SAN DIEGO—More than 2500 were in attendance at Monday's general session last week at MBA's CREF/Multifamily Housing Convention and Expo 2018. Titled “An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future,” the panel focused on topics from rental affordable, and the continuum of housing, and other ways to deal with affordable lending and access to housing to difference ways to recruit younger millennials. Speaker David Stevens, president and CEO of MBA, talked about how this is an “awesome time to be involved in this institution. One thing is clear, when you don't need us, you don't need us, but when you need us, we need you.”
In looking at the vision of MBA's future, Stevens said that “one voice is how you kick ass in Washington, DC. It is how you get legislation changed.” How long will the run last? “We will look at things like M&A activity and GSE Reform” he said, in talking about examples of things MVA will be working on going forward.
Up next was speaker Steve Case, chairman and CEO of Revolution LLC, who also co-founded America Online. Case's discussion focused on partnering with visionary entrepreneurs to build significant and lasting businesses. “Revolution invests and builds companies which leverage technology to disrupt existing markets.”
When discussing AOL, he said that the idea that the world would be a better place if connected was something he truly believed in, but he said he could never have imagined how it would break through. “A lot of things that we thought would happen, have since happened, but the key takeaway is that it isn't so much about having the idea, it is about how you make it happen.” An important lesson is to embrace the future and lean into the future, he explained.
Case told attendees that they should rethink their relationships with customers, competitors and governments alike, and offered a roadmap for navigating in the new paradigm.
“We started as attackers. We had this idea and were going to think of a way to build something. As we got larger from a dozen people to thousands of people, we had a different mindset. Instead of what might go right, we focused on what might go wrong. As companies get scale, you have to figure out how to strike the right balance.”
Not losing sight and having a sense of where things are going and putting more emphasis on where things are going, is key, Case added. “Partnership, policy and perseverance is critical to a successful business.”
To read more coverage from the MBA event, check out the stories below.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
