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Show Summary
In this conversation, Dylan Silver interviews Katrina Madewell, a realtor and leader of the Tampa Home Talk team. They discuss the evolution of Tampa, its demographic shifts, and the influx of new residents from various regions. Katrina shares her personal journey of navigating loss and her new podcast, ‘Live, Love, Loss,’ which aims to help others dealing with grief. The conversation emphasizes the importance of authenticity in building connections and the impact of personal experiences on professional endeavors.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Katrina Madewell (00:00)
so Jason and I started Live, Love, Loss, and we started that show because, you know, when you’ve lost someone as close as a spouse, and a lot of people try to compare that to a divorce or something else like that, it’s just not the same. But everyone has lost someone close to them, whether it’s a grandparent or a parent or a child or a dear friend.And that loss is really hard. And a lot of times you find yourself trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces and move on. And so our goal for the show is how do we help other people, like specifically that have lost their spouse or lost their significant other, and then also lost a child.
Dylan Silver (02:07)
Hey folks, welcome back to the show. Today’s guest, Katrina Madewell is a realtor and leader of the Tampa Home Talk team. You can find her on YouTube at Katrina Madewell or at tampahometalk.com. Katrina, welcome to the show.Katrina Madewell (02:23)
Hey, welcome. Thank you for having me, Dylan.Dylan Silver (02:26)
It’s great to have you on here. And by the way, I’m a huge fan of all things Tampa. I’ve considered moving there several times. How long have you been in Tampa?Katrina Madewell (02:27)
younative Tampa girl so was born and raised right here in Tampa I’ve seen this whole city evolve from what used to be a small town to what’s now a big city.
Dylan Silver (02:47)
It’s pretty remarkable andI have spoken with so many different people in Florida real estate on this show. I seem to get a lot of guests from Florida and I’ve been told, you know, the West Coast of Florida, South Florida, they’re two different places. And honestly, having been to the South, you know, Southern Florida, Miami, I really haven’t been to Tampa very much. I see the allure of the West Coast. You’ve got the beautiful beaches, right? You’ve got a slightly more cost effective.
area I see the allure.
Katrina Madewell (03:19)
Well, there’s so much more to Tampa, right, than just the Gulf Coast beaches. Yes, that’s an amazing part. I’m a big voter myself, so I spend time on the water. At this time of year, the manatees are all coming in up north, so that’s a pretty cool experience if you’ve never done it. But certainly, Tampa has a lot to offer. A lot of people from Miami actually have migrated into the Tampa market.Dylan Silver (03:41)
Yeah, I can definitelysee that that being the case.
mean, when we talk about some of the hotbeds for real estate in the country, of course, Florida is right on on top of that list. I’m a Texas realtor. So I sometimes see people looking at destinations where they want to move to or markets that they’re looking at. Texas and Florida are right there. Like, you know, I’m not sure who is on top given any specific day, but I certainly know Tampa is up there.
I want to ask you maybe a very granular question about being a realtor out there for as long as you have been in Tampa. You mentioned the growth of the city and seeing it change over time. ⁓ Right now, is there a current demographic shift that you see happening in the city of Tampa versus what people might have associated with it even 10 years ago?
Katrina Madewell (04:32)
So I used to remember the metrics. don’t anymore. Like in terms of population, I probably should, right? Being an agent, but I don’t know that off the cuff. ⁓ I will tell you that Tampa was like that small town vibe. So for example, those of us that grew up together, we went to ⁓ elementary, middle and high school together. We all kind of know each other. So many of you may have heard of cigar city brewing, right? Have you probably heard of that? So that…Dylan Silver (04:59)
I have,but yeah.
Katrina Madewell (05:48)
That company is prevalent for Tampa. It’s known to Tampa, but it’s all over. And so the guy that started that is someone that I went to high school with. And so that’s what I mean by like the people that grew up here, like me, when I was younger, we all sort of knew each other. It was a small town. Anybody that was anybody knew everybody. And now we are definitely a melting pot. So Tampa has been like this undiscovered gem for many, many years. And I’ve said to a lot of people, it has a lot of similarities to San Diego.And if you don’t own here, you won’t be able to afford to buy here in the future. And so other than the humidity, that’s a little different for some people than San Diego. I would say there’s a lot of similar ⁓ qualities and traits in terms of the city vibe and it being a melting pot, people from all over.
Dylan Silver (06:35)
You know,I’ve also heard amazing things about the surrounding area as well. And forgive me for my limited knowledge of Tampa, but I understand St. Petersburg is relatively close by. Is that considered like Tampa Metro?
Katrina Madewell (06:48)
Yes, correct. So Tampa Bay really encompasses, it depends on who you ask, three or four counties. So Hillsborough County is Tampa proper. And then when you get over by the Gulf beaches, St. Pete, Clearwater, that’s Pinellas County. So that’s the area you’re talking about. ⁓ And then Pasco County is just the Northern County that basically is on top of both of those. And so you have a lot of people that, Pasco was a bedroom community forever, right? Where people lived in Pasco and commuted to Tampa. And now we’re starting to see that.more businesses are starting to come into the area. There’s a lot of growth and people are commuting here and even coming from some of the northern eastern counties as well.
Dylan Silver (07:26)
You know, there’s somethingin the water. think it could be it just might be the weather. I don’t exactly know what it is, but I’ve spoken with so many real estate entrepreneurs, investors, business owners who are moving their business to Florida. And it’s probably the weather. then as well, I also think that there is a culture of entrepreneurship out there. And right now I’ve seen quite a number of people in the Tampa area that are young entrepreneurs as well.
Katrina Madewell (07:34)
Okay.Dylan Silver (07:54)
Initially, that was surprising to me, but then you see it a couple dozen times and you’re like, okay, this is a trend.Katrina Madewell (08:00)
Yeah, I do think there’s a lot of that. There’s so many people moving here. It’s hard to keep up with all the people that actually live here. ⁓ Anybody that’s been here for any amount of time, I probably know them just because I’m from here. I’m born and raised here. So I know many of the people that have been here for a long amount of time or anyone that’s certainly making an impact here.Dylan Silver (08:19)
On the flip side of that,do you see any, I would say, transiency in the population in a sense where people might move there for a time period but then they might move back? Is that something or is Tampa pretty sticky as far as people moving and staying there?
Katrina Madewell (08:35)
say it’s pretty sticky. have that normal New York to Florida migration pattern, which we’ve had for many, many years. But in the recent trends, like after COVID, we’ve actually seen people from places like California move here, which is odd because that normally has not been a normal migration pattern. They typically would move to places like Phoenix, know, or places that are a little east of California. But we do see quite a few people, lot of people from the Midwest come here.⁓ I think the day and age we live in now, right, with the younger generation, people don’t talk to each other as frequently as they used to. So it makes it little bit harder to connect if you don’t do it online. I think that’s just true in the world that we live in. And then it’s how do you show up as a person once you’ve met online? So I think that’s a big part of it. To answer your question, Dylan, is, is it sticky? I think like with any place, if you immerse yourself into the culture, it’s gonna be sticky and you’re gonna love Tampa.
If you say, I can’t meet anybody because I don’t know anybody, well, then you’re going to find what you’re looking for.
Dylan Silver (09:33)
That’s interesting.And I’ve noticed somewhat of a different trend in Texas, I would say. I’ve had quite a number of relationships in business and then friendships where I’ve seen people move from California and then move back. And I said, I’ve seen this now personally enough times that this has to be a greater trend. And I was living in San Antonio at the time. Then I later moved to Dallas and I saw it happen in both places. And it is interesting, right? People would come from,
one side of the country all the way down to Tampa, Florida. And it’s not like it’s not sunny in California either. So they’ve got good weather out there. So they’re moving for other reasons. I do want to pivot a bit here though, Katrina, and ask you about some of the new projects that you’re working on. know ⁓ Live Love Loss is a podcast that you just released.
Katrina Madewell (10:57)
It is, myself and Jason McIntosh, which is another mega agent like me here in Tampa. As I mentioned to you, I did Tampa Home Talk for many years since 2013, and we did that in a live radio program. And after my husband passed away in 2024, I decided to take a break from everything and subsequently decided to change my show, Tampa Home Talk, from a live radio show to being live radio first and then going to a podcast.we flipped that and put podcasts first and said, okay, now we’ll send it to the station. ⁓ Because people listen to stuff more on demand, right? So in my quest to do that and revamp my studio, I reconnected with Jason McIntosh. We ended up talking. His office is where Real Producers is hosted. You probably have that there in Texas. And so he is a widower like me, I’m a widow. And then he had the worst, the worst. Not only did he lose his wife in his 30s, he lost a child 10 years later.
And so we started this journey just in a conversation about, know, widowhood and what it’s like and also dating in 2025, which is a dumpster fire, right? Anyone that’s dating in this day and age knows that. I was married with my husband for 31 years. So you can imagine what a culture shock that was to re-enter the dating world, right? After like being single for a year.
Dylan Silver (12:07)
Yeah.It’s
a culture shock for everybody. mean, none of us can believe the situation out here.
Katrina Madewell (12:22)
Well, the thing, Dylan, is like the last time I was single, I was 20 years old, and these didn’t exist. So a lot of stuff has changed, right? AndDylan Silver (12:27)
That’s right.Katrina Madewell (12:31)
so Jason and I started Live, Love, Loss, and we started that show because, you know, when you’ve lost someone as close as a spouse, and a lot of people try to compare that to a divorce or something else like that, it’s just not the same. But everyone has lost someone close to them, whether it’s a grandparent or a parent or a child or a dear friend.And that loss is really hard. And a lot of times you find yourself trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces and move on. And so our goal for the show is how do we help other people, like specifically that have lost their spouse or lost their significant other, and then also lost a
And unless you’ve ever been in that space, it’s so hard to even empathize with that. And so the goal of the show is really just to connect with people that have lost someone. So if that’s you or someone you know, would highly encourage you to share the show, Live, Love, Loss.
Dylan Silver (13:20)
Now, when we talk about the different projects that you’ve been involved in, this seems to be a separate pursuit because there’s no it’s not driven by real estate, right? This is specifically a separate niche, right? Have you is this a first time, you know, doing a venture like this that’s outside of the real estate space? Or have you done other ⁓ business outside of real estate like this?Katrina Madewell (13:43)
So I mean, I want to say yes. I mean, I started a podcast a long time ago. What would I do if I were 22? And I was interviewing like people over 40 that had a net worth of a million dollars or higher, sort of fizzled out. My husband got sick, you know, life takes you in a different direction. And as you know, this is a commitment. It’s a big commitment to keep a podcast going. And so yes, this is the first time I’ve done something outside of real estate or any type of business venture where it’s sort of like just for fun, for healing, and also meant to help other people in the process.And the whole thing started from a conversation like Jason has a radio background like me and we’re sitting at lunch talking and we’re going, this is an interview, this is a podcast. So that’s how the whole idea was born.
Dylan Silver (14:13)
No.The ability for people
to present like a passion project, something that they feel can make an impact, something that would benefit themselves, but also folks who may be listening. To me, that helps even newer realtors ⁓ build a brand and establish themselves. Because oftentimes I had someone come to me and ask me, should I start a podcast? And it wasn’t really real estate based, but they were a realtor. And I said, honestly, I think it might be a great fit because
what they were interested in specifically was music. And I said, well, people might come to you for music, but then realize you sell homes and be like, hey, I want to work with someone who I like their music. They have a similar, you know, taste in music that I do.
And that can that can be a bridge there. And of course, I’m not saying that everyone should start a podcast to sell homes. But I also think that ⁓ oftentimes these relationships and connections build in in in mysterious ways and
you can make a connection with someone like halfway across the world. And you know, when they’re looking to do business in your neck of the woods, you’re the person that they think about.
Katrina Madewell (16:13)
My very first appointment I had, I told you I took three months off when my husband passed away. The very first appointment that they sent me on, on listing appointment, they didn’t even know. I discovered it when I showed up there. The lady was a widow. Her husband passed away and that’s why I was there to sell her home. She was moving out of state to be near with family. And I thought that’s interesting how life shows up. You know, it just sort of aligns people down the path they’re supposed to go.But I think that’s true with anything, Dylan. Yeah, you have to live into your hobbies or whatever makes you happy or what is it maybe could be a passion project. And then from there, you just connect with your people, right? You connect with your tribe and the people that you have synergy with. There’s no point to do business with anyone else.
Dylan Silver (16:52)
Yeah, and I think a lot of timespeople will look for, how do I build like the most professional presence possible and how do I make sure that I’m appearing to be, you know, super experienced and very legitimate? And that’s great. And I do think there’s places for that. But I also think that in a business where it’s very much like a contact sport, your shoulder to shoulder people when you’re in their homes, right?
that you also want to be able to have people feel like they know you before they’ve even met you, like know you before they know you.
Katrina Madewell (17:23)
People connect with real. So no one wants you to show up with a fake persona or be somebody you’re not. They connect with a person that’s real. even like, for example, know, live radio, you don’t get a chance to edit. So if you trip over your own words or whatever, you just have to laugh at yourself and keep going. And I found that the people over the years have really resonated with that. They appreciate it. They love it. They see me as a real person, which is how I want them to see me. Some of the most awkwardthat I’ve ever been on are when people are actually radio show listeners first, and then I’ll show up to sell their house. And I’m like, no, no, no, my real job is I sell real estate, and I just have fun with Tampa Home Talk. So please don’t look at me like I sell lever. I’m a regular person like you, and I’m here to help you. And so I think people relate to that. The longer they listen to the show, the more they know you. pick up little tidbits about you, your family, what you like to do for fun. People like that.
Dylan Silver (18:15)
Yeah, and I think unless you’ve got a pre existing book of business, it’s a great way, like you mentioned for people to get to know you. And then on top of that, it helps build relationships in these ⁓ really interesting ways. Like I’ve had people reach out to me saying I saw you on this podcast. And I never did it initially to to to develop connections. I started because it was a great way to have interesting conversations with people. But I ended up meeting my broker.as a guest on this show. And so that’s just how these things happen. are coming up on time here though, Katrina. Where can folks go? Where can our audience go to learn more about you? Any projects that you’re working on? How can folks get in contact with you or your team?
Katrina Madewell (18:59)
So you can find me pretty much across all the social channels, pretty much on everything I’m at Tampa Homes, ⁓ or you can find me Katrina Madewell. So Katrina, like the hurricane, Madewell, like something that’s Madewell or the store, M-A-D-E-W-E-L-L. ⁓ My book, Selling Through Relationships is available on Amazon. And I know your podcast is investor fuel, so we can spend some time on that too, you know?But that’s how I talk about people investing in real estate. ⁓ sometimes it looks a little different than the way you expect it to. And I talk about that a little bit in the book and a lot on the show and in other social channels. Yeah, thank you, Dylan.
Dylan Silver (19:38)
Katrina, thank you so much for your time. Thank you for coming on the show today.
