Updater

By Kasee Godwin

Published Mar 18, 2022

Updated Jan 18, 2024

Please say hello to our adventure-loving Director of Strategic Sales, Wade McGown! Wade joined the Updater team back in 2016 and is based in Fort Myers, Florida.  In addition to being a guru on all things prop-tech, Wade is a bonafide thrill seeker.  He has bungee jumped in the Alps, swam with sharks in the Pacific, and backpacked through Europe. He’s also your go-to tiki bar sherpa.

Q: Tell us about your experience prior to coming to Updater

A: I’ve been in the prop-tech business for many years and my journey has been blessed. It has allowed me to work for several of the well-known cornerstones of our industry, including Apartment Guide, RealPage & Entrata, prior to jumping aboard the Updater rocketship.

Q: What is your best piece of moving advice?

A: If you’re looking for a quick way to lose 10 pounds, move your family across the country yourself. Between the planning, purging, going to U-Haul to get boxes, packing, taping, walking, ascending stairs, descending stairs, stressing, donating items to get them off your list (and out of the garage), not eating, sweating, heading to U-Haul for more boxes, calling, stuffing, cramming, loading, running, fearing, going to U-Haul one more time for boxes, laughing at your daily step count, tripping, falling, bleeding, pushing, shoving, and finally leaving your old neighborhood, it’s just not fun at all. Then driving for 5 days through 8 states only to open up the moving truck and reverse this ominous list again.

My recommendations, start planning early, donate generously, and hire a moving company.

Q: What feature/ piece of tech are you most excited about at Updater?

A: Our focus is on the resident, first and foremost. It’s truly our foundation- if we don’t satisfy their needs we’ve got nothing. I’m most excited about the new mobile experience they’ll be using. The functionality and user interface are amazing.

I’m also enthusiastic about the future resident visibility we’ll be offering to the leasing teams. They’re in the trenches every day and need to know where each resident stands in their respective move-in process. Our partners have asked and we’ve listened. The new dashboard will be that tool they can look to for updates and communication. 

There’s a lot to be excited about for residents, leasing teams, and our management partners.

Q: What is your favorite thing about working at Updater? 

A: Updater is well known for its incredible work environment and we’ve made it on several best places to work lists.

I love the entire company’s laser focus on delivering THE solution known by households and apartments across the country, possibly the world in the future, as the only way to move whether it’s down the street, in the same city, or across the country. We’re creating that centerpiece.

Q: What do you see as the biggest problem facing the multifamily industry?

A: The apartment industry, for many years, has been associated with dated software; driven by accounting principles and spreadsheets. While that’s great and certainly a critical part of any business, it was time we started focusing on the residents themselves. Enter the technology boom. 

The turnaround has been amazing to see and super fun to be intricately involved. Our market is now inundated with solutions for everything which can also be daunting for operations teams and such a turnaround from where we were just 5 years ago.

Q: What are your professional superpowers?

A: I’ve learned many things along the way, but the relationships I’ve encountered through the years with customers and fellow vendors have been incredibly amazing. I don’t have a superpower, instead, I have a league of superfriends across the country that I can reach out to and vice versa. I feel very blessed for each one and don’t take them for granted. If anyone has the superpower in my household it’s my family. When I have to be gone for business meetings and trips they keep the engine going no matter what comes their way.

Kasee Godwin