Jessica Koonz has been part of Icarus since its inception, bringing experience in public accounting and auditing at Price Waterhouse Coopers in New York. A CPA certified in the state of New York, where she lives (Nassau County, Long Island), she worked previously on a publicly traded REIT within the real estate world and other large projects, dipping her toe in the waters of big real estate deals and investments. She came to Icarus to delve deeper into real estate entrepreneurship, liking the “startup vibe” when she joined in 2015, and gaining a front seat as the company surged in growth in the ensuing years. She wanted to be somewhere she could make an impact. Since she joined the Icarus team, Jessica has helped grow the portfolio from 80 units in one city to some 1,500 in three cities, with more growth and expansion on the horizon. As controller, she manages financial reporting and accounting responsibilities. With a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master’s degree in accounting from the State University of New York Albany, Jessica is enjoying “the wild and exciting ride, going from a very predictable space in the public accounting world to the wild, wild west of learning about real estate, purchasing, managing, investor performance and projections” and more. “It’s been so granular and beautifully ugly at times, to take this thing from those 80 units to what it is today. It’s been really exciting,” she says.