AppWork's Sean Landsberg on Building User-Centric Technology for Maintenance Teams

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

25 Feb 2025

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Sean Landsberg’s journey from property management executive to PropTech founder illustrates the power of solving real operational challenges. As the CEO of AppWork, Landsberg has evolved what began as an internal solution for a mid-sized property management company into a rapidly growing maintenance operations platform serving some of the largest property management companies in the world.

Landsberg’s story begins in traditional property management, where he spent a decade running operations for a nationwide property management company. Under his leadership, the company grew from managing 1,000 units to over 12,000 units across 15 states, primarily in hot markets throughout the Sunbelt region. It was during this period that the seeds of AppWork were planted, though not intentionally.

“We weren’t in the idea to create our own technology, to create our own platform,” Landsberg explains. “What we did do is hire a few engineers, and the goal was really simple: just build a platform that can solve the pain points that weren’t being solved by the existing technology we were using.”

What started as an attempt to create internal efficiency tools led to an unexpected discovery. After five years of development, the team realized their collection of solutions wasn’t the hodgepodge they expected. Instead, they had organically built a comprehensive maintenance operations platform addressing everything from work orders and unit turns to asset preservation and workforce management.

By 2021, when the team considered replacing their internal system with an existing maintenance solution, they found the market surprisingly barren. Despite the PropTech boom, maintenance technology remained an underserved segment. This realization led to the decision to bring their product to market, though Landsberg admits their initial approach was charmingly naive. “One of our investors once asked me, ‘So what was your go-to-market strategy?’ I don’t know. Like, what do you mean? We said ‘we’ll bring the product to market,’ and that was that.”

What sets AppWork apart is its origin as a user-focused rather than sales-focused platform. While most startups build solutions aimed at decision-makers, AppWork was built for the end users who would interact with it daily. This approach has led to unique features like their gamification system, which has fundamentally changed how maintenance teams engage with their work.

The success of this approach wasn’t always a given. When AppWork first developed their badge system – which allows companies to set milestones for their maintenance teams and automatically track progress – even their own head of maintenance was skeptical. “You’re completely off base if you think any of my team is going to care about this,” he told Landsberg. “These badges aren’t going to mean anything to them.”

Just weeks after launching the feature, that same maintenance head called Landsberg back with a different story. He had arrived late to a training session only to find his entire team jumping and screaming, comparing their progress on earning different badges. “I don’t know what’s wrong with my people,” he admitted, “but I was so freaking wrong.”

The impact of these engagement features continues to surprise even seasoned property management veterans. In one instance, a maintenance supervisor called their regional manager at 7 PM – a time usually reserved for emergencies – not to report a crisis, but to request being referred to as “the guru” after earning a prestigious badge in the system. “We have what we call the AppWork obsession plan,” Landsberg explains. “Not only does a client need to use the product on an end-user level, but we want every single person that touches our product to be absolutely obsessed with us.”

This dedication to the end-user experience sometimes leads to unexpected priorities. Landsberg notes that when receiving feedback from both leadership teams and maintenance technicians, they often prioritize the technicians’ suggestions. “Maintenance has forever been that part of our industry that no one can figure out,” he reflects. “It’s very hard to keep them excited, motivated and engaged, and that’s what our product does.”

Looking ahead, AppWork is expanding its capabilities beyond maintenance management. The company is developing AI models to help troubleshoot and triage basic work orders before dispatching technicians. They’re also launching a free maintenance education platform to address the industry’s aging workforce challenge, partnering with dozens of educators to create content covering both technical and soft skills.

With maintenance technology adoption rates in multifamily housing remaining notably low, AppWork’s practical, user-focused approach offers a compelling solution for an industry ready for change. Their deep understanding of day-to-day operational challenges, combined with their commitment to user experience, positions them to make a lasting impact on property maintenance operations.