When I heard that Avi Schron was spearheading AIDapt, the upcoming AI conference, I was intrigued by what motivated him to get involved. His reasoning will likely surprise you as well.
While Avi is now sufficiently tech-savvy to build computers by hand, he started at the bottom. After several years in kollel, he began managing a single building for Cammeby’s / JCM Living, founded by his father, the well-known businessman, askan and supporter of many mosdos, Reb Ruby Schron. Today Avi and his brothers oversee the entire management side of the family business.
Reb Avi, as he should rightfully be called, also gives a daily Gemara shiur through Kinyan Hamasechta.
We spoke about property management, his unique approach to dealing with vendors, how he manages his day, and why he believes businesses need to understand that AI is far more than just a sophisticated Google search.
Enjoy!
—Nesanel
I grew up in Flatbush, the second of eight children. For elementary school, I attended Torah Temimah, which was then known as Torah Vodaas of Flatbush. I later went to Mir Yeshiva High School, then Lakewood East in Eretz Yisrael under Rav Yaakov Eliezer Schwartzman, followed by BMG in Lakewood.
“After I got married, I learned in BMG kollel for five years. At that point, an opportunity arose; my father felt it was the right time for me to enter the family business, and my rebbe, Rav Elya Brudny, recommended that I do so.
“I was somewhat entrepreneurial even as a teenager. I always had jobs—in elementary school, I was often out of class, helping the secretary fix a broken typewriter and run stencils and stuff like that; in yeshivah, I did bookbinding and took care of the candy machines for the guy who owned them; and during the summers, I worked in a camp.
“Baruch Hashem, we had a very normal upbringing. We didn’t feel we needed more than what was given to us, and we didn’t grow up in an era of asking for things. For example, before I went to Eretz Yisrael as a bachur, I was chalishing to get a new camera—a Minolta Maxxum, one of the first SLR cameras with autofocus. So I worked in camp, saved up some money, and went to the store to buy it myself. My father didn’t pay for it and wasn’t involved at all. I cherished that camera; I still have it.
“My parents taught us the importance of privacy and discretion from a young age. My father trusted us enough to share some information about his business dealings. We knew he was in real estate. I used to go to his office to play with the adding machine or the typewriter. Once, when I was a teenager, he needed some data entered into the new mainframe computer system. It was during bein hazemanim, so I was able to go in and help out.
“I was fortunate to grow up in a home where my parents were involved in many different community projects. As a result, I had the privilege of meeting many gedolei Yisrael who would often come to our house, such as Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg. Rav Moshe Feinstein was a neighbor of my grandparents, so I used to see him all the time as well.
“The first assignment I was given in my father’s business was to help manage a portfolio of properties in bankruptcy that he had purchased with a partner. They set up an office specifically for this portfolio. His partner brought in his son, and my father brought me in. I had to learn everything from scratch: what a payable is, a receivable, a debit, a credit on a ledger. It was a very valuable experience.
“Over time we added more buildings to the portfolio, so I moved from managing a single building to managing managers, then to overseeing systems, building processes and hiring the people and so on. Eventually, my brothers joined the business as well, each one taking on a distinct role.
“As our operating systems became more complex, my father became less involved with them. He knows the numbers and wants to know the answers, but he doesn’t have a computer on his desk. He does not have a smartphone either. I admire him tremendously for that. My father was and is busy doing deals and taking care of the bigger picture; he still guides our decision making.
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