We’ve got an expert in affordable apartments on the show today, Ron Lovett. Based in Halifax, he is the Founder and Chief Community Officer of VIDA. The company has rental unites in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Manitoba.

VIDA’s goal is to revolutionize affordable communities, so Ron takes us through the many ways in which his company works towards that. We hear about how tenants are involved in the day-to-day operations of buildings, as well as what Ron has done to create a strong culture at VIDA.

Topics covered include:

• An early real estate investment that Ron made with comedian Shaun Majumder.
  
• Why Ron decided to stick to “working class” rentals.
  
• What the revolutionizing of affordable communities involves.
  
• Why perks and rewards are incredibly important to VIDA’s customers.
  
• Creative ways that VIDA gets its customers involved in the business.
  
• What VIDA does instead of background and credit checks.
  
• The building ambassador model utilized in VIDA’s buildings.
  
• A question that Ron asks investors.
  
• Where VIDA is looking to grow, along with a deal in the US that they walked away from.
  
• VIDA’s recent name and logo change.
  
• Why investment partners must be aligned with the company’s vision.
  
• Council versus capital: which is more important?
  
• Why Ron thinks more opportunities have been forming in the market.
  
• The commoditization of value-add in the US.
  
• About Ron’s extensive travel history and the first company he started.
  
• The very unique aspects of VIDA’s company culture.
  

More about our guest….

Ron Lovett is a Canadian entrepreneur, globally sought-after professional speaker and thought leader, host of an award-winning podcast and best-selling author of “Scaling Culture” and “Outrageous Empowerment”.

Ron successfully scaled his Halifax-based guard security company to over 3,500 staff across Canada and sold to the largest provider in the US at a 24X multiple. His leadership hallmarks of relentless learning, disrupting stale industries, fast action, and transforming staff into passionate stakeholders – inspired his first book “Outrageous Empowerment” in 2018.

Now, Ron focuses on his rapidly-expanding multi-family residential portfolio through VIDA Living, whose purpose is to revolutionize affordable communities across North America, VIDA currently has 300 million of assets under management and plans to reach 10,000 units by 2027.

As an expert in organizational culture, Ron hosts an award-winning podcast, released Scaling Culture Masterclass series and wrote his 2nd book “Scaling Culture: How to Build and Sustain a Resilient, High-Performing Organization”. He also helps clients solve people and culture challenges directly through his other company Connolly Owens.

Over the years Ron has been recognized with many awards for the success of Source Security & Investigations and his leadership within the region, including: BDC Young Entrepreneur Award, (x5) Atlantic Business Magazine’s Top 50 CEO Award, Junior Chamber International Outstanding Young Person Award and the Remy Martin Bold Five under 35.

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