Subscribe via:
Show Summary
In this conversation, Reannah Glover shares her journey from a young assistant in real estate to the founder of the RealTime app, a tech solution aimed at improving the real estate transaction process. She discusses the challenges of starting in a competitive market, the importance of client relationships, and the innovative approach she took to create a user-friendly app that enhances the client experience. Reannah emphasizes the need for trust in real estate tech and her commitment to building a product that genuinely serves realtors and their clients.
Resources and Links from this show:
-
Listen to the Audio Version of this Episode
Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Reannah Glover (00:00)
they’re probably gonna write this on my casket, I say this so much. We can literally watch Domino’s make a pizza. You can track a package, you know where it’s at at all times. But when you go to make the biggest investment of your life usually, you can’t track it. Like there wasn’t a good buyer interface. And I felt like that needs to come. Other industries do this.Dylan Silver (00:03)
Hey folks, welcome back to the show. Today’s guest, Reannah Glover, has an innovative real estate tech application, the RealTime app, helps facilitate seamless transactions with realtors and their clients. Reannah, welcome to their show.
Reannah Glover (02:21)
Yes, thank you so much for having me.Dylan Silver (02:25)
It’s great to have you on here and I always like to start off at the top of the show by asking guests how they got into the real estate space.Reannah Glover (02:34)
So I started when I was very young. Someone encouraged me to think about real estate. I loved law. And so really thought that would be more of the direction I would go in. And when they told me, should, you should think about real estate, I said, no, no, no, no. Realtors are poor. I do not want to do that. And I grew up in a small town. And so was like nothing really sold. And then I ended up going to work as like the number four or five assistant for a big agent and walked her dogs, did all the things. But I sawher work and I was like, I do love this. And so I don’t, I don’t recommend starting real estate when you’re that young. Cause there was some moments I really thought I was going to starve, but God is good.
I jumped in and got ahead of the curve on some things that were coming onto the market with technology and kind of watched that transition. so that’s how I started. And then I was in a city, I knew no one, but just kind of clogged my way through and had a really great career for 12 years.
Dylan Silver (03:35)
West Texas, right? So it was Midland.Reannah Glover (03:39)
huh, Midland, Texas.Dylan Silver (03:41)
Now, I know a little bit about West Texas from having some friends from Lubbock, but I don’t know in great detail what the market is like out there. Is it a lot of oil field? What’s the typical ⁓ workforce like and what’s the market like in Midland?Reannah Glover (03:57)
Yeah, so it’s very interesting. So it’s an oil and gas based community. I mean, that’s they call it Little Saudi, but it’s actually one of the top real estate markets in the United States. It’s amazing how it works. I mean, it’s it’s very unique because a lot of it can almost be like old school, but a lot of real estate moves through that place. And it’s a great economy. I mean, I was blown away by the opportunity there. But yes, it’s all oil and gas based pretty much.Dylan Silver (04:26)
wanna ask you about the Real Time app, but I also wanna paint a picture here for someone coming up in real estate. So, 19 years old, getting into this space, did you, you mentioned being, thinking about maybe I’m gonna go be an attorney. I could see that, I could see based on what you’ve done, thinking, hey, maybe I’m gonna go be an attorney. What was it about real estate? Did you know somebody? Was it a leap of faith? Did you have family, friends telling you to get into real estate?Reannah Glover (04:51)
You know, yes, so someone just, were like, man, your personality, you just really seem like that would be something that you would do goodAnd like I said, I was kind of like, no, but when that job, a friend of mine, her…
Soon-to-be mother-in-law was the top realtor in Midland and she was looking for another assistant and so that’s when I took that opportunity. But what I fell in love with in real estate and I think this still carries on through my life today is I’m really not a big salesman. don’t like…
That’s not really who I am, but I love providing something of value. I love being there and being able to ⁓ sit down with someone and say, hey, I know this is stressful, but I’ve been through this. Let me walk you through it. And that part of like me, that’s what just in real estate sparked me. And I loved the hustle and that I had.
⁓ really really great teacher and she told me she said I’m gonna tell you this in real estate there is no ceiling here there’s also no floor and like I said there was some moments I almost starved but I was you know got some really good opportunities and just kept hustling
Dylan Silver (06:52)
I want to ask you about a scaling of business in real estate, whether you’re in West Texas, Central Texas, whether you’re in West Coast of the United States, East Coast of the United States. People who are starting out, I mean, I don’t know the exact statistic, but I got licensed as a realtor earlier this year. However many realtors after two years don’t sell any homes, right? And so you see this big drop off. You mentioned that it wasn’t always easy or straightforward.Reannah Glover (07:14)
Yeah.Dylan Silver (07:18)
What was your strategy to scale your business through downturns when you were just starting out? And what advice would you give to maybe younger realtors out there who are thinking about, this isn’t easy right now. How do I develop a ⁓ clientele?Reannah Glover (07:34)
Yeah, so I am a big advocate for take advantage of the time you have at that moment, right? And tell yourself, I won’t always be here. One day I’m going to have 20 houses under contract. But when I started, I said, okay, ⁓ I would look at these big agents and I’m like, why would someone use me? Like I tried to look so much older than I was. I wore suits. Like I would never tell anybody my age. I was so embarrassed. But I’m like, why would someone use me over them? And you have toreally ask yourself that. And I’m a huge advocate for educate yourself. Like I don’t have a college degree. I don’t have anything, but I can learn and I can read. And so I knew those contracts from front to back. I knew those addendums from front to back. And then what I did is I hustled. So when I had a client, you better believe when they called, they got, they got an answer. When they text, I replied and I never stopped appreciating them for their business. And just once we
I have like a strategy that I used to do, but always just letting people know how grateful I am and that I don’t take this lightly that you trusted me with this investment.
Dylan Silver (08:45)
and then that’s how you get the referrals and the repeat business. I do want to ⁓ pivot a bit here, Reannah, and ask you about where you saw this opportunity for the RealTime app. When did this come to you? Was there a point in your own ⁓ business as a realtor where you were saying, hey, there may be an opportunity for someone to innovate here, and was that the inception of this idea for the RealTime?Reannah Glover (08:49)
Yeah.Yeah. So like I said, starting 12 years ago, or I guess a little more than that, I really watched a lot transition in the industry. And so when I talk about me kind of being ahead of the curve on some stuff, I was, I worked for the top real estate company there in Midland, but I was the youngest one. And all of these agents are older, very successful. And at that moment, the company spent $20,000 a month on the newspaper on advertising in the newspaper. Cause that used to be where you would go look at new listings.
well, there was some new there was a new company trying to come on to the market and their name was Zillow and They wanted to sell leads and nobody wanted to buy him I mean they would be sitting in I’d be sitting in a meeting Dylan and they’d be like ⁓ Zillow is the devil I cannot believe realtors would invest in Zillow like how crazy
and I am broke like
broke on my own, no help. And I was like, God, Lee, I know these girls know way more about what’s going on than me, like little on me, but I knew people my age. We weren’t gonna go to the newspaper. And this was before like the apps, really. I mean, this is bari. But I’m like, I really feel like we’re gonna go to our phones. So I took a little bit of money I had and I bought some leads. And back then, they’re not the same today. Back then, they were good. Like.
Dylan Silver (10:54)
Yeah.Reannah Glover (11:07)
real good and I hustled and I would meet hundreds of people. Some would not pan out, but some would. And so I watched this industry change and I was ahead of that. Thank goodness. I’m, you know, like, like I said, little on me from a small town in central Texas, but you have to stay everybody just keep thinking, always be processed and learning and reading.Dylan Silver (11:22)
Yeah.Reannah Glover (11:29)
And so I saw that transition and then got built a really good business off of it. And then I always am a huge advocate again for staying organized. There is too much money on the line. There’s too many important dates to not be organized. And so I would have paper files.Dylan Silver (11:40)
Thanks.Reannah Glover (11:46)
And me and my assistants would do that. Well, then I had to let those go and like COVID happened and we just, our working situation was different. I was at a company that no longer had an office building and it just wasn’t the same like walk in every day with your assistants that they’re at a desk. And so I hated that feeling of letting go of those paper files because I loved being able to open it. And it was like your checklist, your MLS sheet, all your inspections, everything’s right there. And my little oldDylan Silver (12:15)
Yeah.Reannah Glover (12:16)
It’s like, okay, I am here, I’m checking this, we’re good, shut it, move on. And I missed that feeling. And so I was like, golly, you know, I wish I didn’t have to go to three places, this CRM, this checklist, this and that. And so that was like a, that was a pain point. But then what really did it for me was it was crazy to me that no matter how much I would, you know, send reminders, text reminders, print things out, email people.Dylan Silver (12:20)
ThankYeah.
Thank
Reannah Glover (12:46)
me and my team, we’d still get the same phone calls of my client calling me and saying, Reannah, my gosh, I know you told me this, but what day is closing again? Or what title company am I supposed to be going to? Or what are, I feel like I’m forgetting something. What am I supposed to be doing right now? Especially if you’re buying and selling at the same time. And so all of that just led me to a thought where I sat there and I said, my gosh, like in this day and age, we can.Dylan Silver (12:53)
ThankThank you.
Reannah Glover (13:15)
they’re probably gonna write this on my casket, I say this so much. We can literally watch Domino’s make a pizza. You can track a package, you know where it’s at at all times. But when you go to make the biggest investment of your life usually, you can’t track it. Like there wasn’t a good buyer interface. And I felt like that needs to come. Other industries do this.Dylan Silver (13:18)
YouReannah Glover (13:40)
And so I feel like that’s what’s coming.Again, like I tell everybody, like when I started, I couldn’t find any client facing apps, but I think it’s going to come, you’re going to start seeing this more and more of like, it’s going to be about the client experience. so anyways, that’s kind of how that transitioned and then started was like, somebody should do this. I didn’t think I, you know, it was going to be me. And then I had, I think I had said this, but I had a profound experience that I was like, okay, ⁓ you know what? I’m going to do it. So.
Dylan Silver (13:55)
100%.I want to ask you about that idea, know, hey, I’m going to get started with this. Maybe without giving away any of the gold here. You mentioned having a profound experience, but you were a successful realtor. There’s a big leap of faith to start a company, let alone a tech company. I’ve had so many entrepreneurs and then also people who invest in tech tell me like real estate tech is kind of like being a major league baseball player. You know, if you’re batting 300 out of a thousand, you’re in the hall of fame. So it’s not an easy
business to get into, what was it that really compelled you to say, I know this is something that I have to do?
Reannah Glover (14:53)
So I’m a very spiritual person. It’s just, you know, who I am. And I had a pretty profound experience where,know, I had a really good career and like if leaving Midland real estate, that doesn’t mean I can’t go somewhere else and be successful. Like, and I had done better than I ever thought. And so I’m like, no, this doesn’t make sense. And then a profound experience with some prayer and just felt that God, I mean, it was like,
Dylan Silver (15:57)
Ryan.Reannah Glover (16:04)
no, you clearly you need to do this. And I thought, okay, like, I can think of 1 million reasons I should not do this. But it was so clear to me that I felt like this is what I was called to in my life. And so I’m like, okay, I’m doing it. And honestly, Dylan, I think if I would have had any clue of how difficult it was, I would have never done it because it has been very hard. No, but we haveDylan Silver (16:25)
It’s not easy.Reannah Glover (16:29)
I’m standing here today and we have survived and we are thriving. But yeah, I mean, I’m the most unconventional tech founder probably out there. And when I walk in the rooms, these guys from Silicon Valley look at me like I have two heads. So.Dylan Silver (16:45)
I have to ask you about that. ⁓ Texas realtor, West Texas, Midland, oil and gas town, profound experience through prayer and you say, I’m going to change the industry here. I can imagine there’s some forces at play. A, you have the way things have always been done. I’m a new, I’m a baby realtor and I can already see like, you’re right, there is no way to track if I’m selling my home or if I’m buying home.right, and I’m submitting documents and I have EMD and I’m doing this, where’s the way to track? You can track your dominoes order but you can’t track your home transaction, what’s going on here? And so here you are saying, okay, well I’m gonna change this. And so you have, I imagine there’s gotta be the institutional people saying, you know, this is a tall order. And then you also have, this is a whole new realm. Like that real estate tech space is a totally different space from what you were previously a part of.
Reannah Glover (17:38)
Yes.Dylan Silver (17:43)
What has been that experience like for you walking into these rooms and talking with people? What’s been the reception? How have you been navigating the early growth of your company?Reannah Glover (17:53)
I will tell you, I have shed many tears in hotel rooms and like, you know, just trying to get through and you’re, you know, to have, you have to.I guess the best way for me to say this is you have to know who you are. And I lost so much confidence in the beginning because I’m like, what am I doing? But then it’s like, you know what? I am different. I’m different than everybody else in this room. But if I’m to be innovative, I have to be confident in me being different. so the experience of, I mean, and you’ll hear people say this, but I am,
Like I said, I didn’t go to college, but I’m an advocate for being a student of life. And so I constantly am listening to podcasts. I’m learning. And I’m going to tell you something too, that I give advice to everybody on very successful people. It’s shocking, but if you ask them, Hey, will you give me some advice or will you, you know, let me take you to coffee or will you give me 15 minutes on a zoom call? I’ve almost, I’ve never had anybody tell me no. And I will sit there.
and I’m quiet, I know the questions I need to ask, and I just process it. And I have had so many people pour into me that I’m so grateful for. But I just went with my gut and I prayed over every decision. you know, kind of again, a big part of my company is that with other tech companies, there’s such a like this trust with the realtor and the tech company of your data is being sold, they’re charging your cards when you don’t know it, all this stuff. I was,
Dylan Silver (19:09)
Right.Reannah Glover (19:32)
I set out with a mission that I was not going to be that way. And I wanted people, when they thought of real time, I wanted them to think, man, they treat meDylan Silver (19:33)
Thank you.Reannah Glover (19:39)
good. That girl started that thing. They care about their real terms. They care about how people feel when they’re using it. so, yeah, I mean, that was kind of the journey of just, got with some really good people and learned and read and I mean, and then just kept surviving, honestly.Dylan Silver (19:46)
ThankOkay.
kept going
Reannah Glover (20:01)
Not a few times. Yeah. So.Dylan Silver (20:01)
kept going I it’s not easy I’ve had numerous real estate tech people on the show here and I mean it can it can be a challenging journey and what you’re doing specifically is truly moving the needle because like I like I said it’s been done one way for so long which you saw I’m curious for folks who may be listening where can peopleUse the real-time app. Is it only available in Texas? Is it across the board? Where can folks go to either reach out to yourself or learn more about the
app?
Reannah Glover (20:38)
Yeah, so it’s we are across the United States so you can look us up on therealtimeapp.com. We have a trial so go in, try it, see how you like it. If you have any feedback, we love to hear it. We are a product built by realtors for realtors. And then we’re also going to be at NAR in Houston this year. So we have a big booth in the front. I’d love to meet you. I’ll be there the whole time. My team will be there. And sometimes Dylan will meet people and they’ll say, my God, we’d love to see this tool. And thenYou never know. We’re always pushing new stuff out. so yeah, follow us on Instagram too. It’s therealtime.app is our handle.
Dylan Silver (21:19)
Reannah, thank you so much for coming on the show here today.Reannah Glover (21:21)
Thank you.It was so nice. Thank you for having me.
