Celebrating Ideal Agent
Ideal Agent is a real estate technology platform selling homes for as little as 2% commission via a referral network of top real estate agents. They’ve been a part of the Embarc Collective community since the very beginning — March 2019, to be exact. This team has grown tremendously and will be moving to alumni company status at the end of the month.
Through the years, we’ve watched their team grow from one office to many, seen their commercials take over our TVs, and celebrated many milestones along the way. Growth is core to the mission of Embarc Collective, and we are proud of the work that the Ideal Agent team has accomplished to get here. As they transition from Embarc Collective member to alumni status, we interviewed Steve Johnston and Bret Beyer from Ideal Agent on this milestone.
You joined Embarc Collective in March 2019. Tell us about your business at that point — what had been validated with your model, how many team members did you have, etc.?
We only had 4 people working at Ideal Agent every day at that point, with about 200 agents in our network. Validating the business model was always a sales first approach and then building the technology and automation around what worked. Then we scaled what worked on to the national media platform keeping KPIs in line throughout our fast growth and in most cases improving. Attracting better agents and our reviews improved from a simple 5-star to amazing stories about the home seller’s experience.
After some amazing growth, you are now moving on from Embarc Collective’s physical community. What’s are some upcoming milestones for the Ideal Agent team?
Our theme for 2021 is “Foundation.” Building systems and processes have been the main priority for this year so we can massively scale. With that you need great people and money, so closing out our Series A and more than doubling our staff by the end of the year will be major milestones.
For an early-stage startup wanting to leverage a support community like Embarc Collective, what advice would you give?
Get involved and ask for help, the more perspective you can gain about the challenges you might face, the better off you can handle any situation. Mistakes and or failing is learning and they are not avoidable entirely. Don’t fear them, learn the lesson, and move forward. Make a connection with the community here at Embarc, they are going through the same challenges that we all encounter and help make your journey a success.
How can readers support your continued growth?
Support local companies in general. If you or anyone you know are selling your home or looking to purchase anywhere in the United States, we have amazing people that can help guide you or put you in touch with the best local agents. Additionally, we’re looking for top local talent to join our team in the area of sales, technology, and media.
Follow Ideal Agent at https://idealagent.com
