Capitalizing on the Right Resources to Transform Your Business
Endorsements presented herein are made by current or former employees of Vista portfolio companies, over which Vista may have the ability to exercise discretion on employee compensation, promotion and other employment decisions.
How Zego gained the support and guidance needed to achieve more rapid growth.
Between billing, tenant contracts, maintenance requests, utilities and other day-to-day tasks, property managers have a hectic job. Collecting and processing checks from residents only adds to their duties.
In 2003, Zego was founded to create a better, more convenient way to pay and collect rent. Today, it supports over 4,500 property management companies and homeowners associations with online payment and utility expense management tools. The company’s solutions simplify property managers’ workflows, increase their net operating income and enhance the way they connect with tenants.
Dirk Wakeham joined Zego as CEO after gaining experience as an executive at other Vista companies, including Kibo Software and Cvent. From his perspective, it was refreshing that Vista put such a strong emphasis on talent, culture and people development. In particular, Wakeham has found Vista has the ability to bring in strong hires, provide training, measure satisfaction both quantitatively and qualitatively, and improve employee productivity over time.
In Vista’s partnership, Wakeham has gained value that reaches beyond capital investment. With guidance from the Value Creation Team (VCT) and the support of a professional network of executives who have dealt with similar situations, he’s developed greater confidence in moving quickly and driving business transformation. Wakeham found that the VCT understands and aligns with Zego’s vision and provides specialized skills and additional expertise to supplement its management team. In his own words, the VCT gives his team “bench depth” and helps the executive team make data-driven decisions for the business.
For added support, Wakeham reaches out to the Vista network of executives for advice in areas like talent strategy and process development. Through his experience at different Vista companies, Wakeham has built a strong trust in Vista’s approach to growth and value creation. Now, he’s focused on implementing best practices that he knows can lead to success for Zego.
Please see the “Case Studies” section of the Disclosures page for important information about these Case Studies.
In my experience, the probability of success as a vista CEO is much higher because of the network and assets they bring to the table.
Dirk Wakeham, CEO, Zego
Details
Year of Investment: 2017
Portfolio Status: Current
Headquarters: San Diego, CA
Website: gozego.com
Online payment solutions and mobile-centered resident engagement platform for property management companies and tenants.
Zego (Powered by PayLease) is a leading payments technology and resident engagement platform for the residential real estate industry that unifies critical resident touchpoints into one app. The Company’s mobile-first platform delivers portfolio-wide efficiency, higher NOI and more engaged residents by seamlessly integrating payment, billing and utility expense management capabilities with a proprietary resident engagement and communication portal. Zego also provides smart home device functionality. Zego serves 6,000 residential real estate companies and over 12 million units nationwide.
Zego was founded in 2003 and is based in San Diego, CA, with operations in Chicago, IL and Kansas City, MO.
Vista Foundation Fund III completed the acquisition of PayLease in July 2017. PayLease rebranded to Zego in February 2020.