October 29, 2004 - Carl Lender went from bagels to cable through relationship building

October 29, 2004 - Aventura News - By Sandra Shrier

Carl Lender

Carl Lender's relationship with the condominium community started with bagels. As owner of Poppy Seeds bakery for seven years, he met almost everyone in Sunny Isles Beach, North Miami, and Aventura who dropped in for a bagel and schmear.

He still remembers those oversized luncheon platters he delivered to the condominium managers and board presidents and members. In fact, that's how he met Senator Gwen Margolis.

After years of bagels and cream cheese, Carl sold his business and went to work for a cable company. At TCI Cable, he learned about bulk cable, which he sold to condominium buildings up and down the beach, that same beach he went to with his grandmother as a little boy. Leo Delgado was his mentor.

As things go in life, Carl's bagel and cable contacts led to his position today as vice president of sales and marketing for CSI Consulting, Inc., with Delgado as president.

CSI customers are real estate developers and condo and homeowner associations. As a consulting firm, CSI brings cable, phone, and Internet options that are bought in bulk for all the residents. "CSI's main job is to find the best providers with the best possible rates," says Lender. Through the RFP (Request for Proposal) process, CSI puts together a matrix of offerings for their clients to choose from.

One of the most significant properties CSI currently serves is Biscayne Landing. Seven providers are bidding on the cable for the project. Other properties they are working for include: Alaqua, The Met, and Downtown Dadeland.

"We like projects like these because they will have a significant impact on the community and they appreciate our combined knowledge of potential service providers as well as building infrastructure," remarks Lender. "Developers need to be thinking about what they are putting into the home because future technologies will require significantly more wiring than what has traditionally been provided."

When asked, "Who is doing it right?" Lender replies, "There are many that are catching the wave but Tom Daly with the Related Group set the standard at Ocean III. I am very proud to have been involved with that project. Tom Daly has always set the standard, he's a market leader."

Real estate is hot right now but tomorrow might bring a more competitive market. CSI makes sure the buildings they represent are appropriately wired for future needs. "Developers want to give people access to cable, satellite, and data, but they need to know how to wire," notes Lender.

"This is a very unique niche that we have in South Florida." He offers this technical advice: "Everything is about bandwidth coming into the home. The pipe has to be big enough to carry all the data." As far as the Internet, all of the new buildings going up are providing bulk Internet to their residents. The older buildings can do it as well.

Carl believes that business development is based on relationships. He has strong ties to the Aventura community and the Aventura Marketing Council. He and his wife live in Hollywood with their three children, Carly, Adam, and Olivia.

For more information on CSI Consulting, call Carl Lender at 954-767-0185, 305-970-2598 or clender@csiconsulting.net.