Martin Kelly is the President of Blueprint, a premier real estate technology and innovation conference held in Las Vegas each September. With two decades in the global events industry including running the world's largest non-private equity-backed events organization.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• How Martin went from training to be a barrister in London to becoming president of one of real estate's top conferences
• Why Blueprint was originally rooted in the venture capital and innovation world and how that DNA still shapes the event today
• What it really takes to launch a conference from zero. The risk, the commitment, and the entrepreneurial leap of faith required
• How Blueprint differentiates itself from the many other real estate and multifamily conferences on the market
• What makes an event a "Hell Yes" for attendees, speakers, and sponsors. How to evaluate your conference calendar strategically
• Why Blueprint is intentionally designed as an ecosystem event, not just a vertical-specific trade show
• The philosophy behind cross-industry programming. Why a multifamily operator might get their biggest insight from a data center CEO or a luxury broker
• How the conference industry has evolved and why only a handful of events truly stand the test of time
• What the role of data and research plays in elevating a conference from good to great and what Blueprint is building in that direction
• Why "trust your gut" is the most important piece of advice Martin has for anyone starting out, in events or otherwise
• The hidden costs and operational complexity behind running a world-class conference
• How Blueprint is leaning into the "home" category and operational intelligence for owners and operators

Key Takeaways

1. Not all conferences are created equal. There are thousands of events, but only a handful truly last and create lasting value.
2. Blueprint is an ecosystem event, by design. It's the only place where a multifamily operator can attend three full days of vertical content and hear from the CEO of a $65B data center company or a top residential broker on the same stage, triggering the unexpected "aha moment."
3. The "Hell Yes" conference decision starts with clarity on your goals. Are you there to learn, to build relationships, to buy, to sell, or to benchmark? Knowing the answer shapes how you show up and what ROI looks like for you.
4. Research + conference = a powerful combo. Events that pair curated data and industry insights with programming attract higher-quality attendees who come with real problems to solve, not just to collect swag.
5. Saying yes to experiences, to risk, to the unexpected is a superpower. Martin's career changed every time he trusted his gut and leaned into an opportunity.

#GettingToHellYes #GTHY #BlueprintVegas #Blueprint2025 #RealEstateConference #PropTech #PropTechConference #RealEstateTech #MartinKelly #EventsIndustry #RealEstateEvents #ConferencePlanning #MultifamilyConference #SingleFamilyRental #SFR #RealEstateLeadership #RealEstateInnovation #RealEstateCommunity #OwnerOperator #PropertyManagement #EventMarketing #ConferenceStrategy #HellYes #YesMan #TrustYourGut #RealEstatePodcast #LinkedInLive #RealEstateMindset #EcosystemEvent #Vendoroo #StartupConference #RealEstateNetworking #PropTechInnovation #VentureCapitalRealEstate #MultifamilyOperators #OperationalIntelligence #NOI #AssetManagement #RealEstateInvesting #ConferenceBusiness

Lior Abramovich is the co-founder of Blanket, a PropTech platform designed to help property managers reduce owner churn, improve client retention, and provide investors with actionable portfolio performance insights. Lior is a graduate of the Israeli Naval Academy, a seasoned real estate investor, and a former VP of Business Development who oversaw $200M+ in acquisitions at a build-to-rent investment firm.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• How reading Rich Dad Poor Dad at 13 sparked Lior's lifelong passion for real estate investing
• Why Lior's mother, a single mom who built her own real estate portfolio became his greatest role model and inspiration
• How Lior bought his first U.S. rental property at age 19, from Israel, sight unseen and why it still cash flows today
• What his 9 years in the Israeli Navy taught him about leadership, discipline, and high-stakes decision-making
• The gap he identified between property managers and the mom-and-pop investors they serve and how Blanket was born to solve it
• Why client retention is the #1 hidden revenue lever in property management
• How Blanket uses data and AI-powered insights to help property managers act as true asset managers for their clients
• The real difference between being a property manager and being an asset manager. Why it matters for your business
• Why the recurring revenue model in property management is broken if owners' financial goals are ignored
• What the "total cost of ownership" really looks like when property managers build their own AI tools in-house
• The looming risk of AI cost subsidization ending and what that means for companies building on third-party language models
• Why "there are no failures in life, only challenges" is the philosophy that has guided Lior's entire career

Key Takeaways

1. Real estate creates freedom, not just wealth. Lior's passive income gave him the safety net to take risks and pursue his dreams, a mindset shift everyone in property management should understand.
2. Owner churn is a silent killer. Most property managers don't realize they lose clients not because of bad service but because they never aligned on the investor's actual financial goals.
3. Asset management is the future of PM. Property managers who evolve into true asset management advisors will win the next decade. Blanket is building the infrastructure to make that possible.
4. AI is powerful but build with caution. The current cost of AI tools is heavily subsidized. Companies building in-house agents need to factor in maintenance, security risk, terms-of-service liability, and future cost increases.
5. The best software solves real pain. Blanket was built from the frustrations Lior experienced firsthand managing thousands of investor relationships and watching communication and data gaps erode trust.

#GettingToHellYes #GTHY #PropertyManagement #SingleFamilyRental #SFR #RealEstateTech #PropTech #LiorAbramovich #Blanket #BlanketHomes #AssetManagement #ClientRetention #OwnerRetention #PropertyManagerLife #RealEstateInvesting #PassiveIncome #RichDadPoorDad #BuildToRent #BTR #AgenticAI #AIinRealEstate #PropertyManagementSoftware #RealEstatePodcast #PropTechInnovation #MomAndPopInvestors #InvestorRelations #RealEstateEntrepreneur #Vendoroo #RecurringRevenue #PortfolioManagement #FinancialFreedom #RealEstateMindset #IsraeliNavy #StartupFounder #RealEstateLeadership #LinkedInLive #PodcastEpisode

Getting to Hell Yes! Live with Stacey Salyer

Hosted by Guillermo | Sponsored by Vendoroo.ai

What if instead of grinding door by door, you could grow your property management company overnight through acquisition? Stacey Salyer did exactly that. A single mom of three, she went from 200 doors to 500+ in one deal, with little money down and seller financing. Now she teaches other property managers how to do the same.

Stacey is creating an entirely new category: teaching operators how to become acquirers, not just tactically, but from an identity level.

In this episode:

• Why growing door by door is the hard way and what most PMs don't know is possible
• The mindset shift from operator to acquirer (and why it starts with believing, not budgeting)
• How Stacey bought a 370-door company at the start of COVID with almost nothing down
• Why acquisitions aren't just for the big guys like Pure and Evernest
• Do you have a job or an asset? The question that stops PMs in their tracks
• What makes a company worth buying and worth selling
• Why being needed in the day-to-day might be your biggest liability

Best line of the episode: "One day you just wake up and decide. You take on the identity of an acquirer and that changes everything."

Enjoyed this episode? Like, follow, and subscribe on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, it helps more property managers find the show. This episode is brought to you by Vendoroo.ai — agentic maintenance solutions for property management. Works inside your existing PMS. No switching required.

#GTHY #GettingToHellYes #PropertyManagement #PMIndustry #Acquisitions #MergersAndAcquisitions #OperatorToAcquirer #Entrepreneurship #FounderMindset #BusinessGrowth #RealEstate #PropertyManagementGrowth #SmallBusinessOwner #WomenInBusiness #MindsetMatters #10XEasierThan2X #Vendoroo #ScaleUp #BusinessStrategy #RealEstateInvesting

Getting to Hell Yes! Live with Patrick Thompson from Clarify.ai

Hosted by Guillermo | Sponsored by Vendoroo.ai

What's the difference between an AI-native app and just bolting AI onto something old? Patrick Thompson, co-founder and CEO of Clarify.ai, draws a hard line and it'll change how you look at every tool in your stack.

Patrick has 16 years in tech, a previous exit to Amplitude, and $25.5M raised building what he calls an autonomous CRM, one that does the work for you instead of creating more admin.

In this episode:

• Why native AI and "AI-enhanced" legacy tools are not the same thing
• How Clarify's AI agent Rep automates the soul-sucking parts of sales
• The caveman vs. homo sapien rule Patrick uses to build features
• Who the real Hell Yes buyer for Clarify is, and how to meet them where they are
• Why your CRM should get smarter the more you use it
• The one career move Patrick swears by after 16 years in tech

Best line of the episode: "Anytime you have to click a button, you're a caveman. Anytime AI is doing it, you're a homo sapien."

Enjoyed this episode? Like, follow, and subscribe on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, it helps more founders find the show. This episode is brought to you by Vendoroo.ai — agentic maintenance solutions for property management.

#GTHY #GoToHellYeah #AINative #CRM #SalesAutomation #Entrepreneurship #Clarify #AgenticAI #SaaS #FutureOfWork #StartupLife #FounderMindset #Vendoroo

What if your sales team's performance problem isn't a people problem at all?

Carrie Tuttle, founder of Team Mojo and sales leadership coach with eight years of experience working with technical founders and B2B sales organizations joins Guillermo Salazar on Getting to Hell Yes to challenge one of the most persistent myths in sales management: that when a team isn't performing, the answer is better reps.

It rarely is. It's almost always a better system.

Carrie knows this from the inside. Thrown into sales leadership at twenty-seven with minimal training, she built her career across marketing, market research, and pure B2B sales before transitioning into coaching driven by the conviction that most organizations are measuring the wrong things, holding the wrong people accountable, and losing good salespeople to cultures that treat humans like machines.

In this episode, Guillermo and Carrie dig into:

— The technical founder trapped in the weeds: what they're actually struggling with, why the sales function goes soft, and what a structured intervention actually looks like from day one

— Accountability redefined: why it starts at the leadership level with clear expectations, not at the rep level with outcome measurements and what happens when leaders model the behaviours they say they want

— The 4x exit multiple story: nine sellers, two hitting target, a coaching engagement that got seven of them over target within months, and a twenty percent revenue lift that changed the valuation conversation entirely

— Why better sales conversations upstream produce calmer, more successful operations downstream and why almost nobody measures this connection even though everybody feels it

— The quarter as a forcing function: how ninety-day cycles create the reflection, recalibration, and celebration rhythm that accelerates seller development faster than any training program

— Values alignment as a client selection filter: how Carrie identifies the engagements she can genuinely serve versus the ones that look great on paper and compromise everything in practice

— CRM as a database of experience, not just a pipeline tracker and how building that database over time produces the pattern recognition that makes every subsequent sales conversation more calibrated

— The objection she hears most: "We can do it ourselves." And what she says back.

— Her advice to her younger self: slow down, ask first, then pause. "The pause is magical."

Whether you're a founder who needs to build a sales function, a sales leader wondering why accountability conversations never stick, or a seller trying to understand why the numbers feel hollow even when they're good — this conversation is for you.

#GTHY #GettingToHellYes #IrisCX #Vendoroo #SalesLeadership #SalesCoaching #TeamMojo #B2BSales #AccountabilityInSales #SalesPerformance #LeadershipDevelopment #TechnicalFounders #SalesCulture #CoachingAndMentoring #PropertyManagement #PropTech #MultifamilyHousing #Proptech2025 #GrowthMindset #RevenueGrowth #SalesEnablement #B2BMarketing #EntrepreneurMindset #OperationalExcellence #PeopleFirst

What does an electrical engineer, 750 rental doors, a newsletter empire, and an exclusive property management community have in common? Peter Lohmann.

In this episode of Getting to Hell Yes, host sits down with Peter Lohmann, founder of RL Property Management in Columbus, Ohio and creator of Crane, the invite-only professional community that's become one of the most talked-about developments in the property management industry. Peter's journey from control systems engineer to one of the most respected voices in property management is as methodical as it is inspiring and every step of it was by design.

This conversation goes deep on the strategy behind Peter's content flywheel: the newsletter, the podcast, the LinkedIn presence, and how years of "compounding in the dark" eventually unlocked inbound demand that now fills Crane cohorts and drives thousands of newsletter subscribers. But it's not just a content story, it's a masterclass in patience, intentionality, and building businesses that serve two completely different audiences at the same time.

If you've ever wondered whether writing your ideas down, staying consistent, and trusting the long game actually works, Peter is living proof.

💡 For property managers, operators, and entrepreneurs who are in the "middle slog" and wondering if it's all worth it, this one's for you.

🎙️ Topics covered:

• From electrical engineer to property management founder, the unconventional origin story
• Building RL Property Management from zero doors to 750 - slow, steady, and sustainable
• How the newsletter started, why it worked, and what "compounding" really means
• Why the property management audience and the newsletter audience don't overlap and why that's fine
• The intentional architecture behind Crane, an exclusive cohort-based community for serious PM operators
• Selling sponsorships, building community, and monetizing content without selling out
• The "middle slog" years, why the hardest stretch only looks like the middle in hindsight
• Giving yourself grace: the leadership lesson Peter wishes he'd learned sooner

#IrisCX #GTHY #PropertyManagement #ContentMarketing #PropertyManagerLife #RealEstatePodcast #PropTech #Entrepreneurship #CommunityBuilding #NewsletterMarketing #CompoundGrowth #RealEstateInvesting #SingleFamilyRental #SmallMultifamily #PMBusiness #NARPMember #BusinessGrowth #OperatorMindset #Crane #TheLongGame

From leasing agent to CIO, what does it take to climb every rung of the multifamily ladder?

In this episode of Getting to Hell Yes, host sits down with Jess Tierney, CIO of Verifast, for one of the most wide-ranging, eye-opening conversations the show has ever had. Jess didn't just work in multifamily, she lived it across 14 markets, every asset type, and every operational pain point imaginable. From lease-ups to renovations to fraud prevention, she's seen it all.

But this isn't just a career story. It's a masterclass in what happens when an operator's mind meets a technology leader's role. In under two years at Verifast, Jess went from Director of Integrations to VP of Product to CIO and she's brought that same relentless "touch everything, question everything" energy to tackling one of multifamily's fastest-escalating challenges: fraud.

With fraud detection becoming an arms race between operators and bad actors, Jess unpacks how Verifast is using biometric identity verification to fight back and why the answer to smarter leasing starts with cleaner data, better integrations, and getting out of the "that's just how we do it" mindset.

💡 Whether you're in operations, tech, or leadership if you're trying to close gaps, kill manual processes, and future-proof your portfolio, this conversation is essential listening.

🎙️ Topics covered:

• Jess's journey: leasing agent → regional → Chadwell Supply → CIO at Verifast
• The fraud escalation battle — why it's only getting harder
• Biometric identity verification and the future of leasing
• Tool adoption: going from 9% to 50% at Chadwell Supply
• Managing up: how to sell ideas, budget & capital internally
• The black box of AI — what operators actually need to know
• The balance sheet gap between renovations, vendors & banks
• "Touch everything, question everything" career advice from 20+ years in the trenches

#IrisCX #GTHY #MultifamilyRealEstate #FraudPrevention #PropTech #BiometricTechnology #PropertyManagement #ApartmentLeasing #AIinRealEstate #RealEstateTech #MultifamilyInvesting #Verifast #IdentityVerification #DataIntegration #OperatorMindset #WomenInTech #WomenInRealEstate #PropertyManagerLife #RealEstatePodcast #TechAdoption #FutureOfLeasing

What happens when a 11,000-unit operator sells to Greystar and doubles down on PropTech?

In this episode of Getting to Hell Yes, host sits down with Dave Marcinkowski, co-founder of Madeira Residential and founder of Quext Smart Apartment Solutions, for a high-energy conversation about the future of multifamily operations, technology adoption, and what it really means to let go of something you built.

Dave's journey from bookkeeper to co-founder is remarkable on its own but what's even more compelling is what happened after he sold Madeira's management company to Greystar. Freed from day-to-day operations, Dave is now all-in on the tech revolution reshaping multifamily and he's got a front-row seat, a sandbox of 11,000 units, and zero patience for legacy systems that don't play nice with each other.

This episode is a masterclass in operator-to-owner evolution, the PropTech buy cycle, and why the next wave of innovation won't come from the top down, it'll come from the maintenance tech with a better idea.

💡 If you're an operator, asset manager, or PropTech founder trying to crack the multifamily market, Dave's perspective is the inside lane you've been looking for.

🎙️ Topics covered:

• Selling to Greystar: what prompted the decision & what came next
• Why the "data moat" is dead and free data flow is the future
• Smart apartments, managed Wi-Fi, and owning a retail electric provider
• How AI is being built from the grassroots up not the boardroom down
• Why operators can't get their ideas funded (and how to fix it)
• "Growth occurs in the hard spaces" advice from 20+ years in the trenches

#IrisCX #GTHY #MultifamilyRealEstate #PropTech #SmartApartments #ApartmentOperations #AIinRealEstate #PropertyManagement #RealEstateTech #AssetManagement #MultifamilyInvesting #Quext #MadeiraResidential #PropertyManagerLife #RealEstatePodcast #FutureOfWork #OperatorMindset #TechAdoption #RealEstateInnovation #Entrepreneurship