Matthew Whitaker, CEO of Evernest, shares the driving vision behind his rapidly growing property management company. He discusses setting ambitious goals, like managing 250,000 homes by 2030, and how a strong company culture fuels scalability. Matthew reveals innovative strategies such as gamifying staff incentives and refining acquisition tactics. He emphasizes the importance of clear communication and aligning individual contributions to collective ambitions, making leadership development a priority for lasting success.
45:27
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Vision Enables Better Decisions
A clear, shared vision allows every team member to make better decisions autonomously.
Matthew Whitaker emphasizes decentralizing decision-making as the organization grows past 700 people.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Origin Story of Evernest
Matthew Whitaker started property management as a side business to keep his real estate deals afloat during the Great Financial Crisis.
Initially, managing homes was just a support function to sell properties to investors rather than a primary business goal.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Set Big 10-Year Vision
Set a 10-year vision to increase the likelihood of success versus short-term goals.
Longer-term visions help navigate market volatility by focusing on consistent progress toward a bigger target.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
building a business when there are no easy answers
Ben Horowitz
In this book, Ben Horowitz shares his personal and often humbling experiences in the tech industry to offer essential advice and practical wisdom. He addresses various hard decisions and challenges that business leaders face, such as firing friends, managing company culture, handling layoffs, and making tough strategic decisions. Horowitz emphasizes the importance of honesty, resilience, and adaptability in leadership, drawing from his experiences with companies like Loudcloud and Andreessen Horowitz.
Shoe Dog
Phil Knight
Shoe Dog is a memoir that chronicles the journey of Phil Knight as he builds Nike from its humble beginnings as Blue Ribbon Sports. The book is a personal and detailed account of Knight's experiences, from his early days selling Japanese running shoes out of the trunk of his car to the global brand Nike is today. It highlights his relentless work ethic, the challenges he faced, and the key relationships with his partners and employees that were crucial to the company's success. The memoir also touches on Knight's personal life, including his family and the emotional struggles he encountered along the way[1][3][4].
Traction
Get a Grip on Your Business
Gino Wickman
In Traction, Gino Wickman provides a systematic approach to achieving business success through the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). The book focuses on six key components: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction. It helps business leaders clarify their vision, align their leadership team, solve common business problems, and foster healthy communication and discipline within the organization. The EOS system is designed to help businesses overcome frustrations such as lack of control, people issues, insufficient profit, hitting the ceiling, and feeling stuck. The book offers practical tools, real-world examples, and actionable strategies to drive sustainable growth and improve business operations.
Good to Great
Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't
Jim Collins
In 'Good to Great,' Jim Collins and his research team investigate why some companies achieve long-term greatness while others do not. The book identifies key concepts such as Level 5 Leadership, the Hedgehog Concept, a Culture of Discipline, and the Flywheel Effect. These principles are derived from a comprehensive study comparing companies that made the leap to greatness with those that did not. The research highlights that greatness is not primarily a function of circumstance but rather a result of conscious choice and discipline. The book provides practical insights and case studies to help businesses and leaders understand and apply these principles to achieve sustained greatness.
June 4 2025
In this episode, host Pete Neubig sits down with Matthew Whitaker, CEO of Evernest, to explore the driving forces behind one of the fastest-growing property management companies in the U.S. Matthew shares how casting a long-term vision, like Evernest’s ambitious goal to manage 250,000 homes by 2030, guides every business decision. He discusses how EOS (Traction), hiring for culture, and investing in leadership development have shaped their path to scale. From gamifying staff incentives to refining their acquisition strategy, Matthew offers real-world insights for founders looking to build a company that lasts.