Larry Connor
Founder and Managing Partner, The Connor Group
I came up with a strategy and vision about how we could do real estate differently than the industry by approaching it more as an operating business versus a passive real estate investment. That's why I would hire absolutely nobody from the industry, even people in leadership, management, sales, service, everything. And that's why our model has been unique.
Summary
This week on Leadership Matters, Alan is joined by Larry Connor, founder and managing partner of The Connor Group, a real estate investment firm that owns and operates luxury apartments around the United States. Prior to founding The Connor Group, Larry founded and ran several other businesses across industries, garnering significant entrepreneurial experiences through his endeavors.
Over the course of their conversation, Alan and Larry discuss his early life and upbringing, his inspiring career journey, The Connor Group’s unique culture and structure, Larry’s philanthropic support and the many lessons in leadership he’s learned along the way.
Mentions & Resources
Guest Bio
Doctors take an oath to care for their patients. Military recruits take an oath to defend the Constitution.
Larry Connor lives as if he has taken an oath to his principles and values. This deep commitment drives his decision-making even in difficult circumstances – especially in difficult circumstances.
As the son of a Marine who fought in the Pacific in World War II, and whose mother aided soldiers with her Red Cross service half a world away in Europe, Larry makes decisions based on a sense of responsibility and self-accountability.
Larry’s urgency around decision-making and communication comes from a deep-seated sense of responsibility for the people in his life – it always comes back to people. Always.
He commits to his decisions after consulting with people who are knowledgeable and believable, and then he aggressively pursues audacious goals.
Today, having established himself as a successful real estate and technology entrepreneur and avid adventurist, Larry hustles through his day with the vigor of someone who won’t or perhaps can’t slow down, but always makes time to help others.
Early Life
The traditional school environment did not suit Larry. He lacked focus and couldn’t sit still in the classroom. His parents were told he should consider trade school. But Larry values education and has dedicated himself to life-long learning – it may just not look like the traditional classroom.
After graduating from Dayton’s Alter High School in 1968 with a 2.0 GPA, Larry attended Ohio University. It is here where Larry had a lightbulb moment and would go from being a C student to excelling academically and getting straight As.
From the first day he set foot on campus, Larry was determined and relentless in his pursuits. He would be elected Treasurer of the student government his freshman year and would go on to become the President of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. In his time at Ohio University, Larry was also one of 22 students out of 4,500 undergrads selected to the Ohio University J Club and would be named a Who’s Who of College Students twice.
Who would have guessed that a kid whose parents were told that he would not be a good fit for college would go on graduate summa cum laude from Ohio University and someday invest in a ground-breaking private school dedicated to disadvantaged children who all too often are written off before they even have the chance to prove themselves?
Education is still an integral part of everyday life for Larry. He has made a habit of seeking the most astute trainers in their fields when he wants to learn something new whether it’s flying a fighter jet or starting a private school to lift children out of generational poverty. Larry will conduct nationwide searches to find the best people in their respective fields and he will do the same for those with whom he works. Investing in people absolutely falls in line with Larry’s principles and values. It always comes back to people. Always.
Entrepreneurship
Despite graduating from Ohio University in 1972 with two degrees – English and History – Larry always knew he was destined to start and run a business. Larry’s entrepreneurial endeavors began as early as high school when he started a house painting business with his good friend, Mike McQuiston. They went door to door and networked among family and friends to get customers. What started as a scrappy, two-man effort became a full-fledged staff of high school and college students who had built their reputation so well that they had more work than they could possibly do.
Freshly armed with a college education, audacious dreams, and a relentless mindset, Larry was eager to make his mark on the business world. But where to start? The answer to this question would come in the form of advice from a friendly neighbor – “if you really want to learn about business, go sell something.” So that’s exactly what he did, taking a job selling Volkswagens at a local dealership in Dayton.
His experience selling cars eventually led to him taking a position for EF MacDonald as a travel advisor for company incentive trips, a job that would find him living in Morocco and Mexico in addition to traveling to Europe 10-12 times a year.
After gaining experience in the automobile and travel industries, Larry reverted back to his original goal of starting his own business and opened Newcom’s Tavern in Dayton’s historic Oregon District in 1977. With no prior experience in restaurant or bar management, Larry was aware of the challenge that lay before him, but he was willing to make mistakes along the way – fail, fail again, and fail better. Two years later he would sell Newcom’s Tavern earning his investors a 300% return.
In the 1980s, Larry would venture into the technology sphere starting Orlando Computer Corp., where he would put his experience and guiding principles to good use. Starting from nothing, he quickly earned a Ph.D. in mistakes and failures. But with each mistake and failure would come a worthwhile lesson. Larry would take these lessons and soon grow the company to become the second-largest re-seller of IBM microcomputers in the state of Florida.
The Connor Group
In 1991, Larry saw an opportunity in the real estate industry and founded Connor, Murphy, and Buhrman. He only had one investor. He owned nothing. He was running on borrowed time. The only thing that was his was an idea. The idea that he could bring a completely different model and mindset to this industry based on values and principles that had guided him thus far. Failure was never an option.
Larry would eventually buy out his partners, creating The Connor Group in 2003. Today, The Connor Group is a thriving real estate investment firm specializing in luxury apartment communities with over $5 billion in assets across 18 different markets in the US.
Episode Transcript
Transcript to be uploaded upon the episode’s premiere.