Aaron sits down with Glen Kunofsky, Founder and CEO of SURMOUNT, for a wide-ranging conversation on growing up in a middle-class New York household, buying his first investment property at 19, and spending three years in brokerage without a meaningful paycheck before finally cracking the code on net lease. Glen shares how a chance connection with Carol's Corp unlocked a career-defining pivot away from hotels, how his wife's KPMG salary kept the lights on during the lean years, and why relationships over transactions isn't just a hat on the wall — it's the operating system behind a firm that grew from 35 to 130 people in three years. From assuming mortgages at 13% interest to pioneering the private market for sale-leasebacks, this episode is packed with unfiltered lessons from one of the most unconventional paths to the top of commercial real estate.
Key Takeaways:
• The best operators build their book before they need it — relationships compound long before transactions do
• 18 months of no closings isn't failure — it's the cost of entry for anyone without a playbook
• Pivoting from hotels to net lease didn't happen by strategy; it happened by curiosity and a family phone call
• Paying junior brokers a base salary — not just splits — is how you build loyalty, not just production
• The smallest client today can be your largest referral source in 10 years
• Scaling from 35 to 130 people in three years is a byproduct of culture, not a growth strategy
Key Timestamps:
(00:00:00) – Growing Up in Queens, New York: Teachers, Carpool, and Middle-Class Roots
(00:02:09) – Undiagnosed ADHD, Learning by Listening, and Getting A's When It Mattered
(00:03:40) – Paper Routes, Snow Shoveling, and Always Having a Work Project
(00:04:30) – First Foray Into Real Estate: Construction Labor at 13
(00:08:30) – First Investment Property at 19: Closing With $2,000 Down on a House
(00:09:31) – Still in School: Acquiring 19 Houses Within a Mile of ASU
(00:13:55) – Meeting His Wife — and His First Tenant — on Day Two in Arizona
(00:18:30) – 18 Months Without a Closing — Then a Pivot That Changed Everything
(00:20:30) – The Phone Call That Launched a Net Lease Career: Carol's Corp and the Burger King Listing
(00:26:00) – How Glen Built His Team: Base Salaries, Long Tenures, and No Training Your Competition
(00:31:00) – The Culture Behind the Growth: Open Brokerage, Relationships Over Transactions
(00:33:35) – Biggest Curveball: Surviving Three Years Without Real Income
(00:36:15) – Advice for Young Brokers: Start With the Guy Who Has One Property, Not a Hundred
(00:38:36) – What Surmount Actually Does: Four Business Lines, Billions Under Management
(00:44:04) – The Legacy Question: What Glen Wants the Story to Say
Key Topics Discussed:
Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Private Equity Podcast, Commercial Real Estate Investing, Net Lease Brokerage, Sale-Leaseback Strategy, Real Estate Private Equity, Franchise Real Estate, QSR Net Lease, Single Tenant Net Lease, Investment Real Estate, Breaking Into Commercial Real Estate, Brokerage Mentorship, Building a Brokerage Team, Mentor Mentee Relationships, Multi-Family Investing, Arizona Real Estate, Assumable Mortgages, Hotel Brokerage, Pivoting in Real Estate, Real Estate Culture, Relationships Over Transactions, Commercial Property Management, Team Building in Brokerage, Real Estate Portfolio, Early Real Estate Investing, Wealth Building Through Real Estate, CEO Interview Podcast, Limitless, Aaron Zucker, Glen Kunofsky, Surmount, Marcus and Millichap, Carol's Corp, Burger King Net Lease, Arby's Net Lease, Panera Bread, Institutional Brokerage, Private Capital, Advisory Real Estate, Construction Management, Balance Sheet Investing, Family Office Real Estate, NNN Properties, Freestanding Retail, Limitless Podcast, Aaron Zucker
Mentions:
Glen’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glen-kunofsky-55633216/
More of Limitless:
Web: zuckerinvestmentgroup.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-zucker-zig/
IG: @zuckerinvestmentgroup
X: @ZIG_CRE
