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Listing Bits Podcast: The Front-endless MLS System with Carlos Grass and Paul Hethmon of Amplify

November 6th, 2024

Overview:

Greg Robertson sits down with Carlos Grass and Paul Hethmon, co-founders of Amplify, to discuss their innovative “front-endless” MLS backend platform. This episode highlights Amplify’s approach to creating a flexible, adaptable MLS backend designed to empower MLSs with greater control and cutting-edge technology.

Key Takeaways:

1. Amplify’s Mission and Flexibility:

• Amplify offers a decoupled backend solution that allows MLSs to use multiple frontends, enabling greater customization, data control, and integration with new technologies.

2. Innovative Technology Integration:

• The platform features advanced capabilities like natural language processing and machine learning, allowing users to search MLS data through voice or natural language, while also automating content creation such as audio descriptions and marketing videos.

3. Real-Time Changes and Responsiveness:

• Amplify’s backend allows MLSs to make updates and add fields in real-time, drastically improving adaptability and response time compared to traditional MLS systems.

4. A New Vision for MLS Accessibility:

• Amplify enables MLSs to extend data access to a broader network, including appraisers, attorneys, and financial institutions, fostering a more collaborative ecosystem.

Reach Out:

Carlos Grass, Co-Founder of Amplify and CEO of Stratus Data Systems

Paul Hethmon, Co-Founder of Amplify

Visit Amplify at ampsystems.us

Download Amplify’s new White Paper: Adapting to the post DOJ ruling

Our Sponsors

Trackxi – Real Estate’s #1 Deal Tracking Software

Giant Steps Job Board – Where Proptech gets hired

Production and editing services by:

Sunbound Studios

Listing Bits Episode 83: Revolutionizing Member Engagement for MLSs + Associations – with Nick Gough of NoteRouter

September 25th, 2023

MLSs and associations face an issue Nick Gough refers to as RDR, an acronym for REALTORS don’t read.

So, what can these organizations do to communicate more effectively with the members they serve?

Nick is Founder and CEO at NoteRouter, the all-in-one email and texting platform designed to help organized real estate achieve record-high member engagement.

On this episode of Listing Bits, Nick shares his experience in leadership of associations and MLSs, explaining how it drove him to build NoteRouter.

Nick describes how NoteRouter helps users write content that connects with REALTORS individually and discusses why the presentation of your message matters as much as the value you provide.

Listen in for Nick’s insight on leveraging influencer marketing to reach more REALTORS and learn how to humanize your outreach by focusing on the real pains your members face.

What’s Discussed: 

Why Nick dropped out of college and became a real estate agent at 18

Nick’s experience in leadership of associations and MLSs and how it drove him to build NoteRouter

How NoteRouter solves the problem of member engagement

Using email and text outreach to help associations and MLSs connect with the people they serve

How NoteRouter helps users write content that connects with REALTORS individually

Why presentation matters just as much as the value you provide

NoteRouter’s expertise in outbound communication through email service and telecom providers

Why NoteRouter is designed around the principle of permission-based marketing

Why it’s crucial for MLSs and associations to learn influencer marketing

The relationship between email open rates and subject lines

The benefit of humanizing your outreach and focusing on real pains members face

How the latest MLS outage impacted Nick and the team at NoteRouter

Connect with Nick Gough:

NoteRouter

Nick on LinkedIn

Email nick@noterouter.com

Resources:

Seth Godin

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcom Gladwell

Our Sponsor:

Cloud CMA for Brokers

Listing Bits Podcast: Dan Fortin of Lone Wolf Technologies on designing a proper Foundation

July 25th, 2024

Dan Fortin was one of my favorite people I met working at Lone Wolf. He came over from the Instanet acquisition and has had a front-row seat to see big changes in the industry. From Lone Wolf acquiring 8 companies, 5 of them in less than 9 months, to the challenges of being a forms company during COVID when everyone wanted a specific form, and they wanted it NOW! Sounds familiar, eh?

We discuss Dan’s background, the lessons he’s learned over the 10 years, and how taking a data-driven approach to making decisions has helped him during his career.

We also get to talk about Lone Wolf’s recent announcement on its newest platform, Foundation, and the tremendous amount of work that took. We also delve into product, design, and what the future holds for Lone Wolf.

For more about Lone Wolf Foundation please visit here.

To connect with Dan check out his LinkedIn profile.

Listing Bits EP081: Building Proptech for Real Estate Teams – with Brian Charlesworth of Sisu

June 12th, 2023

Teams are the future of real estate. And one proptech vendor is capitalizing on this trend by helping team leaders run an effective business.

What’s more, most of the teams on his platform double their business every year—even in the current market.

Brian Charlesworth is Founder and CEO of Sisu, an end-to-end real estate platform for teams that streamlines the transaction process, bringing all REALTORS, vendors and clients together.

On this episode of Listing Bits, Brian shares his background in technology and explains how helping his wife build her real estate team inspired the creation of Sisu.

Brian discusses the coaching Sisu offers to help team leaders scale their business and describes how the platform changes the culture of a real estate team.

Listen in to understand how the Sisu client portal works like a ‘pizza tracker’ and get Brian’s advice for other proptech vendors on building for real estate teams.

What’s Discussed: 

Sisu’s function as an end-to-end real estate platform for teams

How Brian’s commitment to help his wife build her real estate team inspired the creation of Sisu

The coaching Sisu offers to help team leaders run an effective business

Why Brian believes teams are the future of real estate

What proptech vendors should consider in building for teams

Using the Sisu dashboard to track a team’s progress (e.g.: sales, potential revenue, etc.)

How Sisu integrates with CRMs and other platforms to streamline and automate real estate transactions

How Sisu changes the culture of a real estate team

Why most teams on Sisu double their business every year—even in the current market

How the Sisu client portal works like a ‘pizza tracker’

What Sisu is doing to make sure clients work with the same real estate professionals for years to come

Brian’s advice to proptech vendors on understanding how agents think

What real estate companies can do to solve for agent retention

Connect with Brian Charlesworth:

Resources:

Our Sponsor:

Cloud CMA for Brokers

Listing Bits Podcast: Elevating Women in Real Estate – with Lauren Martin of RentSpree

April 12th, 2023

Lauren Martin began her career in the fashion industry to be among powerful women.

But when she transitioned to proptech, she realized that real estate is the true pinnacle of girl power. And yet, women are not always represented in leadership.

So, when she landed her current role as Senior Account Director of Partnerships at RentSpree, Lauren approached her CEO about creating RENEW, the Real Estate Network for Empowered Women, an initiative that seeks to connect and champion female professionals across all sectors of the industry nationwide.

On this episode of Listing Bits, Lauren shares her journey from the fashion industry to proptech, describing how what she learned in fashion translates to real estate.

Lauren discusses her role at RentSpree, explaining how the platform partners with MLSs and other proptech companies to streamline the rental process—in a way that serves real estate agents and renters.

Listen in for insight on what inspired Lauren to build RENEW and learn how you can get involved in her initiative to elevate women in real estate!

What’s Discussed: 

How Lauren was poached from a catering company to work in sales at Remine

What Lauren learned in the fashion industry that translates to real estate and proptech

Lauren’s insight on approaching uncomfortable conversations with humor

Lauren’s experiences working with MLS professionals who champion each other

How RentSpree partners with MLSs and proptech companies to streamline the rental process

The revenue sharing model at RentSpree and how MLSs benefit from it

How REALTORS benefit from building relationships with renters early in their housing journey

Lauren’s role handling both MLS and proptech partnerships at RentSpree

Lauren’s best travel hacks for real estate professionals

What inspired Lauren to start the RENEW initiative to elevate women in real estate

Connect with Lauren:

RentSpree

Lauren on LinkedIn

Email laurenm@rentspree.com

RENEW Initiative

The RENEW Podcast by RentSpree

Resources:

Teresa King Kinney & Liz Sturrock on The RENEW Podcast EP001

Betsy Hanson of Markt on Listing Bits EP078

Our Sponsor:Cloud CMA for Brokers

Listing Bits Podcast: Pooling Resources & Expertise Among MLSs – with Betsy Hanson of Markt

March 31st, 2023

From a vendor’s perspective, small MLSs are the most challenging to work with. And that’s no surprise, seeing as how they have fewer resources than the big players in the space.

So, how do we support MLSs with fewer than 400 members in keeping up with NAR rules, for example? Is there a way MLSs might share marketing, support, and compliance services in a way that makes the market work better for all involved?

Betsy Hanson is General Manager and General Counsel at Markt, a multi-MLS service organization focused on pooling resources and expertise to serve MLSs, brokers, and agents.

On this episode of Listing Bits, Betsy shares her journey from an executive assistant at a small association to her current role at Markt, describing how she avoids the attorney’s reputation as the Department of No.

Betsy offers her take on what organized real estate is missing about the life and times of an ordinary REALTOR, why the average agent doesn’t understand the lawsuits facing the industry, and how those lawsuits might change the way we do things moving forward.

Listen in to understand how Markt works as an MLS back-office provider and learn how Betsy and her team are uniquely positioned to help MLSs of all sizes with local market delivery.

What’s Discussed: 

Betsy’s journey from an executive assistant at a small association to General Counsel at Markt

What differentiates the role of executive assistant from that of the chief of staff

How Betsy avoids the attorney’s reputation as the Department of No

Betsy’s experience teaching English in China between undergrad and law school

What organized real estate is missing about the life and times of an ordinary REALTOR

Why the average REALTOR-on-the-street doesn’t know about the lawsuits facing the industry

How public perception of REALTORS remains positive despite lawsuits around compensation

Betsy’s predictions re: how the lawsuits facing organized real estate might play out

How Markt began as a way for MLSs to pool support resources and create efficiencies

Markt’s potential to solve the challenge small MLSs face in keeping up with NAR rules

Connect with Betsy:

Markt

Email betsy@themarkt.com

Resources:

Notorious ROB

Industry Relations Podcast

Turn On by 1000watt

Our Sponsor:

Cloud CMA for Brokers

Listing Bits Episode 88: Does NAR Have Value Beyond MLS Access? – with Michael Lissack of The Virtual Realty Group

November 27th, 2023

The verdict against NAR in the Sitzer lawsuit has organized real estate up in arms.

But Michael Lissack thinks the decision is the best thing to happen to the industry in 100 years.

In fact, he sees the trade association as a criminal enterprise with little value beyond MLS access.

Michael is Managing Broker for The Virtual Realty Group, a 100% commission brokerage that operates in 12 states.

On this episode of Listing Bits, Michael joins Greg to discuss the real issue behind the lawsuits against NAR and describe what he would do to make buyer’s agent commission negotiable.

Michael explains why it’s necessary to decouple the MLS from NAR membership and how that would likely lead to bankruptcy for the trade association.

Listen in for Michael’s provocative take on why associations don’t deserve a way forward in a world where MLS access is open to anyone with a real estate license.

What’s Discussed: 

The real issue behind the lawsuits against NAR and several real estate brokerages

What Michael would do to make buyer’s agent commission negotiable

Why the DOJ takes issue with mandatory membership in NAR for MLS access

How decoupling the MLS from NAR would impact everyday REALTORS

What decoupling the MLS from NAR membership would do to the trade association (and what NAR might do to demonstrate its value and rebuild)

What it would take to decouple local, state and NAR membership

Why Michael believes a real estate license should be the only requirement for MLS access

Running MLSs as not-for-profit organizations vs. for-profit entities

Greg’s thoughts on providing a way forward for associations by compensating them for the work of building the MLS

Why bankruptcy might be apt for associations who don’t provide value beyond MLS access

Connect with Michael Lissack:

Michael.Travel

Michael on LinkedIn

Resources:

Sitzer v. NAR

Michael’s LinkedIn Post

Our Sponsors:

Trackxi

Does “Your Listing, Your Lead” Jive with IDX Attribution Policy? – with Mike Wurzer, Greg Fischer & Andy Woolley

May 24th, 2023

Two years ago, NAR policy was updated to give brokers and agents attribution rights, meaning they get to decide how they appear in listings.

But Homes.com employs a ‘your listing, your lead’ model, displaying the listing agent’s contact information.

So, does this comply with NAR’s attribution policy? And what else do we need to think about as companies like Zillow and Homes.com switch to IDX?

On this episode of Listing Bits, Michael Wurzer, CEO of real estate software company FBS, Greg Fischer, Owner of indie brokerage West + Main, and Andy Woolley, VP of Industry Development at Homes.com, join us to consider how ‘your listing, your lead’ jives with NAR’s IDX attribution policy.

Andy explains how ‘your listing, your lead’ differs from the referral model used on other sites, and Greg asks what is changing at Homes.com now that it’s a participant in the MLS.

Listen in for Michael’s insight on the repercussions on policy that comes with mixing different use cases for data feeds and find out why it’s important for MLSs to develop a standard way for national portals like Homes.com to license data.

What’s Discussed: 

How NAR IDX policy changed to give brokers and agents attribution rights

Whether Homes.com’s ‘your listing, your lead’ model complies with NAR’s attribution policy

Why most brokers aren’t using the ‘attribution source’ field in RESO’s data dictionary

Homes.com’s decision to display the listing agent’s contact information

Why Homes.com made the switch from its original MLS feeds to IDX

What is changing at Homes.com now that it’s a participant in the MLS vs. a media publisher

The potential repercussions on policy that come with mixing use cases for data feeds

What differentiates Homes.com’s ‘your listing, your lead’ from the referral model used on other sites

How Homes.com allows buyer’s agents to protect their relationships on the site

How showing a listing agent on a lead placard compares to seeing their name on a yard sign

The challenge Homes.com faces when it comes to agent responsiveness

Why it’s crucial for MLSs to create a standard way for national portals to license data

Connect with Michael Wurzer:

Michael at FBS

Michael on Twitter

Connect with Greg Fischer:

West + Main

Greg on Twitter

Connect with Andy Woolley:

Homes.com

Andy on Twitter

Resources:

Greg’s Twitter Thread on Your Listing, Your Lead

NAR’s IDX Policy

RESO Data Dictionary

Homesnap Pro

Our Sponsor:

Cloud CMA for Brokers

Listing Bits Episode 85: A Less, But Better Approach to Real Estate Software Design – with Damien Huze of Lone Wolf Technologies

October 20th, 2023

Among Dieter Rams’ Ten Principles of Design is the idea that good design is as little design as possible.

Less, but better.

And Damien Huze believes that the next evolution of real estate software will apply this concept, offering fewer high-quality apps that work together in a fluid system.

Damien is Senior Design Manager and Principal Designer at Lone Wolf Technologies, a software company working to build an end-to-end solution for real estate.

Damien served as Chief Design Officer at W+R studios before the Lone Wolf acquisition, and he is responsible for the design of Cloud CMA, one of the most popular apps in real estate.

On this episode of Listing Bits, Damien explains how making design a priority benefits companies building web-based apps and why he defines design as a skill aimed at problem-solving.

Damien describes how Lone Wolf is working to combine the tools of proptech into a single streamlined experience and shares his team’s user-centric approach to the problem of simplifying real estate.

Listen in for insight on the power of relentless focus and learn about Damien’s vision for designing real estate software that delivers more with less.

What’s Discussed: 

What Damien learned from growing up with creative parents who immigrated to the US

How making design a priority benefits companies building web-based apps (and why so few do it)

How Damien thinks about design as a skill aimed at problem-solving

What Lone Wolf is doing to bring several real estate apps together in a single end-to-end solution

Why Damien believes the next evolution in real estate software is ‘less but better’

Lone Wolf’s upcoming announcement at the T3 Technology Summit

What it means for good software to have an opinion vs. being too flexible or customizable

How Damien’s team brings a user-centric, design thinking approach to simplifying real estate

Greg and Damien’s take on the advantage of simple tools that get the job done

The well-designed product that’s had the biggest impact on Damien’s life

Why relentless focus boosts productivity and how Damien applies that tenet to design

Connect with Damien Huze:

Lone Wolf Technologies

Damien on X

Damien on LinkedIn

Resources:

Dieter Rams’ 10 Principles of Good Design

T3 Technology Summit

Starlink

FaceTime on Apple TV

Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson

Our Sponsors:

Trackxi

Listing Bits Episode 84: Enabling Collaboration in the Home Buying Experience – with Tom MacLeod of ZenList

October 9th, 2023

In preparation for a move, Tom MacLeod and his wife were looking at properties in the Bay Area. Tom was on Redfin. His wife was on Zillow. And they were receiving listings via email from their agent.

But none of the applications talked to each other. So, Tom was making a spreadsheet when he thought, “There’s got to be a better way.”

Tom is Cofounder of Zenlist, an agent-to-client home search that enables efficient collaboration by putting everyone in the same space.

On this episode of Listing Bits, Tom describes how @properties helped him develop Zenlist and what differentiates his app from Homespotter, RealScout and other competitors in the space.

Tom shares Zenlist’s initial growth strategy, explaining why it didn’t include targeting MLS customers and how that’s changed.

Listen in to understand how Tom’s team gets consumers to download an app and learn how Zenlist is facilitating collaboration in the homebuying experience.

What’s Discussed: 

How Tom’s experience with moving inspired him to build Zenlist

Why Tom made the decision to bootstrap Zenlist over taking venture money

How Zenlist facilitates collaboration in the homebuying experience

Tom’s experience of developing Zenlist with the help of @properties

Zenlist’s initial growth strategy and why it didn’t include targeting MLS customers

What differentiates Zenlist from Homespotter, RealScout and other competitors in the space

Tom’s ambition to serve both real estate agents and consumers

Zenlist’s mobile capabilities and how it was called into action during the Rapattoni outage

How Zenlist is overcoming the challenge of getting consumers to download an app

How consumers benefit from using Zenlist vs. Zillow or Redfin

Connect with Tom MacLeod: