Gordon Smythe, General Partner

Gordon Smythe has more than 20 years of technology experience.  Prior to founding Propel Partners, Gordon was the Director of Operations at Chipshot.com, an online golf retailer; the owner of Pelnar, a computer hardware company; and the European Operations Manager for CMS Enhancements, a computer peripherals company.  He has been an angel investor since 1989 and has been advising early-stage technology companies in Silicon Valley since 1999.

Gordon's real estate investment experience spans more than 25 years including his first real estate purchase of a single family home in 1982 at the age of 18.  Since then, Gordon has focused almost exclusively on multi-unit residential properties.  He has weathered both good & bad real estate markets, which helps him make better investment decisions and to have a healthy mix of short-term & long-term approach to real estate.

Gordon has an MBA in Entrepreneurial Studies and Finance from the Marshall School of Business at USC and a BA in International Business from Cal State University, Fullerton.

Gordon lives in Palo Alto with his wife & three children and is an active supporter of affordable housing & microfinance organizations.

Kevin Heathcoat, Principal

Kevin Heathcoat is a Pricipal focusing on next generation web companies and single-family real estate properties.

Prior to Propel, Kevin was the founder and CEO of KKM Associates which specialized in high-end real estate financing throughout the U.S.  Prior to KKM Associates, Kevin was a project manager for Infinite Recursion, a web design and development company.

Kevin's unique blend of experience from user interface projects to real estate financing helps him focus on managing multiple aspects of Propel's portfolio.