"If We Crack Mexico, It's a Game-Changer." Lifull Connect MD, Mike Kenner

Says Mike Kenner, Managing Director at Lifull Connect, "If you stripped away all the portals today, they wouldn't come back the same.”

In a 40-minute interview covering his takeover of Lifull to his aggressive acquisition plans in Mexico, Kenner pulled no punches. In a candid and often outspoken conversation backstage at the recent PropTech & Portal Watch conference in Bangkok, Kenner outlined his vision for the company’s future, positioning it as a high-growth, transaction-focused challenger in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and beyond.

Restructuring Lifull Connect and Return to Profitability

How does Kenner see the company? And what did he do when he took over the business he had sorely wanted for years?

“We don’t look at this as a global company anymore. It’s three regional companies now. Southeast Asia is our top priority. We’re already at a $30 million runway with nearly a million a month in profit. By year-end, that could be $40 or $50 million. In the next two to three years, we’re aiming for $100 million.”

Kenner moved fast to make Lifull Connect leaner and more efficient. He led a major cost-cutting initiative, removing corporate overhead, unnecessary reporting, and getting rid of former management. The result? The company is now fully profitable across all assets.

“Day one, management team out. Leadership team out. Japanese out. We cut what wasn’t needed, and revenue didn’t change. Every part of the group will be profitable as of March. We will only run profitable businesses, full stop. People are scared to go through this process, but we wanted our business back. And now we have it.”

The FazWaz co-founder's confidence is backed by actions. Underpinning this growth is his transaction-first business in Thailand, FazWaz. It's a model he believes is the only viable future for property portals. “We don’t believe in classifieds anymore. They’re legacy businesses,” he said. “Consumers aren’t looking to search for property, they’re looking to buy property. If you strip away the portals, they don’t come back the same.”

Acquisitions in Mexico

Kenner isn’t just talking about organic growth—he is openly pursuing acquisitions to accelerate Lifull Connect’s transformation. “We don’t want to start from zero anymore,” he admitted. “We’ve learned from our mistakes. If we’re going into a new market, we need assets and we need founders.”

Latin America is next on the roadmap, with Mexico as the primary focus. “We’re looking at transactional businesses and synergy businesses,” Kenner explained.

"We’re already generating 300,000 to 400,000 leads per month in Mexico, and it’s ten times the lead volume of Thailand. There’s a massive opportunity here. Realistically we need a lead for the country, and then probably make a few small acquisitions inside the market to get us into a transaction. It's unlikely we'll find one company that's going to deliver everything we need from day one."

Kenner describes Latin America as the company’s biggest opportunity, and it’s clear he’s taking an aggressive approach. “We need to be in transactions within the next six months. We’re not close yet, but we will be,” he said. “If we crack Mexico, it’s a game-changer.”

He also confirmed that Lifull Connect is raising between $25 million and $100 million to support its expansion efforts. “Yes, we have cash in the business. We’re not looking to just buy a company outright and remove the founders. We want ambitious founders, who buy into what we’re doing, and who want to build something bigger than they ever could on their own."

Is he speaking to the right people in his search for a leader in Latin America? "We're meeting lots of founders who have a lot of interest in what we're doing—right here at this conference."

Outlook and Exit Plans?

Where does Kenner see the business changing in the next year? He is focused on a high-priority, imminent challenge.

"Year one, Southeast Asia is going big. The growth is happening so quickly now, so we can put it to one side and let it do its thing. In the short term, in LATAM, we need to enter the transaction. We want to enter the transaction by the second half of the year."

And in ten years? "Looking forward, I don't think we get to 10 years. As long as we grow, there'll be a lot of appetite in the market to find a new home for the business, I think we end up finding an exit before the 10-year mark."

While there are no immediate exit plans, he acknowledges that taking a part of the business public could be an option in the next few years. “We could IPO in Thailand within two years. We have the revenue, we have the profits, and the market understands what we do,” he said.

Latin America is ruled out for flotation, though, with Kenner citing Frontier Digital Ventures as a business that has struggled with a decentralized approach to intercontinental assets.

"We've seen what happened with FDV in Latin America. FDV took assets public that were geographically too spread. Ultimately they couldn't relate to these markets. The lessons are right ahead of us on going public in LATAM."

Still, an IPO isn’t the only play. “We’re open to different liquidity options—whether that’s selling to a big financial investor, merging with another company, or finding another way to unlock value,” he explained. “But we’re not in a rush. Right now, we’re focused on growth.”

Despite his confidence, Kenner isn’t making empty promises. “I don’t want to be arrogant, but I do want to be confident,” he said. “We’re going to push growth as hard as we can and see where we land.”

With a no-nonsense leadership style, a clear expansion strategy, and the backing of a profitable business, Kenner is making it clear that Lifull Connect isn’t just looking to compete—it’s looking to dominate.