Our guest this week is Devin Wirt, Founder and CEO of TFLiving. TFLiving is a wellness amenities company providing services to a variety of residential and corporate locations across the United States, which is being used in over 200 properties spanning 20 states.

In this episode, we talk about their company and the services they offer. We also dive into some personal questions like Devin’s daily routines that help him stay focused, his reading list and his advice to people who are trying to break into the real estate industry.

QUOTES

“Don’t just hear your customers... listen to your customers.”

“But there’s a why to everything - what we do, why we pitch, why we sell - and I think that money is a by-product to that. It is not why we do it.”

MENTIONS

TFLiving

DEVIN’S READING LIST

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

Start With Why by Simon Sinek

CONTACT DEVIN

Devin Wirt (LinkedIn)

Devin’s email

TFLiving Headquarters: 843-215-8508

SHOW NOTES

[0:00:37.9] Devin talks about TFLiving and the services they offer

[0:01:55.8] Getting to know Devin

[0:02:34.6] How Devin got into the real estate business

[0:03:33.1] Devin’s background as a fitness trainer and how it lead him to start TFLiving

[0:08:25.3] Pre-launch work for TFLiving

[0:10:22.8] Expanding to multiple locations

[0:11:07.9] TFLiving’s target clients

[0:12:26.9] What’s next for TFLiving

[0:14:53.5] Devin’s advice on getting focused and getting things done

[0:16:57.3] Devin’s advice to people who are trying to break into the real estate industry

[0:18:18.1] Devin’s humble beginnings in Philadelphia

[0:19:04.7] Devin’s reading list

[0:19:50.6] Connect with Devin!

Happy new year everyone!

For the first episode of this year, we’ll be chatting with Mark Smukler, co-founder and CEO of Bixby, and he’s going to walk us through the amazing features of the app and how it can help you become an awesome property manager.

Mark also lets us in on the strategies they used to market their product, what inspired him to create Bixby and some lessons he has learned as he ventured into real estate and entrepreneurship.

There’s a lot you can pick up in this episode, so make sure to check it out!

QUOTES

“We wanted to create something that was a little bit more resident focused, so not only creating efficiencies for the management team, but finding ways where we can add value to the tenant or resident experience in any way.”

MENTIONS

Bixby

Mark Smukler (LinkedIn)

MARK’S MENTORS

Josh Weston, Former ADP Chairman

Andrew Nestor (LinkedIn)

MARK’S READING LIST

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

The Hard Thing About Doing Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

SHOW NOTES

[0:01:01.6] What is Bixby?

[0:02:07.2] How tenants use Bixby

[0:03:48.8] Mark’s backstory and what got him into business and entrepreneurship

[0:08:05.7] Mark’s early life struggles and how it shaped him as an entrepreneur

[0:09:54.0] Studying finance and international business at NYU

[0:13:11.7] Mark’s interesting internship experiences

[0:19:45.0] Mark’s time in Russia

[0:22:37.0] Working as a business consultant and learning how to start a business

[0:24:56.1] Creating a web dev agency

[0:28:05.3] What inspired Mark to create Bixby

[0:35:27.3] Product marketing strategies

[0:36:52.6] Bixby’s features

[0:38:16.6] What’s next for Bixby?

[0:40:24.7] Lessons learned as a founder and CEO

[0:42:05.5] Mark’s mentors

[0:45:52.4] Mark’s reading list

Today, we chat with Alain Kapatashungu about Frontdoor, an app that helps simplify the work of real estate agents by eliminating the aspect of pen and paper workflow, and reducing the time spent finding qualified leads. Frontdoor is changing the way real estate transactions are managed and it sure is a gamechanger in the business.

We also talk about his journey from being a genocide survivor and how his experiences has helped him become the entrepreneur and amazing person that he is today.

This episode will leave you inspired and excited about future tech innovations in the real estate business, so don’t miss out on this!

QUOTES

“I find a lot of entrepreneurs need to have a ‘why’ to get through the hard times.”

MENTIONS

Alain Kapatashungu (LinkedIn)

Alain (Twitter)

Frontdoor (site)

Frontdoor (blog)

Frontdoor (Twitter)

SHOW NOTES

[0:01:43.4] Alain shares his backstory

[0:02:19.9] How surviving a traumatic event shaped his character as an entrepreneur

[0:05:48.3] What is Frontdoor?

[0:07:12.9] How Frontdoor works

[0:09:37.5] Who can use Frontdoor?

[0:11:43.1] How Alain got to manage 350,000 apartments in Canada

[0:18:23.2] Managing a fast-growing business and the birth of Frontdoor

[0:20:12.2] How Frontdoor can help you find qualified leads

[0:21:57.8] How Alain got the idea for Frontdoor

[0:27:18.9] What’s next for Frontdoor?

[0:29:30.0] Get to know more about Frontdoor and Alain

This week on the podcast, we are joined by Sabena Arora-Akarte, founder of Acadia Lodging Brokers and Advisors. Sabena has over 20 years of hospitality real estate experience and she’s done everything from acquisitions and development to asset management.

On this episode, we talk about her vast experience in the hospitality real estate business, what it’s like to work in the industry, networking and tips on how to make it into the real estate business.

QUOTES

“Hospitality, at the end of the day, is also a real estate business. It’s a people business, it’s a service business, and it is alo a real estate business.”

“You can have a great hotel, you can have a great service, but if you don’t buy it at the right time, finance it at the right time, and sell it at the right time, you don’t make any money on it.”

“You’ve got to network, you’ve got to be out there, especially in this day and age, and you’ve got to find your niche, what works for you.”

“Everybody’s on social media; I have not hit social media yet. I still like to touch and feel the person. I still like to pick up a phone and connect.”

MENTIONS

HVS Global Hospitality Services

Acadia Brokers (website)

Sabena Arora-Akarte (LinkedIn)

SHOW NOTES

[0:00:53.8] How Sabena got into the hospitality industry

[0:03:32.3] Sabena’s first job after school

[0:05:40.8] Sabena’s experience working at HVS

[0:07:50.7] Skills that helped Sabena become effective at her job at HVS

[0:09:37.8] Working at HEI

[0:12:44.1] Why she left HEI and started working at Highgate Holdings

[0:14:17.4] Difference between Highgate and HEI

[0:15:42.6] Making the transition from one company to another

[0:16:46.1] Tips for networking (especially when you hate it)

[0:19:10.9] Sabena’s thoughts on social media networking

[0:20:04.0] Becoming the founder of Acadia Lodging Brokers and Advisors

[0:23:04.9] Get to know more about Sabena and her business!

[0:23:38.9] What Sabena has to say as a woman in the real estate industry

[0:25:49.9] Sabena’s mentors

[0:28:27.0] Sabena’s recommended reads

[0:30:37.1] Advice for people trying to break into the real estate business

Hello listeners! In this episode, we interview Paul Odland, founder and CEO of Belveron Partners, a real estate private equity fund based in San Francisco. We are going to be digging into his career trajectory, how he got to where he is now, and ask him for some advice and practical wisdom for young folks who are just starting out in real estate.

There’ll be lots of practical and awesome stuff in this episode, it’s definitely worth a listen.