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About

Kerry William Kirby is an American entrepreneur, software designer, philanthropist, and founder of 365 Connect. Kirby holds an array of highly acclaimed awards, including the Louisiana Governor’s Technology Award, Multifamily Innovation Bootstrapper Award, and Titan Entrepreneur Award, and has been named to the Silicon Bayou 100 List of most influential entrepreneurs for nine years running.

Business Career

Kerry William Kirby founded the technology firm 365 Connect in 2003 to better assist property managers and renters of multifamily housing communities. 365 Connect uses cloud architecture with flexible infrastructure to assist customers with automated marketing, leasing, and resident engagement. Kirby was placed on Silicon Bayou’s 100 lists of most influential entrepreneurs for his work in the technology industry and 365 Connect. In 2008, Kirby launched a podcast with property management expert Ernest F. Oriente.

Kerry William Kirby’s podcast has won multiple awards, including a gold W3 Award in 2020. In 2017, Kirby purchased the largest rental housing search engine dedicated to apartments near universities, uCribs, from a London-based investment group. Kirby redesigned the platform’s user interface, winning an array of global technology-related awards in the process. In 2018, Kirby launched an integration with Uber which created one-click ride reservations directly from an apartment community’s website. In 2019, Kirby launched the multifamily housing industry’s first WCAG-certified platform to allow for people with disabilities to access a full suite of services to find, apply, and reside in rental housing. In 2020 Kirby launched an AI-powered live stream tour bot called Digi.Lease. The bot gathers leads, schedules tours, and live streams videos between property managers and prospective renters.

Philanthropy

Kerry William Kirby and his wife Melinda are highly recognized fixtures in the philanthropic community and were honored with a global Communitas Award for their dedication to humanitarian, educational, healthcare, and equality programs. They are longtime supporters of the National Kidney Foundation in Louisiana, Electric Girls, a non-profit STEM program for girls aged 5 – 18, ChildHelp, a national non-profit dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse, and STARC of Louisiana, a non-profit organization centered on providing programs for individuals with disabilities. Through their Kerry & Melinda Kirby Charitable Fund, they provide resources that accelerate progress by championing causes that give a voice to those that are often not heard.