The real estate industry is perhaps one of the most cutthroat sectors of the American economy. With a growing legion of both boutique and big-name firms, there is considerable competition for both listings and customers. In traditional firms, the struggle to close quotas and stack profits can leave the agent underrepresented, overworked, and unfairly compensated.
After splitting 30 percent of commissions with brokers and paying hundreds in additional fees, the 3 percent commission many agents make on a typical home sale can seem paltry. This is a problem one SMU grad is looking to solve with his startup, Pinnacle Realty Advisors.
Sam Sawyer is the CEO of Pinnacle Realty Advisors. A founding member of Compass Dallas, Sam got his real estate license at just 19 and has worked toward innovating the industry ever since. His latest venture has a familiar refrain: He puts agents first, giving them access to top-tier support while allowing them to keep 100 percent of their commissions. Sounds like an agent’s dream.
Recently, Pinnacle Realty Advisors acquired both a critical partnership and crucial capital to catapult this product into its next phase.
Introducing PinnacleHQ
Pinnacle employs some of the industry’s leading services for the solo agent model. With top-of-the-class tools, multiple white-label sponsorship plans, and on-demand support, Pinnacle is equipped to help any agent succeed. The company just acquired another startup, Realthy.io, which fits perfectly into the agent-centric equation.
“With the acquisition of Realthy.io, we’re building out an internal product for our agents called PinnacleHQ.,” Sawyer said. “This will act as a marketplace for agents to find everything from tech products to vendors. Really, anything to help agents and their clients.”
Realtors are like personal shoppers to their clients. The PinnacleHQ product provides agents with access to hundreds of vetted home service vendors, marketing tools and services, and exclusive deals.
“A lot of brokerages try to build their own tools or force agents to use certain tools,” Sawyer said. “Our high-level idea with this product is creating an ecosystem where there are quality, vetted options for the agents. This way they can choose what makes sense for their business. Not every agent has the same needs, so this lets them choose what works best for them.”
This, Sawyer believes, will truly round out Pinnacle’s resource pool.
Pinnacle Gets Paid
As Pinnacle maintains an attitude of innovation and looks to evolve, it’s critical that they secure the right capital. Luckily, they have an ally in Launchpad, a fintech and proptech early-stage investor out of Silicon Valley. Launchpad Capital has tracked Pinnacle from its earliest stages and was excited when the opportunity to invest came about.
Launchpad’s founder, Ryan Gilbert, is confident both in Pinnacle’s model and Sawyer’s vision.
“Sam is an experienced and tenured real estate professional with a deep understanding of the sector,” Ryan says. “He addresses the severe pain experienced by many real estate professionals today by thinking differently about the future of the industry.”
To date, Pinnacle has secured $5 million in total investments of which Launchpad was a critical contributor. This funding will go a long way in helping the company grow as more agents onboard.
What The Agents Are Saying
Ryan McLemore is a Realtor with Pinnacle. One of the things he enjoys most about Sawyer’s model is the flexibility it provides him and his team to invest in certain properties for himself.
“We love Pinnacle because we get to run the business the way we want to run the business,” says Ryan. “We can hire our own agents, run our own team, and negotiate our own splits. Also, traditional brokerages typically don’t allow agents to buy investment properties but with Pinnacle, we have that option. If we want to buy and sell our own investment properties, we can do that. If we want to represent commercial, if we want to represent retail, we can do that.”
Of course, there’s also the huge advantage of keeping 100 percent of their commissions.
“We get to keep all of our commissions,” says Ryan. “You can’t put a stamp on the value that that provides.”
