Paul Kaplan

How did the KWPMC story begin?

I started my career in public accounting, where I met my business partner and KWPMC co-founder Robert White. When Robert and I first branched out as entrepreneurs, we were converting multi-family housing complexes into condominium associations (“condos”). We realized many high-end condos were either lacking the proper attention from large national property managers or receiving poor operational service from smaller local property managers who had limited resources. The same was true for large homeowner associations (“HOAs”). After identifying this hole in the market, Robert and I formed KWPMC to provide the highest level of property management services in the industry, based on exceptional accounting, knowledge-based maintenance, luxury hospitality, and superior customer service.

What were the early growth days like?

Over the next 15 years or so, we achieved amazing growth. The macro conditions were helpful, as the luxury condo and HOA market in Florida was growing and receptive to our business model and elevated level of service. However, the real key to our sustained growth was our people. We are in a people industry, and Robert and I were lucky to partner with great individuals who became the backbone of our management team and helped create an amazing culture throughout the entire organization. With our people as our strength, we were able to win business with many condos and HOAs that were unhappy with incumbent property management firms. In addition, we developed deep ties with some of the best real estate developers throughout Florida, consulting on condo and HOA development projects that ultimately led to longstanding property management relationships.

Why did you partner with Seidler?

Over the years, we had received hundreds of calls from potential investors and bankers. Robert and I had practically vowed never to bring on an institutional partner as we witnessed horror stories of debt-ridden balance sheets, short-term time horizons, and operating handcuffs. However, when Seidler contacted us, we immediately saw there was something different about them. Not only was the Seidler team knowledgeable about our business, but the team spoke about growth, partnership, and patiently building a stronger business together. After getting to know Seidler more, we began to feel that Seidler could bring valuable perspective and tangible help in areas that would help us continue to grow, without the negatives typically associated with a private equity partner. Furthermore, we maintained control of the business and the Board, which was important to us.

What did the partnership accomplish?

Seidler added value in many areas, but most importantly, the Seidler team embraced the culture and team we built over many years. This allowed Seidler to fit in very nicely with senior management. Understanding our DNA, Seidler built on what had made us successful and helped articulate additional growth and organizational objectives that would help us continue to expand and ultimately make our business more valuable over the long-term. For example, Seidler helped us execute our first ever acquisition of a business that provided an essential ancillary service, enabling us to deliver an even higher level of service to our clients.

Importantly, Seidler was happy to work with us “in the background,” keeping our partnership highly confidential at our request. Even though Seidler acted like a true partner to us, some of our stakeholders had a negative impression of private equity from other experiences, and we didn’t want to create the impression that anything would change about the way KWPMC operated. Seidler also helped us deepen our leadership bench, creating an opportunity for Robert and me to elevate (when the timing was right for each of us) with confidence that our company would be led by exceptional individuals who understood our culture and our customer service standards.

The Seidler team served as a valuable sounding board for us whenever we needed it and as we considered key decisions, including new contracts, acquisitions, and our leadership team. Importantly, we always believed that they had our best interest in mind. This was particularly true when we began evaluating strategic M&A opportunities. Seidler prioritized the economic and career objectives that Robert and I held and greatly assisted us in matters in which Seidler received no benefit, ultimately resulting in a partnership with an international property management firm based in Europe that shares our core values. Seidler was a valuable business partner throughout our entire partnership. We maintain a close relationship with Seidler today.