Icons of Real Estate Podcast

When most people hear “franchise,” they think fast food. Jon Ostenson thinks bigger — and quieter. In this episode, host Jim Remley sits down with the CEO and founder of FranBridge Consulting, who calls himself “a real estate broker, but for franchises,” to unpack the world of non-food franchising and why it’s become a favorite diversification play for real estate investors. Jon breaks down the “b...

Most agents didn’t get into real estate to chase signatures and send follow-up emails at midnight — but that’s what the job has become. In this episode, host Robert Kennedy III sits down with Kristen Thompson and Michelle Schubert, co-founders of Subi, the AI-powered transaction platform built on one idea: let the robot do what the robot can do, so the human can be human. They break down how Subi...

Commercial real estate brokers are still driving around neighborhoods looking for properties. In 2026. Doug Sullinger — 30 years at Oracle, IBM, and Dun & Bradstreet — watched it happen and built Basil AI to fix it. Basil is an agentic AI platform that covers every parcel in the United States with 150-200 verified data points. Brokers type in what they're looking for, and the platform retu...

At 33, AJ Osborne became a quadriplegic overnight. He lost his job, his mobility, and nearly everything — except his self-storage portfolio. That passive income saved his family.   From his wheelchair, AJ built companies worth over $100 million in storage assets. Today he operates 3M+ net rentable square feet across 12 states through Cedar Creek Capital and Self Storage Income.   In this interview...

In the world's most competitive real estate market — 79,000 agents, the largest board on the planet — 85% of agents did zero deals last year.   Tyler McLay is a third-generation agent who earned seven figures by his early twenties and now coaches agents through Rex Coaching. His system delivers 2-3 deals from a client's existing database in the first 90 days.   In this interview, you'l...

Most investors are leaving capital on the table — not because it isn't there, but because their loan officer doesn't know how to get it out. In this episode, we sit down with Ben Stef, founder of Funding Freedom and mortgage loan advisor through Nexa Mortgage. Ben specializes in the creative financing tools most traditional lenders won't touch: DSCR loans, second-position rental equity lines, and...

If you own a brokerage and you're struggling to recruit or retain agents, there's a good chance you're making the same mistake 99% of broker-owners make: you're pitching people instead of building relationships. In this episode, we sit down with Jim Remley — founder of eRealEstateCoach.com and former owner of the largest independent real estate company in Oregon. Jim started in rea...

Everyone in real estate tech is building CRMs, lead gen tools, and marketing platforms. But who’s solving the actual chaos that happens after the offer is signed? In this episode, we sit down with Karan Khanna, product manager and co-founder of ListedKit AI, the venture studio-backed platform behind Ava—an AI transaction coordinator that has already powered over 2,000 transactions across all 50 st...

What happens when someone walks away from the Federal Reserve, performs opera for over a decade, and then builds a $150 million real estate empire from scratch? Most people would call that impossible. Corinn Altamare calls it Tuesday. In this episode, we sit down with Corinn, co-founder and Chief Relationship Officer of Hearthfire Holdings—a firm that manages 22 locations, over a million square fe...

What if I told you someone went from sleeping on a couch in 2010—zero dollars, no team, no safety net—to building the number one real estate team in Texas, closing thousands of transactions a year? In this episode, we sit down with Chris Waters, CEO and founder of Waters International Realty, published author of "Million Dollar Real Estate Team," and creator of the RealSynch app. Chris d...

70% of homes in New York City are rentals. Out of the 30% you can buy, condos are just a sliver—and that’s exactly what makes them one of the most valuable and misunderstood assets in the market. In this episode, we sit down with Mickey (Mukul Achaldani), founder and CEO of Undivided Real Estate, a luxury advisory firm with over $200 million in lifetime closed sales across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and...

What does a Hollywood film producer know about selling $50M luxury homes in Los Angeles? As it turns out — everything. Adam Brawer spent years producing films alongside Oscar-winning talent before transitioning into luxury real estate. Today, he operates across Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Brentwood — marketing properties like short films, building a brand people can't ignore, and saging eve...

Is your real estate marketing ready for the AI shift? In this episode, we sit down with Steve Marcinuk, co-founder of KeyCrew Media, who has spent over 15 years analyzing hundreds of millions of articles to understand how information travels online. The old question was, "How do I rank on Google?". The new question that is quietly reshaping the industry is: "How do I get discovered...

Joe Killinger scaled THREE real estate companies past $5 million in revenue — all within 18 months. In this episode, he breaks down exactly how he did it, and what most agents get dead wrong from day one. Nearly 90% of agents who jump into commercial real estate flame out fast. Joe explains why — and what separates the ones who build lasting businesses from those just chasing the next deal. From c...

How a Halifax real estate agent gets inbound relocation leads from across Canada, the US, and Europe — using YouTube and zero cold calling. Tom Moore started filming neighborhood tours during COVID with no crew and no experience. 3.5 years later, YouTube is his #1 lead source. Here's exactly how he did it. What you'll learn:The content types that attract relocation buyers (neighborhood tou...

Josh Pono sold 33 homes in his first year as an agent — outbound, no handouts, just systems and execution. Now he's built one of San Diego's fastest-growing brokerages. In this episode, he breaks down exactly why most agents stay stuck, and how to fix it. Josh Pono spent nearly 8 years in real estate tech — consulting top producers at Boomtown, KV Core, and Inside Real Estate — before bett...

Rod Khleif built a massive real estate portfolio — then lost $50 million in the 2008 crash. In this episode, he reveals exactly how he rebuilt everything and why the current market may be the biggest opportunity of your lifetime. In this episode of Icons of Real Estate, we sit down with Rod Khleif — multifamily investor, host of the Lifetime Cash Flow Through Real Estate Investing podcast (30M+ do...

Andrew Freed went from a $120K W2 salary to 300+ units and $70M in assets under management — in just 4 years. In this episode, he breaks down exactly how he did it using house hacking, HELOCs, and syndication. 🔑 Watch the full breakdown ↓ In this episode of Icons of Real Estate, we sit down with Andrew Freed, a multifamily investor and syndicator based in Massachusetts. Andrew shares his real est...

He arrived in the U.S. with just $500 in his pocket. Today, Andres Bernal owns a $12M+ real estate portfolio with over 60 rental units and 50+ completed flips through his company Sky Circle LLC. In this episode, Andres breaks down: → How he built capital through house flipping before buying rentals → His "flip for capital, rent for freedom" strategy → Why student housing and Section 8 re...

Is your real estate building wealth… or quietly setting your family up for conflict? In this episode of Icons of Real Estate, we sit down with nationally recognized Real Estate Wealth Advisor Dan Ihara, who has helped over 1,500 families protect assets, avoid capital gains taxes, and prevent painful inheritance disputes. Dan shares why 70% of families fight over real estate, how most homeowners un...

Real estate AI, video marketing, and client experience explained by Jeremias “J-Man” Maneiro. Learn how top agents use AI agents, avatars, and storytelling to stand out without losing human connection.(That hits: real estate AI, video marketing, client experience, agents, human connection.)Real estate AI, video marketing, and client experience explained by Jeremias “J-Man” Maneiro. In this episode...

Most real estate agents don’t fail because they lack talent—they fail because they lack execution. In this episode of Icons of Real Estate, Ifoma Pierre breaks down video, AI, authenticity, and disciplined action. Most real estate agents don’t fail because they lack talent—they fail because they never turn potential into performance. In this episode of Icons of Real Estate, nationally recognized s...

Real estate agents don’t need a “perfect strategy”—they need a repeatable system. Sean Carpenter breaks down how to build trust, stay top of mind, and generate leads using simple daily habits. Most real estate agents are chasing the next tactic… the next script… the next tool. But Sean Carpenter says the agents who win don’t chase perfect — they build repeatable. In this episode of the Icons of Re...

What if the most powerful advantage in real estate isn’t your scripts, your CRM, or your tech stack — but how clearly you communicate? In this episode of the Icons of Real Estate Podcast, we sit down with Maria Gallucci, a top 1% real estate agent, CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), fluent ASL communicator, and author of Raised in Silence. Raised by Deaf parents and fluent in ASL before English, Maria l...

Most real estate agents struggle to stand out in today’s market. In this episode, Courtney Poulos breaks down branding, niches, systems, and why clarity (not conformity) wins in 2026. Most real estate agents are doing everything they’re told — and still not getting results. In this episode of the Icons of Real Estate Podcast, Courtney Poulos, founder of ACME Real Estate, explains why traditional b...