Leadership Team

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Derek Merrill

CEO

Derek Merrill is the CEO and Founder of Blox, reinventing the property operating model supported by real estate technology venture investors, including Navitas Capital, Fika Ventures, and TenOneTen Ventures. Previously, he founded LeaseLock, an insurance tech revolutionizing rental deposits, achieving over $10 billion in insured leases across 500,000 multifamily units. Derek has also been a seed investor in property tech companies like Zendoor and Doorvest. His career includes roles in product management at ZipRecruiter (NYSE: ZIP) and co-founding ventures such as MoVoxx, later acquired by Motricity, and Infreeda, acquired by AT&T Interactive.

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Aaron Geisler

CTO

Aaron Geisler is a startup focused engineering leader, currently serving as Co-founder and CTO at Blox. He was previously the CTO at LeaseLock, where he scaled the software platform on all major PMS software across +200 property management companies. Aaron also held a role as a Software Engineer at Meta, contributing to pioneering software within their Oculus VR group. Earlier, he led game engine development at Scopely, acquired by Savvy Games for $4.9 billion. He studied computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and lives in Austin Texas.

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Taylor Ballenger

VP Product

Taylor Ballenger is a product leader known for driving tech innovation in both startups and large tech companies. Currently VP of Product at Blox, he has deep experience in SaaS, fintech, and e-commerce. He has led product teams at major companies like Honey (acquired by PayPal for $4 billion) and Intuit, bringing tech products from concept to millions of users. Taylor has also served as Entrepreneur in Residence at TenOneTen Ventures, helping startups scale and succeed in competitive markets.

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David Poretz

Multifamily Operations

David Poretz is a seasoned real estate executive with extensive experience in asset management, property management, and prop tech innovation. In his recent role as Vice President at Olive Tree Holdings, David led the asset management team overseeing the financial performance of over 16,000 units of workforce and affordable housing across nine states, with a total portfolio value exceeding $2 billion. He directed key groups including property management, construction, and revenue management, optimizing the performance of Olive Tree's investments.