Kerry W. Kirby

Kerry William Kirby is an American entrepreneur, technology innovator, software designer, global speaker, and philanthropist. He is the founder of 365 Connect, an award-winning technology company that provides automated marketing, digital leasing, and resident service software platforms for the multifamily housing industry.
Early life
Kirby was born in New Orleans to Virginia and Kenneth Kirby. His father was a Louisiana State Police officer and his mother was an accountant. In 2001 Kirby graduated from Tulane University majoring in business management. Kirby met Melinda McLain in 2003 and were married in 2010.
Career
Kirby started 365 Connect in 2003 as a technology firm to better assist multifamily housing. 365 Connect uses cloud architecture with flexible infrastructure to assist customers with digital marketing, leasing and resident services. Kirby was placed on Silicon Bayou's 100 list of most influential entrepreneurs for his work in the technology industry and 365 Connect. In 2012 Kirby accepted the Governor’s 2012 Technology Award for 365 Connect's technology platform called Locate, Lease and Live. In August 2020, 365 Connect won two NYX Marcom Awards from the International Awards Associate for its technology platform. Prior to founding 365 Connect, Kirby worked in the multifamily housing industry developing communities across the southeastern United States. It was through his work as a developer that he saw the need to provide technology services to properties.
Kirby has been a guest lecturer, featured speaker, and panelist at numerous universities, conferences, and events. He has been featured on the BBC Digital Planet program, NPR News, and various media outlets, and has written the forward to a nationally published book on real estate and technology. Kirby is often quoted as an expert in technology. He built the first portal for residents living in affordable housing that was recognized by a government housing agency in 2004. In 2007 Kirby launched a focused media website, MultifamilyBiz. The site has emerged over the years as the largest media resource in the multifamily housing industry, syndicating news to an array of media sites, such as Google News, and gathering roughly 1.5 million visitors per month.
In 2008, Kirby launched a podcast with property management expert Ernest F. Oriente. Kirby's podcast won 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. It is also programmed to the property’s address and automatically maps the route using location based technology.
In 2019, Kirby launched the multifamily housing industry’s first ADA certified platform to allow for people with disabilities to access a full suite of services to find, apply, and live in rental housing. He cites San Francisco architect Chris Downey and disability rights advocate Haben Girma as influences for this initiative. He went on to publish an extensive research study on this subject, which featured Downey and Girma, whom are both advocates for digital accessibility. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kirby and several engineers designed a chatbot called Digi.Lease to book and broadcast livestream tours of apartments.
Philanthropy
Kirby and his wife Melinda are fixtures in the New Orleans technology community where they often contribute to many non-profit initiatives. They are longtime supporters of the National Kidney Foundation of Louisiana, ChildHelp and STARC of Louisiana.
In 2019 Kirby and his wife Melinda were installed to serve on the Board of Advisors of the Multifamily Women’s Summit, an event that allows women to strengthen their expertise, influence, and professional network in the multifamily housing industry. Kirby is also on the Board of Advisors of Rainbow, a national nonprofit organization that provides service-enriched housing programs for affordable housing communities across the country. Rainbow has a partnership with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, where one of Rainbow’s served communities in Houston, which houses the Paggi Resource Center, was officially designated an EnVision Center by HUD.
In the wake of Covid-19, Kirby stepped up to help our most vulnerable population. In addition to increasing their monetary donations to charitable organizations, they donated an array computer equipment to STARC of Louisiana to assist their staff in working remote. STARC, founded in 1972, provides services, training, advocacy, resources and community connections for individuals with disabilities.
Community projects
In 2014 Kirby help put on a global event known as Geeklist #Hack4Good, a series focused solely on uniting the world's greatest expert engineers, designers, product builders, and entrepreneurs to help make the world a better place by developing applications for humanity. In that year he also funded Teen Tech Day, which focuses on exposing youth in the New Orleans area to emerging technologies through a day of programs and workshops.
Kirby was also the founding sponsor of New Orleans Women in Technology, where they helped launch Bring Your Daughter to Hack Day in 2014. The program centered around a one-day workshop that paired parents and their children to work together on projects, such as creating websites, animated short stories, and games. The event was so successful it had to move to the University of New Orleans campus in 2015 when Kirby secured GE to co-sponsor with them.
In 2015 Kirby sponsored a data initiative project utilizing open source data to support innovation between the citizens of New Orleans and the New Orleans Police Department. New Orleans was one of 21 communities participating in the project, which was born from an executive order by President Obama to create transparency in law enforcement.
In 2016 and 2017 Kirby served as a judge and funding sponsor for the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission Entrepreneur Challenge (JEDCO), a program to identify, engage with, and assist up-and-coming innovators. The winning firm in the annual pitch competition receives a $50,000 prize. The program is part of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW), an event that celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit of New Orleans, showcasing emerging trends and innovations, and strengthening ties to the global business community.
In 2018 Kirby and his wife Melinda launched scholarship grants for Electric Girls STEM educational programs. The grants will ensure all girls have the opportunity to become leaders in the technology field, regardless of their family being able to afford furthering their education.

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