Playmakers with Andrew Flachner

Exclusive: Opendoor's Grand Reopening for Agents (w/ Kaz Nejatian)

Opendoor just hit a reset button — and agents are now at the center of it. Kaz Nejatian, the newly appointed CEO of Opendoor and former COO of Shopify, sat down with Andrew Flachner on Playmakers to talk about the most significant shift in Opendoor’s history: a grand reopening built around agents. Kaz walked away from one of the best jobs in tech because he believed the opportunity in real estate and Proptech was bigger than anything else. Seven months in, he’s proving it. On this episode of Playmakers, Andrew Flachner — host, and CEO of RealScout — goes deep with Kaz on the product announcements, the philosophy behind them, and what founder-mode leadership actually looks like when you’re rebuilding a public company from the ground up. What you’ll hear in this episode: - How Opendoor destroyed trust with agents (and exactly what Kaz is doing to fix it) - The new “Cash Now, More Later” product - Why RealScout and Opendoor partnered to embed Cash Now, More Later directly into agent workflows - How Kaz reduced headcount per transaction from 11 to 1 using AI - Why Shopify deleted every calendar meeting at the company overnight - The founder-mode vs. manager-mode framework This episode is a masterclass in rebuilding with conviction. Whether you’re an agent, team leader, or business owner — the frameworks Kaz shares are ones you can take back to your business immediately. 🎙️ Subscribe to Playmakers: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/459lPWc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1iTCsUWhBGEI1y0lXrxYM3 📲 Connect with Andrew Flachner: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aflachner/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewflachner/ Chapter List 00:00 Intro 01:24 Why Kaz Left Shopify for a Broken Opendoor 03:29 What Actually Went Wrong at Opendoor 05:00 How Kaz Is Rebuilding the Agent Relationship 06:51 Founder-Mode vs. Manager-Mode: The Real Difference 10:23 Don’t Care What the Wall Street Journal Says 12:05 Shipping Every Week: Why Quarters Are Useless 13:00 From 11 People Per Transaction to 1 (With AI) 16:11 Why Kaz Brought Everyone Back to the Office Day One 17:33 The $1 Salary and Multi-Billion Performance Bet 19:36 Opendoor’s Grand Reopening for Agents 20:35 How Cash Now More Later Actually Works 24:00 Agents Get Paid Three Times on One Deal 27:32 Why Opendoor Partnered with RealScout 33:16 Crafters vs. Managers: The End of the People Manager 38:38 Why AI Won’t Kill Jobs — It Will Create More 41:31 The Mission: Why Homeownership Is Kaz’s Big Why 43:33 Outro

Invisible Brokerage, M&A, Team Tactics (w/ Guy Gal)

The best agents in real estate do everything — originate leads, close deals, build teams, set standards, carry the costs — and still don't own the business they're running. That's the broken system Guy Gal set out to fix. Guy Gal is the CEO and co-founder of Side, the largest brokerage most people have never heard of — and that's entirely by design. Side operates as an invisible, white-label brokerage, giving top-producing agents and teams the infrastructure, compliance, and technology they need to step into true business ownership without the overhead that's historically made that impossible. In this episode of Playmakers, Andrew Flachner, CEO of RealScout, sits down with his longtime friend Guy Gal for a candid conversation about what's really broken in traditional brokerages, why teams are actually small businesses in disguise, and what it means to build something that lasts. If you're a top producer tired of creating value for someone else's equity, this episode will change the way you think about your business. What you'll hear in this episode: - Why productive agents run a business - How Side became the first "broker as a service" and what that actually means for agents - Why traditional brokerages are structurally incentivized to not support their top producers - How teams proliferated post-internet - The marshmallow test - Why paid lead gen is not the only truly sustainable business foundation - How agents can build enterprise value and eventually sell their business - Guy's belief about the future of real estate Stop building with mud and hay. This episode is your blueprint for building something that lasts. 🎧 Subscribe to Playmakers: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/459lPWc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1iTCsUWhBGEI1y0lXrxYM3 🔗 Connect with Andrew Flachner: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aflachner/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewflachner/ CHAPTER LIST 00:00 Intro 01:00 Guy's Origin Story: The Bully's Bully Who Became an Advocate 02:42 Why the Best Agents Get the Worst Deal from Traditional Brokerages 04:38 The Insight That Started Side: You Run It, But You Don't Own It 07:53 What Is Side? The "Broker as a Service" Model Explained 09:02 How Traditional Brokerages Actually Make Their Money (It's Not on You) 11:37 Capacity Is the Real Ceiling — Not Opportunity 13:34 How the Side Model Frees Top Producers to Close More Deals 15:36 What the Best Boutiques Get Right (Hint: It's Not Marketing) 18:30 Community Over Paid Leads: The Only Business Model That Endures 21:24 The Marshmallow Test and the Fiduciary Mindset of Elite Agents 22:52 Why Teams Are Good for Agents But Bad for Traditional Brokerages 25:37 How the Internet Created the Team Explosion (and Why Brokerages Fumbled It) 27:09 Real Estate Agents Should Be Able to Sell Their Business — Here's Why They Can't 29:43 Guy's "Why": Growing Up Immigrant, Watching His Parents Build Something 32:36 The Future Is Local, Networked, and Boutique — Consolidation Will Keep Failing 36:01 What's Been Most Meaningful About Building Side 37:13 Outro

$6B in Sales, 8 Seasons on TV: What Every Agent Can Learn (w/ James Harris)

Most people know James Harris from eight seasons on Bravo's Million Dollar Listing LA. What they don't know is the story behind it: a kid expelled from eight schools in London, raised by a single mom, who moved to LA with no money, no pipeline, and no contacts, and built one of the most recognizable personal brands in real estate. In this episode of the Playmakers Podcast, RealScout CEO Andrew Flachner sits down with James Harris — luxury real estate agent and founder of Breezy, an AI operating system for real estate agents — for a candid conversation on what it actually takes to build a career at the highest levels of this business. James shares the exact door knocking script that built his Beverly Hills business from scratch, why he tells agents to say "no" more often, and what drove him to step back from production and go all in on building a tech company. What you'll hear in this episode: - Why luxury is a mindset and how to break into high-end markets without a track record - The door knocking framework James used to build his Beverly Hills pipeline from zero - One of the most powerful things an agent can say - The most dollar-productive activities agents can leverage to build revenue - How to handle clients who consider AI to be the agent in their pocket If you're an agent, team leader, or brokerage executive trying to level up, this one is worth listening to more than once. 🔥 Subscribe to the podcast: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/459lPWc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1iTCsUWhBGEI1y0lXrxYM3 Connect with Andrew Flachner on Social: 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aflachner/ 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewflachner/ CHAPTER LIST 00:00 Intro 01:19 Why Luxury Is a Mindset, Not a Price Point 04:00 James's Childhood: ADHD, 8 Schools, and Starting at 15 05:48 The Drive to Prove Himself — On His Own Terms 07:25 How He Became #1 in London by Obsessing Over Pipeline 09:03 Moving to LA With Zero Money, Zero Contacts 10:51 Why Beverly Hills? The Case for Going Where There's No Ceiling 12:39 The Door Knocking Masterclass: Script, Pipeline, and Follow-Up 16:37 Consistency Is the Differentiator 16:56 Fear Is Real — Here's How to Shrink It 19:12 The Million Dollar Listing Origin Story 21:30 What the Show Actually Did for His Brand 22:39 ADHD as a Superpower: Reframing the Cards You Were Dealt 23:54 Splitting With His Business Partner David 25:48 The Power of "I Don't Know, I'll Get Back to You" 27:04 Why Saying No Builds More Trust Than Saying Yes 27:58 Stop Chasing Quick Paychecks — Think Like a CEO 28:12 Building The Blueprint Newsletter to 25K Subscribers 30:12 The Three Most Dollar-Productive Activities 31:35 How to Work Leads Without Wasting Time 32:24 The Current Market and What Smart Agents Are Doing Differently 34:05 What Is Breezy — and Why James Built It 34:49 Breezy's Underbuilt Radar: The Feature Changing Listing Appointments 38:41 Why He Left Production to Go All In on Tech 40:27 Balance, Family, and Time as Your Most Precious Asset 41:52 Managing ADHD as a Founder and Agent 42:58 Rapid Fire Round 44:46 Final Advice: Don't Overanalyze, Don't Paralyze 45:21 Outro

The Battle for Listings: Compass, Zillow Preview, and Private Networks (w/ Jack Miller)

Eight years ago, Andrew Flachner made a prediction that made people uncomfortable: the next power shift in residential real estate wouldn't come from agent count or brand. It would come from whoever controlled listing data and buyer demand. That prediction is now reality. Compass and Anywhere are one company, and the playbook Andrew described is exactly what they're executing. So what does every other brokerage in North America do now? In this episode of the Playmakers Podcast, RealScout CEO Andrew Flachner sits down with Jack Miller, CEO of T360 and one of the most respected strategic advisors to brokerage executives in the industry. Jack has seen multiple market cycles and consults with top brokerage leaders across North America. This episode drops at a pivotal moment: Zillow just announced Zillow Preview, a new product that makes pre-market listings publicly visible on Zillow and Trulia, launching with initial partners including Keller Williams, REMAX, HomeServices of America, Side, and United Real Estate. Andrew and Jack dig into exactly why this move matters and what it signals about where the listing wars are heading. What you'll hear in this episode: * What the Compass-Anywhere acquisition actually gives Compass * What allowed the deal to close faster than almost anyone expected * The "stay focused or get big" framework — and why the middle of the road is getting harder to occupy * How network effects are reshaping competitive advantage in brokerage * The Prisoner's Dilemma of private listings — and why Zillow Preview is the industry's most consequential counter-move yet * Why the MLS is more valuable than ever in the age of AI * The one piece of advice Jack has for every brokerage executive If you run a brokerage, lead a large team, or advise anyone in residential real estate, this is required listening. The window of opportunity is open right now and Jack is direct about what it takes to not miss it. 🔥 Subscribe to the podcast: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/459lPWc [https://apple.co/459lPWc] Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1iTCsUWhBGEI1y0lXrxYM3 [https://open.spotify.com/show/1iTCsUWhBGEI1y0lXrxYM3] Connect with Andrew Flachner on Social: 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aflachner/ [https://www.instagram.com/aflachner/] 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewflachner/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewflachner/] Chapter List 00:00 Intro 01:08 Andrew's 8-Year Prediction That Just Came True 02:00 Phase 10: Why Everything Is Accelerating at Once 03:54 Three Years of Real Estate Recession — And Why It's Still an Opportunity 05:11 Why Traditional Brokerages Are Struggling to Keep Up 07:15 The Economics of Brokerage: Where the Pressure Is Coming From 07:52 Vertical Integration: Zillow, Rocket-Redfin, and the Super App Vision 10:37 What a Truly Integrated Transaction Actually Feels Like 15:03 The Compass-Anywhere Deal: What Compass Actually Bought 18:36 How the Regulatory Window Made This Happen So Fast 19:54 What's Next for Compass: More M&A or Time to Digest? 23:59 Team M&A: The Next Consolidation Frontier 25:30 How Broker CEOs Are Actually Reacting to the Compass-Anywhere News 27:18 Get Big or Stay Focused: The Two Models That Will Survive 29:39 Unit Economics vs. Value Brokerages — The Data Behind the Split 33:19 Network Effects in Real Estate: The Compass Flywheel Explained 40:42 Was Compass Intentional About Building a Network Effects Business? 42:33 Why Brokerages Fail at Building Their Own Tech (and What to Do Instead) 46:05 Private Listings: The Prisoner's Dilemma Playing Out in Real Time 49:59 "You Don't Need to Define Rules for Gravity" — Why the MLS Will Survive 53:19 Zillow Previews: The Smartest Counter-Move in the Listing Wars 01:04:07 Zillow Previews: Who's at the Table (KW, ReMax, United, Side) 01:07:18 Will Private Listings Be a Niche Strategy or a Structural Shift? 01:09:59 The Buyer Graph: Why Cooperative Buyer Data Beats Hoarding 01:15:37 Jack's One Piece of Advice for Every Broker Right Now 01:17:16 Outro

How to Build a Top 10 Brokerage in 3 Years With Zero Investors

What does it take to build a top 10 real estate brokerage from scratch in just three years, without a single dollar of outside capital? Robert Palmer, CEO of LPT Realty, did exactly that. On this episode of the Playmakers Podcast, RealScout CEO Andrew Flachner sits down with Palmer at Inman to unpack the model behind one of the fastest-growing brokerages in the country. LPT went from concept to top 10 by throwing out the traditional brokerage playbook and starting fresh with agent choice, aligned compensation, and a community-first culture at its core. Palmer shares the counterintuitive decisions that fueled LPT's growth, why he believes real estate teams will replace the franchise layer in the next decade, and the hard-won lessons from scaling faster than any infrastructure could keep up with. What you'll hear in this episode: - The ugly side of revenue share and the guardrails LPT built to stay accountable - Why Robert refuses to let LPT own a mortgage or title company - The single hardest lesson he's learned as a founder - Why the best investment an agent can make isn't money - The one thing team leaders get wrong about growth - Which agents will win when "Boomsday" comes and what they're doing right now to prepare If you're an agent, team leader, or brokerage executive, this is a masterclass in building a sustainable, high-growth business. 🔥 Subscribe to the podcast: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/459lPWc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1iTCsUWhBGEI1y0lXrxYM3?si=8a3eea12d1964005 Connect with Andrew Flachner on Social: 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aflachner/ 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewflachner/ CHAPTER LIST 00:00 Intro 00:37 How LPT Became a Top 10 Brokerage in 3 Years 01:40 The Day 1,000 Agents Joined in 24 Hours (And Why LPT Hit Pause) 02:38 Robert's Origin Story: Dropping Out to Save His Mom's Mortgage Business 04:38 From Listing Power Tools to a Full Brokerage — The Pivot That Changed Everything 06:00 Why Self-Funding LPT Was the Only Move That Made Sense 07:39 Brokerage for Life: Giving Agents a Choice Between Two Comp Plans 09:39 How Agent Productivity Grew at 2x the Rate of Agent Count 11:28 No Exclusive Downline Masterminds — And Why That Built a Better Culture 13:00 Motivation Mondays: The Weekly Zoom Robert Has Never Missed 14:14 Boomsday Is Coming: How LPT Prepares Agents for the Market Rebound 14:56 The Road to IPO: What LPT's Public Market Plans Actually Look Like 16:38 Aperture: Launching LPT's Luxury Brand 16:44 What Separates Agents Who Pull Ahead in a Tough Market 17:41 Why Brokerages Shouldn't Own Mortgage or Title Companies 19:17 The Ugly Side of Revenue Share (And How LPT Manages It) 20:20 The Reside + Humanize Acquisitions: Betting on Real Estate Teams 22:11 How LPT Is Different From eXp and Real 23:47 The Hardest Lessons from Scaling This Fast 25:31 Rapid Fire: Open Houses, Sphere Focus & Running Your Own Race 28:57 What Robert Wants LPT to Be Remembered For 29:26 Outro