The Team
Nov 2, 2022

Q&A with Alex Gignac, Summer's Head of Engineering

Meet Summer's Head of Engineering, Alex Gignac, and hear what he has to say on the important relationship between Summer's business model and technology.

How did you first hear about Summer, and what initially drew you to its business model?


I was introduced to Summer’s founders, Paul Kromidas and Woods Buckley, via a mutual connection who had been collaborating with the company. Since Summer was still in stealth at the time, public details were sparse… but that all changed once Jordan Crook’s TechCrunch article came out and I had the opportunity to further connect with Paul.

The business model really spoke to me; the idea that a property could gain passive income– without any of the hassles of maintaining it– instantly made me think of a close friend who actually sold his family cottage because it had become ‘too much work to manage’ and was taking up valuable weekend time. There was a demonstrated need for Summer’s product.

I also found Summer’s idea of a Gradual Ownership model to be fantastic. So many other facets of life allow us to try out a product or an asset before opting to keep it; why shouldn’t this concept be applied to the largest asset class for an average person? During the first conversation with Paul, I immediately could see myself becoming part of Summer– and, eventually, one of its members as well.

"So many other facets of life allow us to try out a product or an asset before opting to keep it; why shouldn’t this concept be applied to the largest asset class for an average person?"

As Head of Engineering at Summer, what are some key things you're currently working on behind the scenes?


One of the most exciting– and, at times, challenging– parts of joining a startup with lofty aspirations is that there are a lot of constantly-moving parts. Therefore, it’s imperative to stay focused on the tasks that will directly impact the customers and the business. Since joining Summer in August, I’ve been very focused on empowering both our sales & marketing teams, working closely alongside them to put the right tools in their hands.

My goal is to make sure that technology works to create a great first experience with our potential customers– be it by building new workflows, automating processes, or streamlining the way we communicate with our guests and members. As we gear up for 2023, a lot of behind-the-scenes time for each and every Summer employee is spent furthering our understanding of how– and where– technology can help scale the business. As we collectively map out our strategic vision, we remain focused on laying solid foundations to align with our goals of expansion and longevity; it’s definitely a cliché, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.

"As we gear up for 2023, a lot of behind-the-scenes time for each and every Summer employee is spent furthering our understanding of how– and where– technology can help scale the business."

You've been doing a lot of work on the backend to get the Summer mobile app up & running. What is your overall vision for the app?


Right now, the apps (both mobile + web) serve as a booking platform, on which Summer members can book stays in both their homes & any home within the Summer portfolio. For the immediate future, we plan to keep iterating and improving by adding features that users have come to expect from a booking app. This includes the ability to add extra funds to their account, additional streams of communication to our customer experience team, and more. The vision for this app is for it to serve as our members’ go-to source, where they can consult their property performance; for example, our members taking the Immediate Ownership route may view the progress of their equity or revenues on a monthly basis. We’ve already had to deal with some interesting use-cases that have popped up, such as one member having multiple Summer properties!

"We plan on leveraging technology to help ease the sales process wherever possible, and to try to personalize the experience."
How do you view the relationship between Summer's particular business model and technology?


I like to think of Summer in terms of three (3) distinct pillars with which a customer will interact throughout their journey with Summer– and, of course, technology will play a different role within each of these pillars:

1. Sales and Marketing.

People are buying a home, and will want to speak to a human. Personal touches and genuine connections are important; we don’t want a potential customer to feel like they’re being ‘handled’ by a robot, nor do we want them being hit with the same sales pitch or script as everyone else. We plan on leveraging technology to help ease the sales process wherever possible, and to try to personalize the experience. This may sound self-evident, but there’s a lot of thinking that goes into this, and using the right tools & tech to get there takes a lot of time (and, sometimes, trial-and-error).

2. Acquisitions

This will be a big growth area for both our product & tech teams in 2023! I have a lot of ideas involving how we’ll be able to help Pedro’s underwriting team gain momentum as Summer expands its reach from coast to coast (and, one day, beyond). Once we begin automating parts of the mad science they’ve got cooking up in the acquisitions lab, I have a feeling we’ll be unstoppable.

3. Property Management / Customer Experience

We want to make sure that we’re putting all the tools to set both the customer experience and operations teams up for success; whether it be streamlining communication with members and guests, improving the booking flow, or making it easier for members to leverage their property hub. These teams use a variety of technologies and platforms to do such a fantastic job, and our goal is to consistently be making it easier.

"The processes and workflows that we’re mapping out and actively executing will serve us tenfold as our momentum continues to increase at such a promising pace."

How do you view the relationship between Summer's particular business model and technology?


So many summer & weather puns come to mind, but… on a serious note, I see a bright (pun intended) future for Summer, as we continue to leverage technology to support the three pillars of the business and be the tie that binds us all together. The processes and workflows that we’re mapping out and actively executing will serve us tenfold as our momentum continues to increase at such a promising pace.

Have more questions for Alex or the team? Drop us a line anytime at hey@gosummer.com.