Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Lone Wolf Foundation

Lone Wolf Technologies officially introduces Lone Wolf Foundation and the new generation of real estate software.

The future of real estate has arrived: Lone Wolf launches Lone Wolf Foundation, new generation of software

“This is the end result of that extensive research; a platform that goes beyond integrations, beyond connections, beyond a rebrand to create a real solution. From a single login to a modular design that allows real estate professionals to pick and choose the solutions they need, with shared data workflows that keep information consistent from lead to close and the latest in digital security, there’s nothing like this in the industry today—and it will transform the way real estate professionals work, now and into the future.”

Sean Wheeler, CTO of Lone Wolf Technologies

This has been a huge project and I’m loving what Lone Wolf has pulled off. Having acquired some of the most popular and widely adopted software in the real estate space, they have taken a fresh approach on how to create an end-to-end platform. Am I biased? Of course! It’s all because I know the team there is made up some of the most creative and talented people in the industry, people from HomeSpotter, Instanet, zipForm, Terradatum and W+R Studios.

I hear some of you say, “But, Greg, I thought you didn’t like all-in-one solutions?” I think that Lone Wolf’s CEO Jimmy Kelly said it best, “Real Estate Doesn’t Need More Software“. In a nutshell what he is saying real estate has a lot of point solutions; it needs what it already has to pull more weight. The industry wants its existing software to work together, and be more automated. What Lone Wolf is doing is creating a foundation (see what I did there) for their software (and also giving the flexibility to add other solutions) to let brokers and agents create the experience they want. Experience I believe is the key word here.

Congrats to everyone at Lone Wolf!

NYU bound

My son got accepted to NYU Film School. Jenn and I are extremely proud of him.

The above photo is a picture from a trip he took with his senior class in high school. He came back from that trip buzzing. He had many schools to choose from but in the end I wasn’t surprised when he chose New York City.

This week he started his adventure.

How will my heart work, when part of it is so far away?

Webinar Tomorrow: Transaction vs Deal Management?

I’ve always been a big fan of simple, focused software. In today’s parlance that would mean, “point solutions”. Software that does one (or two) things, and does them great. Now many of the larger companies are switching to “end to end” platforms, which also have a place. So when Vijay, CEO of co-founder of Trackxi, asked me to join him on this webinar I quickly agreed. I think it will be a great opportunity to discuss these topics and about some the changes in the industry is going through and how vendors are creating new categories to compete.

Registration Link => Why top agents are ditching transaction management software?

Giant Steps [Sponsor]

My thanks to Giant Steps for sponsoring last month of Vendor Alley. Giant Steps is a consulting company I started earlier this year. With me in this new endeavor is Staci Wood, Dan Woolley and Ohan Antebian. It’s a great team, with a lot of experience and I enjoying working with them.

Below is a list of services we provide. Please reach out if we can help => info@giantstepsadvisors.com

Go-to-Market Strategy

The team at Giant Steps has launched hundreds of products and services in the real estate technology industry. We’ll create a tailored go-to-market strategy specifically for your needs. Whether you plan on going direct to agent (D2A), enterprise contracts with MLS, franchisors, brokers or a hybrid approach, let the team at Giant Steps give you its full attention and give your product or service the best chance of success.

  • Discovery call with Giant Steps team members
  • Follow-up meetings with key team members
  • Full presentation of plan to executive team
  • Delivery of GTM Strategic Plan Document

Strategic Plan Facilitator

Planning your next strategic planning session? We can help! With the industry moving so rapidly, you need all the help you can get to ensure your board members are up to date on the latest industry trends and important topics. The team at Giant Steps can help you plan your next meeting, create engaging and relevant content, and provide a knowledgeable facilitator to help you communicate your plan in an engaging way to foster maximum audience participation.

  • Discovery call with Giant Steps team members
  • Help create agenda, assist on content, and meeting planning
  • Includes an “Industry Update” presentation from facilitator
  • On-site facilitator

Product Design and Technical Advisory

Are you struggling to bring your real estate tech vision to life? Our seasoned experts at Giant Steps can help you navigate the complex landscape of product design and technical implementation. With decades of experience in proptech, we offer invaluable insights to refine your product concept, optimize user experience, and ensure technical feasibility.

  • In-depth product concept review and refinement
  • User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) consultation
  • Technical architecture assessment and recommendations
  • Integration strategies with existing real estate systems (MLS)
  • Scalability and performance optimization guidance

Whether you’re a startup with a groundbreaking idea or an established company looking to innovate, our team can provide the critical feedback and direction you need. We’ll help you avoid common pitfalls, leverage industry best practices, and position your product for success in the competitive real estate technology market.

Asset Valuation

Are you interested in getting a professional opinion on the value of your company? This could be useful, as many organizations are restructuring their ownership due to recent market changes. We can forecast the market value of your assets so you can solicit outside funding, evaluate your share of contribution to a partnership/merger, or plan a spinoff. We will create a defensible model based on research and experience. We have experience working with some of the largest MLS organizations in this space.

Speaking

Do you need a dynamic presenter at your next board meeting, trade show, or conference? Would you like a presenter who can both entertain and educate your board/leadership on the current events of the industry? Greg Robertson will deliver a customized, compelling presentation that educates, entertains, and, most importantly, inspires your audience.

Office Hours with Dan and Greg

Are you a founder looking for some guidance, feedback, or maybe a little therapy to help you get your product launched or take your company to the next level? Where do I start? How much equity should I give up? Should I be selling to agents or brokers? Dan and Greg have had 3 successful exits and have made all the mistakes. While not licensed therapists, they do bring their first-hand experience in bootstrapping 3 companies in the proptech space. Let them give you their undivided attention.

Please reach out if we can help => info@giantstepsadvisors.com

Industry Relations named as finalist for Most Innovative Industry Podcast by Inman News

2024 Inman Innovator Awards finalists unveiled ahead of ICLV

“Inman Innovators include entrepreneurs pushing the old ways aside, data scientists discovering new ways to examine behavior, marketers reimagining how to showcase properties, teams reinventing how to communicate with clients, companies building advanced technologies, and brokerages and teams creating groundbreaking business models.”

Inman News

We were nominated last year but lost. Hopefully this will be the year. Thanks to everyone who nominated us!

Move sues CoStar over trade secrets

CoStar hit with trade secrets lawsuit over dueling real-estate websites

“According to the complaint, Kaminsky headed Realtor.com’s “News and Insights” platform until he was laid off in January. The lawsuit said that Kaminsky took a similar role at Homes.com in March.

Move said it discovered last month that Kaminsky had stolen documents related to business strategy, industry contacts and “a vast array of other competitively sensitive and valuable information” for CoStar.”

Blake Brittain, Reuters

Shades of 2014 when Move sued Zillow over the departure of Errol Samuelson and Curt Beardsley. That was pretty messy and Zillow finally settled (without admitting any wrong doing) for $130 Million. Someone once told me that you are never really successful until you start getting sued. So I guess it’s official that Homes.com is getting traction.

Funny that it’s usually CoStar doing the suing. It will be interesting what tidbits come up in discovery if things get that far.

ARMLS adds Cloud CMA as a member benefit

Lone Wolf Technologies partners with Arizona Regional MLS

“In any market, and especially in one where buyers and sellers may not be entirely sure of what they can expect, it’s imperative for real estate agents to be able to demonstrate that they know and understand what’s happening,” said ARMLS’s James Marcus in a statement. “With this new Cloud CMA benefit from Lone Wolf, our agents will have a key resource in showing clients the expertise that will set them apart from the competition.”

ARMLS

What I think a lot of people forget is that Cloud CMA can be used as a lead generation tool. Congrats to Lone Wolf and ARMLS.

Industry Relations Podcast: The REcolorado Acquisition: A Red Pill Moment for Brokers

**Industry Relations was just announced as a finalist for Inman News “Most Innovative Industry Podcast”! Thanks everyone for help making this happen!***

The recent acquisition of REcolorado by a private entity has sent shockwaves through the real estate industry. In this episode, Rob and Greg discuss the history of MLS privatization and the tensions between associations and MLSs. They shine a light on the lack of member control and power dynamics within the industry, exposing important truths about data ownership. 

This is a red pill moment for brokers and agents as they realize the potential risks and benefits of private equity ownership of MLSs. The duo also discuss the trend of decoupling and its potential impact on the MLS and realtor associations. Are realtor associations truly serving brokers and agents in their local communities? Is it time for them to consider their value proposition and even potentially sell off their MLS? 

Watch us on YouTube!

Connect with Rob and Greg: 

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Our Sponsors: 

CoreLogic

Notorious VIP

This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative 2024.

Did a forms vendor just buy REcolorado MLS?

I’m off-site this week without my “Murder Board“. So sans my red string and push pins I’m still putting the pieces together. But here’s what I’m finding out.

In October 2020 a software company filed for an LLC under the name of Hana Software.

The directors of the LLC were Si Hyung Park (male), John Park, and Matthew Wissinger.

Si Hyung Park is a technologist and worked for many tech and consulting companies (https://www.linkedin.com/in/si-hyung-p-b03834/)

John Park is an owner of MetroBrokers Elite (https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-park-1b7b777/_).  I don’t know if they are related. Couldn’t find any information on Matthew Wissinger.

In June 2023 they amended the LLC and Matthew Wissinger was dropped and Joesph E Burks was added.  According the LinkedIn Joseph Burks is the President of Equity Title of Colorado (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-e-burks-a7533a23/)

In January of 2024 a name change was filed. Hana Software is now RE-Sure (https://resure.realestate).  According to LinkedIn Si Hyung Park is listed as the CEO of RE-Sure. That same month Joesph Burks also registered MAZL, LLC.  Which is the entity that is listed that acquired REColorado MLS. Also some of these companies are listed at the same street address.

I had heard from a source that RE-Sure was making the round earlier this year (maybe last year) trying to get their forms solution adopted.  As you may know the Colorado forms software market is pretty much locked up with CTMe (https://www.ctmecontracts.com/eContracts/wp/indexbottom.asp)

One of the MLS orgs RE-Sure was pitching to described them as “very full of themselves”.

Somewhat telling is the RE-Sure website lists SMDRA (one of the REcolorado shareholders), Equity Title, MetroBrokers Elite and Colorado Professional Title as “Our Client & Partners”.

Obviously these guys ( or maybe just Joesph Burks) had a relationship with South Metro Denver REALTORS association (SMDRA) for some time.

Not sure what all of this points too. I guess at the surface level maybe these guys think they can move the needle on the adoption of their forms solution by buying an MLS?  But I doubt there’s enough revenue in forms software to justify this acquisition cost.

REcolorado blood bath?

I’m getting reports that the REcolorado board of directors was removed and the all the executive staff was fired with the exception of the CFO, Brandon Brancato. Can anyone confirm?

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