset management09:12 - Rethinking the fee: sharing the risk with owners11:00 - The math that misaligns managers and owners13:49 - Winning over an owner who has been burned before16:28 - Methodical growth over chasing scale19:43 - Why reputation outlasts any single deal20:33 - How Teddy actually uses AINew episodes twice a month. Follow the show so you never miss one. In Good Company is a multifamily podcast by EliseAI. 🔗 Learn more: https://meet.eliseai.com/4nSeP7b

Kelsi Cory has a rare vantage point on multifamily leadership. As founder and CEO of CORY Executive Recruiting, a boutique search firm that places C-suite and senior operators across multifamily, she sees what operators want before most people feel the shift. Over eight years she has become one of the most trusted voices in real estate recruiting, and through her Leaders On Deck and Fractionals On Deck brands, she has a front-row view of how operators are rethinking the shape of their leadership teams.Jacob Kosior and Kelsi get into why operators have stopped hiring specialists and started hiring utility players, what a resume can never tell you about a leader, why the jump from regional to VP is where so many careers stall, and the skills that matter more as AI takes on the busy work. They also talk about how the best leaders treat their teams, why Kelsi tells everyone to find their own university, and how AI is creating new roles even as it reshapes old ones.Timestamps:01:34 - This or That02:49 - How executive hiring has changed since 202104:19 - What a resume can't tell you about a leader06:19 - Why your strongest regionals stall below VP09:18 - When operations and technology become one role12:00 - What SFR operators do differently to win talent13:11 - The skills future leaders need in the next 2 to 5 years15:37 - From AI skeptic to advocate, and the jobs AI createsNew episodes twice a month. Follow the show so you never miss one. In Good Company is a multifamily podcast by EliseAI. 🔗 Learn more: https://meet.eliseai.com/4nSeP7b

Marcella Eppsteiner holds one of the most unique titles in multifamily, and she makes the case that it's about to become essential. As Chief Experience Officer at Mission Rock Residential, she owns both the customer experience and the team member experience, spanning marketing, revenue management, learning and development, and people and culture. Marcella has spent more than 20 years in the industry, starting onsite for student housing and rising through sales and marketing leadership into the CXO seat.Jacob Kosior and Marcella get into why experience, not price, is the real differentiator in a concession-heavy market, what a micro moment is and why every interaction is one, why staff turnover is more of a clarity problem than a pay problem, and how the onsite role is being redefined as AI absorbs the busy work. They also talk about the data she watches every day, why she reads every resident review herself, and why she believes the human layer only grows more valuable when added on top of AI.Timestamps:01:09  This or That02:04  The rare CXO seat, and what it actually includes04:06  Why experience beats price in a concession-heavy market04:32  Every interaction is a micro moment06:25  The data she reads every single day08:44  Centralization: centralizing functions, not just roles13:40  Two causes of turnover you can actually control15:50  A leasing consultant in 2026 vs one index card in 200317:05  The human layer, and why it grows more valuable with AINew episodes twice a month. Follow the show so you never miss one. In Good Company is a multifamily podcast by EliseAI. 🔗 Learn more: https://meet.eliseai.com/4nSeP7b

Nick Deveau is on a mission to fix billions of dollars being lost through apartments sitting vacant each year. As Co-Founder and CEO of GrottoAI, he's built a coaching tool that works alongside multifamily leasing teams on their calls and onsite tours, a first for the industry, to find insights into what moves a prospect to lease.Nick has spent nearly a decade building vertical AI in highly regulated industries, from hiring to healthcare to insurance. Most recently, he and Co-founder Ben Epstein led the core technology behind EvolutionIQ's $730 million acquisition in late 2024, one of the first major vertical AI exits. He has graduate training from Stanford, and a long-running fascination with behavior change that traces back to his early days in psychiatry research.Jacob Kosior and Nick get into the half-trillion-dollar vacancy problem hiding behind every empty unit, the human signals that predict whether a prospect moves forward, why the tour is the richest and most overlooked data source in leasing, how operators are hiring for rapport over resumes, and why leasing is sales. Plus Greta, the in-house AI employee that built Grotto's paid-search engine over a weekend.Timestamps:01:31 - This or That 02:50 - The psychiatry-to-AI thread04:41 - Leaving a $730M exit for apartment leasing 05:34 - The half-trillion-dollar vacancy problem 06:43 - What the data says converts a prospect 09:04 - The tour: leasing's richest data source 10:36 - Hiring for rapport, and why a bartender works 13:16 - Leasing is sales 14:58 - What vertical AI sees that horizontal tools miss 16:11 - Greta, Grotto's in-house AI employeeNew episodes twice a month. Follow the show so you never miss one. In Good Company is a multifamily podcast by EliseAI. 🔗 Learn more: https://meet.eliseai.com/4nSeP7b

Jen Tindle has spent her career at the intersection of real estate and technology. Today she's VP of Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives at Grace Hill, where she leads M&A, partner programs, and data products. She also writes the All About CRE Substack newsletter and co-created Build Order, a podcast and essay series about how systems shape cities. Before Grace Hill, Jen led data and analytics at private equity firm Pennybacker Capital before co-founding CREx, a CRE tech company that she ran as CEO.Jacob Kosior and Jen get into what Grace Hill's data is actually showing about the multifamily industry right now, including why one in three prospects never gets contacted after their tour. They talk about the fastest proptech consolidation Jen's ever seen in her career, the one thing every operator should be focused on for the rest of 2026, why AI adoption keeps getting driven from the wrong seat of the org, and much more.Timestamps:0:52 - Get to Know Jen4:00 - Beyond the Day Job7:17 - Where Humans Shine9:52 - What the Data Shows12:04 - The Priority in 202617:16 - AI in Work and LifeNew episodes twice a month. Follow the show so you never miss one. In Good Company is a multifamily podcast by EliseAI. 🔗 Learn more: https://meet.eliseai.com/4nSeP7b

Jamie Gorski has 25+ years of C-suite multifamily experience across marketing, operations, and resident experience. Through her companies Catchpoint Collective and Journey Lens, she advises operators, proptech companies, and investors.Jamie started in multifamily as a groundskeeper in Baltimore. She was picking up trash, walking door to door, and helping residents with the kinds of small but meaningful things that stay with you. That first job taught her something she has never forgotten: this industry matters because we provide homes.Jacob Kosior and Jamie get into why the onsite role has to change as AI and centralization reshape multifamily operations. They talk about tours that have not changed in years, residents getting a better experience buying a purse than renewing a lease, centralized leasing teams that can improve speed and consistency, and much more. Timestamps:1:14 - Get to Know Jamie4:40 - Redesigning the Onsite Role6:40 - Where Humans Shine11:11 - The Proptech Landscape16:41 - Getting Centralization Right21:00 - AI in Work and LifeNew episodes twice a month. Follow the show so you never miss one. In Good Company is a multifamily podcast by EliseAI. 🔗 Learn more: https://meet.eliseai.com/4nSeP7b

Brittany Gonzalez has built centralized services teams twice, at two different organizations. Brittany is Senior Manager of Centralized Services at RangeWater Residential. Before RangeWater, she spent over six years at Cardinal Group, starting as an assistant community manager in student housing before becoming one of the earliest hires on Cardinal's centralized services team. Jacob Kosior and Brittany get into what it actually looks like to go from on-site burnout to building a centralized program across 75,000+ units. They talk about the moment she realized the community manager role wasn't for her, what changed when she moved into centralized services, the skills she looks for when hiring that have nothing to do with property management experience, and more. In this episode: 00:18 — Introduction01:01 — Getting to Know Brittany03:28 — From On-Site to Centralized07:27 — Why Centralization Matters09:10 — New Tools and Workflows12:31 — Building the Right Team16:45 — AI in Work and Life New episodes twice a month. Follow the show so you never miss one. In Good Company is a multifamily podcast by EliseAI.

Dan Oltersdorf has spent over 20 years thinking about how housing operators actually work.Dan is President of Centricity, the back-office partner for property accounting, HR, IT, insurance, and ancillary revenue. Before Centricity, he spent more than two decades at Campus Advantage, ultimately as Chief People Officer, after starting his career as an RA at Colorado State University.Jacob Kosior and Dan get into what's quietly costing operators their focus in 2026, and what separates the teams who are thriving from the ones in survival mode. They talk about the ‘white water’ of scaling, the operator who had to turn down a portfolio because the back office couldn't support it, why thriving operators build systems before they need them, how AI fits in as a power tool rather than a replacement, and creating a "do not do" list.In this episode:00:49 — Getting to Know Dan 02:25 — The Path to Centricity04:39 — The Back-Office Bottleneck06:31 — Surviving vs Thriving10:07 — People, Process, and Technology13:36 — What Actually Matters16:09 — The "Do Not Do" List17:17 — AI in PracticeNew episodes twice a month. Follow the show so you never miss one. In Good Company is a multifamily podcast by EliseAI.

Bobbi Steward saw multifamily vendor management was broken and decided to fix it. Bobbi is Co-Founder & CEO of Revyse, the vendor management platform helping operators bring clarity to contracts, compliance, and spend. Before Revyse, Bobbi came up through proptech before leading marketing and customer experience at a top-15 multifamily operator. It was on the operator side where she saw how fragmented vendor management really was: property management companies working with thousands of vendors and no single source of truth.Two weeks after her daughter was born, a planned career break lasted 48 hours before she decided to build the solution herself.Jacob Kosior and Bobbi get into what that journey actually looked like. They talk about crossing from the vendor side to the operator side and realizing you only understood half the picture, teaching yourself corporate accounting from YouTube, the myth that founders have some intrinsic knowledge the rest of us don't, and the leadership lesson Bobbi carries from making the same mistake more than once: make yourself sustainable.In this episode:01:12 — Get to Know Bobbi: This or That rapid fire02:06 — From Vendor to Operator: What led Bobbi from proptech to leading marketing at a top-ten operator06:19 — Building Revyse: The vendor management problem and the 48-hour career break that led to starting a company08:51 — The Founder Myth: Hubris, perseverance, YouTube accounting, and why it's really about relationships10:29 — Making Yourself Sustainable: The leadership mistake Bobbi kept repeating and the mantra that came from it14:28 — AI in Work and Life: Using ChatGPT as an executive coach, for trip planning, and moreNew episodes twice a month. Follow the show so you never miss one. In Good Company is a multifamily podcast by EliseAI.🔗 Learn more: https://meet.eliseai.com/4chJSFs

The hardest part of adopting new technology isn't the software. It's the people. Chris Lahna is Partner, President of Property Management and Chief Talent Officer at Dominium — one of the country's largest affordable housing operators, with 50 years in business and more than 40,000 apartments across 19 states. His path to the role wasn't traditional. He's helped build jet engines, worked in asset management, and started at Dominium leading HR. Now he leads transformation across people, process, and technology — in the unique position of owning both sides of it: what changes and how you bring your people with you.Jacob Kosior and Chris get into what it actually takes to reinvent operations at that scale. They talk about why change is fundamentally difficult for humans, the paradox of needing patience when you're the most impatient person in the room, and the moment Chris stopped worrying about losing his job and started doing his best work. Plus, Chris shares how he sees roles evolving across the industry and why AI doesn't have to mean fewer people.In this episode:00:44 — This or That rapid fire01:23 — Why every operator is going through transformation right now02:19 — From building jet engines to running property management02:40 — "You probably should not hire me as the head of property management"03:26 — Signals that transformation is actually working04:56 — The uncomfortable truth about patience and urgency06:44 — Why process, technology, and people are all connected07:06 — From handwritten applications to digital transformation09:50 — Coaching advice for leaders stepping into change10:15 — What it means to believe your people are fundamentally good12:30 — Why AI doesn't have to mean fewer people13:13 — How specialized roles could reshape staffing across the industry15:43 — How Chris is using AI in his personal and professional lifeNew episodes twice a month. Follow the show so you never miss one. In Good Company is a multifamily podcast by EliseAI.🔗 Learn more: https://meet.eliseai.com/4chJSFs

In the debut episode of In Good Company, host Jacob Kosior sits down with Alex O'Brien, co-founder and CEO of Cardinal Group Companies. Cardinal is celebrating 20 years in business and just hit 110,000+ beds under management in student housing.Jacob and Alex dig into what it actually takes to be a modern leader in multifamily. They talk about why this might be the hardest time to lead, the difference between managing and leading through uncertainty, why your title "before the comma" matters more than the technical skills after it, and how Alex thinks about always recruiting even when there's no open role to fill.Plus, Alex gets honest about burnout, being kind to yourself as a leader, and why there's no destination in leadership. Just the journey.New episodes twice a month. Follow the show so you never miss one.In Good Company is a multifamily podcast by EliseAI.

In Good Company is a new podcast about the people building multifamily. Host Jacob Kosior sits down with operators and leaders to talk about how businesses are built, decisions get made, and communities come to life.New episodes twice a month. A podcast by EliseAI.