$83M Exit- Sharran Srivatsaa, Teles

Sharran Srivatsaa Sharran Srivatsaa is the CEO of Kingston Lane, a push-button technology execution platform for real estate. Sharran is a serial entrepreneur, sought-after keynote speaker, and a respected thought-leadership resource for publications such as The Wall Street Journal, SUCCESS magazine, Huffington Post, and Forbes. What income range does Sharran have, and where does it come from? (2:21) Sharran exited a business around the 8 figure mark, although he is not allowed to disclose the final sales amount due to selling to a public company. He chose to share some of the other exciting stats. They owned a real estate brokerage which Sharran fell into. They grew it to 10x the size it was when Sharran started in five years. They had over 600 agents and did about 3.6 billion in top-line sales, which were about $83 million in revenues, and they had 22 offices. By the end of 2017, they had been acquired by a public company out of New York called Douglas Elliman. It was the largest transaction Douglas Elliman had ever done. Even though the sales number is a $3.6 Billion number and the one published the most, Sharran wants people to know that that is not what he walked away with. Gross revenues for the firm were $83 Million. Was there a unique way that Sharran acquired customers? (7:20) At some point, the business was in red ocean waters. It is a commoditised business, and everyone believes a brokerage is a brokerage. You have to figure out whether you are going to get clients and hand leads to your agents or how you are going to get great agents and support them. You have to figure out your business model from the start. The industry is primarily based on an agent to client relationships. An agent to client relationship is tough to displace. Sharran did not go down the path, worried about how he was going to acquire new clients. He decided to instead focus on how he would build an operating model that can support an agent trying to gain more clients. This was the core value proposition of the company. So for the first six months, it was all about how to get to the heart of building a value proposition. Sharran wanted to be able to give a one-sentence pitch to clients which would make them like the offer they were getting. How did Sharran get a foothold in the market? (37:17) Sharran has no people on the ground. They started building a partner model. They have someone in every country, promoting them. They have a major real estate network in Australia which had a substantial real estate conference. Sharran was there as a keynote speaker, and that grew into a 3D keynote that eventually developed the brand. They found the right kind of person to become partners with. It could be a portal, a coaching company, or even another brokerage, but it’s mainly about helping with the delivery of your service. In Australia, there are no buyer side commissions, so the company quickly realised that buyers are not taken care of in Australia. There is no incentive to look after buyers in Australia because they are not getting paid. It ruined half of Sharran’s original pitch about understanding agents well. Therefore learning local market nuances is super powerful. What does Sharran recommend entrepreneurs do to address a shortage of listings? (42:14) You have to have a singular focus which is what you wake up and obsess about every single day. You need to have a cadence of accountability. You have to have a fair process that drives good results. A lot of entrepreneurs will hack stuff. Teles’ singular focus was recruiting agents that were selling at least ten homes a year or more. They incentive their agents even more by saying if you get seven or more listings a year you get 52 days off in that year. Sharran would also tell all his sales managers and recruiting managers the same thing. Once Sharran managed to get the employees on board, he could deliver the service. Teles Teles Properties is a full-service, luxury real estate firm headquartered in Beverly Hills. They have 21 offices strategically located in California’s most prestigious markets. From the highlands of Carmel to the island of Coronado as well as a presence in Boulder, Colo. Recognized for four consecutive years by the prestigious Inc. 500|5000 lists as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America, Teles has become an industry disruptor, attracting top broker talent and elite leadership from invaluable and complementary sectors such as marketing, technology, finance, and law. Resources Connect with Sharran: LinkedIn Teles Properties: Website Beyond 8 Figures: Website