Ask an Expert: Reimagining Connectivity with Larry Furr

Meet
Larry Furr

“We don’t just hand you a platform and wish you luck. It’s the combination of technology and service that’s our secret sauce.”

At Onboard, Conservice’s bulk internet management solution, delivering seamless, connected living experiences starts with the right technology—and the right leadership behind it. 

That’s where Larry Furr comes in. As Senior Vice President of Product, Larry has been instrumental in building the technology and leading the teams behind Onboard’s success. In this conversation, he shares how the platform was built to solve one of multifamily’s most complex challenges: managing internet and technology amenities at scale.

From flexible infrastructure and seamless integrations to the launch of new features in the Onboard Customer Portal, Larry reveals how Onboard is helping real estate owners, operators, and site teams deliver better resident experiences—without the operational headaches.

You’ve spent your career in product leadership. 
WHAT MADE ONBOARD STAND OUT TO YOU?

“I love building products that solve pain points for customers, and I always enjoy releasing features that delight our customers and make them happy. And I also really love building and mentoring teams. So, product leadership really allows me to do both of those things.

I think what drew me to Onboard was that it’s a win-win-win business model. Throughout my career, I’ve noticed that companies that have a low-friction go-to-market plan are the ones that do the best and have the most success. And that’s what Onboard really has. Everyone wins. Property owners and managers win with updated prop tech and sustainable tech amenity programs for the portfolio. Site teams win because Onboard handles most of the heavy lifting, because we roll out, we manage, and we support the amenity program for them. Providers win because they’re getting a multi-year contract with guaranteed revenue, and then those savings are passed on to the resident who wins with better internet, with better rates, and with better support than they’d be getting via a retail offering.”

Let’s go back to the beginning.
WHAT WAS ONBOARD ORIGINALLY BUILT TO SOLVE—AND HOW HAS THAT CHANGED?

“The platform exists today because of the realization that rolling out a new prop tech at a property can really result in a poor experience, not just for residents but for site teams and owners as well, if not done properly. The vision for Onboard has always been to bring together industry experts and then arm them with an amenity management platform that makes bulk internet easy and successful for all parties.

As the market landscape has changed, Onboard has partnered with industry leaders to ensure that it can continue to deliver on that vision. For example, ISPs today are constantly bringing new technology to the market that provides a better experience for your property owners and residents. We want to make sure that we can support that technology. So, we’re partnering with those same providers to ensure seamless integration between their new technologies and the Onboard platform.”

There are a lot of dashboards and point solutions out there.
WHAT MAKES THE ONBOARD PLATFORM DIFFERENT?

“The platform we built for managing prop tech amenities is extremely flexible. We realized early on that you can’t take a one-size-fits-all approach when you’re designing, implementing, or launching a bulk internet program; local regulations, pre-existing contracts, provider selection, and availability are just a few examples of different factors that drive the final solution. We’ve built the Onboard platform in such a way that we can customize tech amenity programs for each property in your portfolio while providing a consistent and easy-to-use experience for your site teams and residents. The platform really handles all of the change management details behind the scenes so that your staff and residents don’t have to.”

We call Onboard a tech-enabled service.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IN PRACTICE?

“Onboard is a tech-enabled service in that we’re not just handing you a platform, wishing you luck, and then walking away. We recognize that our team of experts at Onboard are best positioned to use the technology we built on our customers’ behalf to ensure success. It’s really the combination of both industry-leading technology and best-in-class service that is our secret sauce.”

What’s happening behind the scenes?
HOW DOES THE PLATFORM SUPPORT EXPERTS AND PROGRAM SUCCESS?

“We integrate with dozens of internet and smart home providers to get precise data about what’s available at each property. We also pull lease and rent roll data from over a dozen PMS platforms.

That all feeds into our platform’s custom-built campaign tools, which drive dynamic, personalized resident communications throughout the lease lifecycle. From move-in to move-out, the right information goes to the right resident automatically. Then it resets for the next one.”

Big news: expanded Customer Portal features launch June 9.
WHAT KIND OF VISIBILITY WILL THIS GIVE OWNERS?

“This is a big milestone. We’re about to release the Onboard customer portal, which will provide real estate owners and managers with real-time insights into their bulk internet programs.

You’ll have access to financial projections, program launch status, and performance, all at your fingertips. and for each and every property in your portfolio, regardless of where they are in the process. In the past, getting this information would have required tracking it down from multiple sources, and then by the time you got it, it had already been outdated. With our new customer portal, getting accurate real-time information about the state of your bulk internet and smart home tech amenity programs will be just a mouse click away.”

From due diligence to daily management—
HOW WILL THIS VISIBILITY IMPACT OPERATIONS?

“It’s going to eliminate the guesswork.

Owners will be able to view their entire portfolio and instantly understand which properties are bulked, how they’re performing, which are in due diligence, and which aren’t yet enrolled. The portal even shows projected costs and revenue for future programs.

Because it pulls data directly from the PMS and our provider integrations, everything you see is up-to-date, actionable, and reliable.”

You’ve led this release from a product standpoint.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

“Our customers will no longer have to take our word for it when we say that we are the experts on bulk internet. We’ve always known that our people and our technology were and are the best on the market. But now our customers will be able to see that for themselves by simply logging into the customer portal and seeing the results of all the hard work that our team and our tech is doing for them.”

Looking ahead
WHAT’S NEXT FOR ONBOARD IN THE COMING YEAR?

“With the portal launch, we finally have a stage to showcase what we’ve been doing behind the scenes.

We’re investing in tools that use our massive dataset—hundreds of thousands of resident interactions via chat, text, email, and phone—to analyze resident sentiment and understand how tech amenities impact their experience. That insight will help operators make better decisions about features, messaging, and incentives.

We’re also partnering with Conservice to bring integrated billing to life. Soon, internet and tech charges will post directly to both the PMS ledger and resident bills—automating a major pain point for site teams during rollouts.”

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Savannah Doctor

Serving as a marketing specialist at Onboard powered by Conservice, Savannah crafts content that informs property owners, managers, and industry professionals of the latest MDU trends, best practices, and innovative solutions in property technology.