Recently, Lone Wolf Founder Lorne Wallace stepped up to the role of Executive Chairman of the real estate software firm and appointed Patrick Arkeveld to step in as Chief Executive Officer. The transition came at a key time in the evolution of Lone Wolf. The firm has been on an aggressive path of launching new products and acquiring real estate technology companies warranting an additional capital investment by partner firm Vista Equity Partners. WAV Group founder, Victor Lund connected with Mr. Arkeveld to create this article for the RE Technology Follow the Leader Series.
Everyone who knows Lone Wolf founder Lorne Wallace understands that his core passion in business comes from his love of the real estate industry coupled with a deep understanding of accounting and operational best practices within a real estate brokerage. Lone Wolf grew from 50 employees to more than 300, causing the founder to seek ways to strengthen Lone Wolf’s bench by engaging specific operational expertise from large software companies. “There are a lot of great software products in the market today. But there is a difference between having a great product and running a great software business. That is why I brought on Patrick Arkeveld,” says Lorne Wallace.
Patrick Arkeveld joins Lone Wolf from Constellation Software, the global software conglomeration that operates hundreds of software products across multiple industries. Constellation trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange at a $10 Billion valuation (TSE:CSU). While at Constellation Software, Mr. Arkeveld worked in a wide variety of industries ranging from product groups 
with $2 Million in sales to groups with in excess of $100 Million in sales. In many ways, Constellation is a huge version of Lone Wolf. Coupled with onboarding Arkeveld, Wallace has engaged the operational excellence of the consulting group within Vista Equity Partners. With Vista’s guidance coupled with Arkeveld’s executional expertise, Wallace believes that his firm is poised for exceptional growth while continuing to enhance their product development and all the while focusing on customer satisfaction. Patrick’s LinkedIn profile is here.
In speaking with Arkeveld, we learned instantly that the biggest surprise in joining Lone Wolf had little to do with their products, balance sheet, or P&L. It had everything to do with the culture of the staff and the relationship that the company has fostered with its customers. “Real Estate is a special industry when it comes to the relationships with customers,” said Arkeveld. He explained that the industry works in an unusual way whereby brokers compete on four corners of an intersection yet are pre-disposed to share opportunities and cooperate in mutually beneficial ways. Lone Wolf has embraced that as a company and similarly collaborates with other software companies serving the industry.
In his first year at Lone Wolf, Arkeveld has been internally focused. He is setting his executive team, promoting from within and recruiting in some areas. Having Wallace as his mentor has allowed him to really get his arms around the company, its products and the industry. Wallace has continued as the main contact for industry relations and M&A activity. Wallace is managing “out” where Arkeveld is managing “in.” 2017 will see a gradual shift in this strategy as Arkeveld becomes more integrated into industry events and customer relationship management.
BrokerWOLF accounting suite continues to be Lone Wolf’s top selling product reaching over 10,000 brokerage offices. But the fastest growing product at the company is the recently launched GlobalWOLF, their website platform that incorporates broker websites, agent websites, lead management, CRM, etc. In addition Lone Wolf is actively working to connect the industry. With a dedicated partner services department, Lone Wolf integrates with more than 40 industry software solutions. Clients participating in these programs experience the benefits of Lone Wolf’s Complete Enterprise Solution. Connecting the industry and providing industry leading products and services remain the cornerstone of future growth at Lone Wolf.
If you are planning on attending Inman Connect in San Francisco, we urge you to reach out to Lone Wolf and schedule some time to catch up with all of the innovations they are bringing to real estate. For a meeting, reach out to Lisa Harrison lharrison@lwolf.com
