How Curiosity and Contribution Drive Real Estate Success With Ryan Young

Host 00:00

We break a lot of things in the young team. You have visibility into the future, but you're you're stuck in the present.

Host1 00:05

People like you and I are like a CTO's worst nightmare.

Host 00:09

And we put so much pressure on the conversation of if versus when.

Host1 00:14

People emote when they're having conversations with people that they are interested in.

Host 00:18

I want our industry to win. I want our industry to be more profitable. Try so hard to say what's on the scripts that we stop forgetting how to actually have a conversation with a human being. Commitment gets you in the door, but contribution keeps you in.

Host1 00:30

What up, everybody? Grant Wise. Welcome back to the Partner Profit Podcast. I am pumped for my conversation today. I know you guys always hear that from me, but I've got some incredible friends. And today's conversation is going to be absolutely epic. I got my friend Mr. Ryan Young on. Ryan Man, thanks for spending some time with me today.

Host 00:48

We're doing this, uh, and we're both very passionate about the topic. So it's uh it's gonna be a lot of fun.

Host1 00:54

For people that are listening and maybe don't know much about you, give us a bit of the backstory, man. How'd you get to where you are today? You've got some incredible companies.

Host 01:00

I got into real estate in 2009. Uh great time to get into real estate. Uh, actually joined my folks, said was looking for a career change. I was in the culinary industry for a long time, and said, I'm gonna move back to Cleveland, Ohio and start selling real estate with you guys. What are your thoughts? And if we do it, I'm gonna build something special. Uh, they were selling the two of them for probably a decade or so. So we started scaling the team, and we have this incredible team, the Young Team, service most of Northeast Ohio. I'm really proud of our team. Uh, we sell about 500 homes a year. We have 15 agents. We're a very listing heavy team, ties into some of the profitability strategies. But then I uh I saw another opportunity. One of the strategies that the young team was doing was leveraging our database and taking all those buyer leads that we were buying and actually identifying the homeowners of them and then starting to reach out to them to generate listings from it, which was kind of the the core competency of starting Fellow. So we launched Fellow about almost four years ago now. And we've been really fortunate. We've seen a ton of growth. You know, we're working with about 3,000 teams around the country. And uh a lot of those teams are the biggest teams, you know, over 50% of the real trends top 1,000. And it's been just really cool to have an uh an actual team in in production while also being a client of fellow and also getting the visibility into all these top teams and seeing what they're doing as well. So I have this very unique perspective of being in the trenches, but also getting kind of like more of the B2B angle as well. And it's been really influential on a lot of the things that I've done with the young team and how we've scaled that.

Host1 02:34

I've watched the growth, it's certainly been inspiring because it's been meteoric. Like you guys have taken off like a rocket, it's been cool. I've always said, I think, because I've had private conversations with other people about you. I think I was like, I think Ryan Young's in the best position. I think he's one of the people that is just like in the absolute best position in the industry. He's a high-functioning team, they do really well, but he's also got this tech company that is just taken off like a rocket. And he's I exactly what you said, you have a unique perspective because you you get the practitioner element, but then you also get to see what's happening at a high level from 3,000 companies, which is it's not something everybody gets. It's really cool perspective that I'm sure you have.

Host 03:11

The funny thing is that I'm the beneficiary of all this tech that we're building, I'm also the guinea pig of all the tech that we're building. And so where it's like I'm the beneficiary from a standpoint of like we get access to all these things, but it also like we break a lot of things in the young team, and luckily have very uh patient, incredible team members because like they're the guinea pigs, you know, and so it's like before our product ever sees the day of beta or GA or whatever um to the rest of the industry, it's getting broken. Yeah, we're the alpha. And uh the other funny thing is, you know, people are always like, You're in you're in such a fortunate position to be able to like get access to all this technology and like a lot of it's iterated based off of our team's feedback and the way we use it and the success and traction we have. But there's also one side of it that is like really frustrating. And I live in a world where I have visibility into our roadmap six months ahead, but I'm also a user of our current product, and so it's like I'm constantly telling my team, like, guys, just wait, it's six months from now, this is gonna be crazy. And they're like, Yeah, dude, but like we need to sell homes today, and so I'm like constantly living in like this forward future state versus, but I'm like using what it's like you have visibility into the future, but you're you're stuck in the present. And so sometimes it creates this like like a little bit of a unique dynamic between me and the young team team members because I'm like, just wait, and they're like, we can't wait. Like today is today. Like, I'm like, but you'll see in months from now. This is gonna be sick.

Host1 04:42

People like you and I are like uh CTO's worst nightmare because it puts everybody so much downward pressure because it's like, yeah, I've been telling people about this thing, and the CTO's like, what?

Host 04:55

I've learned now it's like uh all our all our timelines are like in quarters or halves. It's like it just gives us a little bit more grace on versus like if I say, like, oh, it's gonna be live next week or it's gonna be live in whatever. It's like, no, it's gonna be live in the first half. It buys us till June 30th. It's like if we need to. Um, so my CTO has scolded me a couple times because I get a little too um, I'm a passionate guy. Uh I have a lot of energy and excitement for the real estate industry, and sometimes I get a little too maybe loose-lipped on the future and like what we're building, and it all of a sudden creates these expectations of like when can I get access to it? And uh my CTOs and CPO have scolded me a couple times.

Host1 05:35

I've uh certainly been in that same position. I'll get texts on webinars. It's like, yeah, it's like, what are you talking about? Stop talking, like, stop saying stuff like this. One of the things that I'm also super jealous of is your your uh Instagram feed when you're when you're when you're in the kitchen, dude. Like you some of the dishes that you put out are absolutely insane. I hope I am in the presence of one of these experiences.

Host 05:55

You gotta do it, man. Yeah, it's uh you know, I'll say this. It's incredible. I've I made a very large investment after I graduated high school. I grew up cooking it throughout all of high school. I worked full-time in a kitchen and I loved it. I was obsessed with the restaurant industry. And uh after I graduated high school, I went to the Culinary Institute of America. It was an extremely expensive education to not be using professionally, but uh the benefit, uh I guess I should say my wife is the beneficiary and my friends and family, and it's like there is nothing more than I would love. This is actually like I know you're doing like the podcast thing, and it's so cool. I would love to do like I also on this like real big piece of property where we're starting to farm it. It's like I would love to do these like podcasts or group dinners where like a bunch of people fly, like in our industry, and it's like you know, spend some time on the farm, but talking business and like stuff like that, and then like cook for everyone. And I just feel like it's just the most real and genuine conversations at the dinner table. Um, when you're making bread.

Host1 06:56

One of my favorite things in the world, and it's one of the things that I love to contribute most. I love to cook for people, I love to entertain people. I'm all about it. Whenever you want to do it, all right, done. Like, yeah, that that's something that would be sold out time and time and time again for sure.

Host 07:10

So it'd be really special, and it's like it'd just be cool. So different.

Host1 07:14

Yeah, I agree. So I always like to ask this question. I like to just like go straight for it. Ryan and teach me how do I turn my relationships into revenue? You've obviously developed some incredible relationships throughout the industry, and you've built some really big companies. How do you take those relationships and turn them into revenue?

Host 07:29

This is actually like a really easy answer for me, and I'll I can probably go more into detail. But the I would say, like, and I don't know if this is gonna sound super weird, but it's like the way you turn relationships into revenue is by not trying to monetize relationships, right?

Host1 07:44

It's a central theme in a lot of the conversations we have here. It's like just give to people, just help people, and don't expect anything in return. And as an extension of that, you will be big, like you're gonna have a big company. All of the biggest people I know have the same philosophy.

Host 07:58

I want our industry to win. I want our industry to be more profitable. Um, I feel like I've just observed over the past decade margins getting tighter and uh there being less leverage and more stress, and everyone's working really hard, and ultimately, like I feel like the industry is in like a very unique place. And so my way of quote unquote driving revenue from relationships is actually not trying to drive revenue from relationships, but coming from contribution. And the best part about it is if eventually there's revenue at the end of the journey or an opportunity financially, awesome. But if there isn't, awesome. Because I know that like this pay it forward mindset. Like I remember I met you at John Cheflack's event in Tahoe, you know, you were doing your thing with Whitley, and it's like I ran up to you, we had a great conversation, and I was like so excited to talk to someone that also had like a SaaS product, and like, you know, it's one of those things that it's like, how can I now pay that conversation that we had? How can I pay that forward with someone else? Right. And how can I, with what we're doing at the young team, help inspire someone else? And so I'll just give you one other example. We don't service Canada. I've been on more calls with my Canadian friends about how to help them scale their business, even though I can't physically I can't serve them. I can't like no matter what, if they want to buy my product, I can't sell it to them. But I kind of tell them, like, you don't need my product to philosophically do what we do with the young team and with fellow, there might be a couple extra steps. It's not as automated, but let's hop on a call and let me like lay out a playbook for you. And I'm going with that mindset of like, there's nothing to gain, right? But I can gain a relationship and hopefully I can help them and hopefully they'll help someone else, and maybe someday there's a way they can help me. But like, I guess it's a long-winded way of saying if you're trying to monetize relationships, you're probably gonna be unsuccessful. If you focus on giving, yeah, it's like if you focus on giving, you know, in focusing on deposits and value, the byproduct of that long term is it all comes back around and you will find a way to win. And you can't go into it thinking, well, when is it gonna happen? And I'll just I'll give you one more, one more great story on the real estate side on how you turn relationships into revenue and how short-sighted I was about 12, 13 years ago. When I first got into real estate, kind of old school, I was like, I need to join a bunch of different groups and chamber of commerces and stuff like that. And I got a call from a friend who was like, I was maybe 28 at the time, and he was on the Young Lawyers Metropolitan Bar Association. And he was like, hey man, we need one at-large non-attorney to be a part of this group. It's all attorneys, and we need one at-large to participate because, like, when it comes to a deciding vote, they want an outsider's opinion. And my I was like, I'm in, dude. I'm 28 years old. Attorneys, they are paid, like, they're all gonna be buying and selling houses from me. I went into it, and for the first like two years, I didn't get a single referral, nothing, you know. I ended up creating some like great relationships, not a single referral, and I ended up dropping out of it after like two to three years. I'm like, this is such a waste of my time, right? From years four through probably still today, I've gotten more referrals from that group, right? And I was so short-sighted to be like, well, I'm not getting any referrals, it's not worth my time. But what I realized was that I was in the group, I was participating, I was creating relationships with people in that group, and the long, the long tail opportunity has paid off dividends. And I wish after I started getting referrals, I wanted to jump back in and they're like, oh, we filled the at-large spot. And it was like one of those things that I was like thinking so so short-sighted in like what like what my expectations I was going into it trying to monetize versus essentially just trying to build relationships and provide value to other people.

Host1 11:51

Let's go back. You know, you've not always been in the position you're in now, right? You've got a lot of resources, you've got some cool stuff happening, you've worked really hard to put yourself in that position, and you've got an amazing team and people and all of the kind of the stuff. But let's go back when you didn't have all of that stuff. How would you develop those relationships or identify the people that you wanted to be in relationship with that you thought, like, okay, the if I can get connected to this person, it can help me do this thing. Like, because it sounds like it, you know, the the approach wasn't always like let's just give maybe there was a different mindset, but you know, kind of walk us through like how would you identify who you wanted to be connected to and who you wanted to put be in relationship with or partner with so that you you guys could grow.

Host 12:31

I always wanted to establish relationships with people that I was inspired by and people that were at the next level of the video game, right? So, like when I ran up to you in Tahoe, you already had a SaaS company and I was just starting one, right? And it's like I wasn't looking to monetize the relationship, but I was looking to learn from you and be inspired by you. And like, so I've always centered my relationships about where I'm going versus where I've been. And uh here's something that's like super interesting. So me and my business partner and fellow are childhood friends. We have a group of like 10, 11, like super tight friends that we've been cool with for 35 years, right? Since we were like in middle school. We're still all in a fantasy football league. Now all our kids get together in the summer. Like I sent him, text him earlier, like when what's the plans for the summer? But me and him, uh, he moved out to LA. Now he lives in Austin and he's surrounded by all these very forward-thinking people. Like, I still live in Cleveland, Ohio, and a lot of my friends still live here. And he's established relationships with a lot of people that are like, they've sold big companies and they're like entrepreneurial, and it's like the mental stimulation of the conversations that he has, and then he comes back and tells me I find fascinating, right? And so I'm I I have found now that I'm in the tech world and I've had conversations with like some of these large entrepreneurs, and you know, it's it's very mentally stimulating. But what's so interesting is whenever we're having conversations with my friends that we all grew up with, I love them to death, but all the conversations are about the past, right? And it's like, dude, remember back in high school that party and bro, remember that game and da-da-da-da, and everything like that. And it's like when me and him are having conversations with people, it's always about the future. And so it's like I have found that I'm attracted in relationships to people that are forward thinking. And once again, I love my childhood friends. We will always have a bond that no one else can, you know, you can't, you just you can't make like we it's just organic biological like growth from such a early age. But what's so interesting is the relationships that I seek out nowadays are those people that are like that I'm inspired by and that aspire to be like something like that where I want to go. And I'm so just like mentally stimulated and attracted to those type of conversations and those relationships that it's like I'm not looking to generate anything from them except for just mental stimulation and being inspired and being motivated. And so that's kind of like it's just interesting of like where I am now to where I was, and like what I'm really what I get in excited about and what I get inspired by.

Host1 15:10

You know, what I find so fascinating about this is like there's a certain energy that people emote when they're having conversations with people that they are interested in and fascinated by and intrigued by. Like I love having conversations with builders, which is kind of along the same lines of what you're talking about. We're always talking about the future, always talking about what we got going on, we're always talking about how to improve and how to get better and how to do this and mistakes and all of this stuff. And I think that you know, when you go back to even somebody that maybe is listening to this that doesn't have a ton of relationships, is when you can show up to conversations just full of energy and curious and interested and and like intrigued about people, there's a certain connection that you develop with people that makes them want to help you. Like just the pure fascination that that I may have about your business or or or whatever. It's like okay, I like that guy. Like I want to talk to this person more, I want to I want to have these conversations, I want to help this person however I can. And I find that like it's just so simple. Like just be interested in people, be curious about people, be genuine in those interests. And I I think it's fascinating how much people want to help you just based off of that.

Host 16:17

100%. And and and just other something also that I have found is really interesting is surround your self with people that have the same interests that you have, right? So, like for example, I've over the you know, I've I've I like to eat, I like to cook, right? And I've in my it at the age of 42, I am now at a place where I can't eat the same foods that I used to eat without actually putting on some pounds. And so I've gotten into running. And over the past like year and some time, like I'm going to Napa this weekend and I'm running a half marathon, which I'm excited about. And it's like now I've started to like create relationships with other runners, and now I'm on like a Strava app, which is like I'm connected to these other people that are also on the Strava app. And so it's like running has become a new kind of folk or pillar, a relationship uh driver uh with people that I really didn't have much in common before. And so it's like one of those things that it's like don't try to build relations, like build as many relationships as you can. But to your point, there they have to be genuine, right? And it when there's a common interest, there's a commonality between the relationship, it's so much more fun. And there's in it, and then what happens is then the curiosity kicks in of like, what else are you interested in besides the commonality? And then all of a sudden it's like, wow, that's cool. You lived here, wow, you like to do this. Tell me more about that. I've never heard of that. And it's like it that's like so. It's like, what's the connection, the bond? And then it's like, where does it like spiral from there?

Host1 17:46

You know, yeah. I think what's very interesting to me is I've had quite a few people on here that are, you know, pretty big from from an influencer standpoint, have big audiences, are are getting a lot of traction from social, but they previously weren't. And when I asked them what they thought the reason for that was, and it's like, you know, I always just talked about business, I always talked about this, I always talked about this thing that was really important to me, but not necessarily really important to everybody else. And when I shifted my content and just started sharing stuff that I've got going on personally or things that I'm personally interested in, he's like, My content blew up, my following blew up, and so did my connections and my business relationships and all these other things. And I think it's so interesting what you're saying, is because like if you we all want to talk about the thing that we're doing, but the reality is like the majority of the people probably don't care. They want to get to know who you are as a person in 2026, the rise of AI and all these other things that are going on. Because if I don't trust you, I'm absolutely not going to do business with you. So I've got to build this personal connection first. And I think it's fascinating the point you're bringing up about um running. I think it's just it's all there's a lot of alignment in what I'm seeing from a lot of other people, you know, having these.

Host 18:55

Well, it's funny. Think about what you said to me. You're like, dude, I like you know, the food you post is legit or whatever. It's like that's that's something I'm like very passionate about, you know, and it's like, and the funny thing is, I was just at uh an event this past week, 15,000 people there. Multiple people said to me, they're like, dude, I see all the running you're doing. It's like crazy, right? And it's like cool to see the growth and like the stories. And so I'm not posting that to get followers, I'm posting it because I'm passionate about it. And it's like I want to share, like, either inspire or find relationships with other people that share same similar passions. Um, and it's a fun way to live life, you know? It's like uh, yeah.

Host1 19:36

Not a lot of people know this, but my wife and I, we took over a farmer's market uh about two and a half years ago. Yeah. And so we've taken this little farmer's market and we've grown it like 800%.

Host 19:47

Like it's it's do you like a CSA, or is it like uh or is it like actual just like people go shopping at the farmer's market?

Host1 19:55

Yeah, it's like people go shopping at the farmer's market. Yeah, it was a it was a market that was started back in 1986 here locally, and my mom managed it for like 25, 26 years. And she got to a point where she's like, I just I can't do this anymore, I'm getting too old. And they had there was a big tornado that came through our area, and my wife and I not really my wife and I, my wife went to the store, and when she came home, I was like, Hey, congrats, we own a farmer's market now because I you know, quote unquote bought it from my mom. And um, we've had so much fun as like a family doing it because all the whole family is involved, and we've grown it 8x from what it was, and it this year we're on pace to double again. I have more people are always so fascinated when I'm talking to them about like the farmer's market. Like, how do you own a farmer's market? What do you do?

Host 20:37

Yeah, how do you do that? I have so many questions, and it's like the funny thing about it is the growth is a byproduct of the passion, you know. It's like you know, the thing I struggle with is like private equity. They just come in and they strip expenses and they optimize margin, and it's like they rip souls out of companies or whatever. And look, I I don't I respect the you know, profit isn't a dirty word, that's just their business model. But it's like my business model is like how do you do something that you're really passionate about and provide something valuable to people that you feel strongly helps them? And it's like the byproduct is revenue growth, and you know.

Host1 21:14

Yep. I want to respect your time. I just got a couple more questions.

Host 21:16

Yeah, let's do it.

Host1 21:17

I know we're so both so passionate about this industry. I've been in this industry for a long time, and I think you know, obviously you have to. I've been doing what I've been doing for about 14 years on the marketing, advertising, and sales side of real estate. Every realtor I have ever met in my life says, I just need more leads. I just need more leads, I just need more leads. And I've always fought back on that idea. And what I have observed that I find really interesting is not that we shouldn't buy more leads. Everybody, yes, keep buying leads. I think that's a fantastic idea. But I think what a lot of people are doing is they're masking their inability to actually build real relationships and connections with people that they maybe have purchased leads or they've got these relationships, or they've got these contexts. Everybody's just like, no. Give me new new new new new relationships, new people, new this, new that. And so I'm wondering, with all of the experience and all of the data and all of the technology and all the stuff that you guys do to enrich databases and enrich connections, like what have you seen high-level? Uh, this is not attack on leads, this isn't anything like that. It's just what have you seen that you think people can do to just go deeper into the relationships and connections that they've already developed that are maybe sitting in their database and are dead? Like, what are what are some of the top few things that you guys have noticed that could just change somebody's whole business if they would focus on it?

Host 22:36

Yes. Yes. Uh I'll start there. But I think for me, the you already said it earlier, but it's the uh genuine curiosity, right? And what I have observed in our industry is we walk around with these little scripts, and it's like we so we try so hard to say what's on the scripts that we stop forgetting how to actually have a conversation with a human being, right? And so my first recommendation is internalize your scripts so deeply so that you don't have to think about a script when you're having a conversation because I'm thinking about what to say next, I'm not present in our conversation, right? And so when I lead generate, and you know, fellow, we do this 30-day listing challenge every year, right? And I actually participate back in with my team and get on the phones. When I have calls with prospects, I sit at my desk with my headphones on and my feet are kicked up, and I'm sitting back and I'm just kind of having a conversation, right? Grant, what's up, man? Hey, I saw you just inquired on, or hey, I just wanted to check in and I've got my my arms kicked up and I'm just genuinely enjoying the conversation. Versus a lot of people, they stand in front of a mirror to make sure that they're reminding themselves to smile with a wall with all these scripts on it. And it's like you wonder why you sound like a scripted robot. It's like because you're sitting there having to remind yourself to smile when you're talking on the phone, right? Like enjoy having conversations with people, be genuinely curious about the questions you're asking them. Come from contribution, focus on giving, providing value versus like, you know, one of the biggest frustrations that I have, and the reason why we started the 30-day listing challenge, fellow does a lot with taking your database, injecting it with all this information, and turning these buyer leads, identifying who of them are homeowners. Once we identify who are homeowners, the message that is most relevant to every homeowner is are you curious what your home at 123 Main Street is worth? Right. It is a very top-of-funnel, low intent message, but it is relevant to every homeowner, right? If you own a home and you get an email that says, Are you curious about recent sales around 123 Main Street? If I get an email that says see how interest rates impact value at 456 Church Street, that email is relevant to every homeowner. And the challenge that our industry has is when you say sure, I'd be curious about how recent sales have impacted my home value. And I call you up and you say, I say, Grant, what's up, man? I saw that you just clicked on an email about your home value. Do you want to sell your house? And you're like, no, dude, I got an email from you that just said, Are you curious what my home value is? Why would I want to sell my house? And we put so much pressure on the conversation of if versus when, right? And it's so interesting to me that we all of a sudden say, like, oh, these leads suck, or oh, this is such a waste of money, or this is a waste of my time. When really building relationships is about having great conversation, getting into discovery and identifying when there would be an opportunity, when there is motivation, and then ultimately categorizing you based off of that motivation and putting you into this really large pipeline of Grant is three years out, but that's okay. I'm gonna be selling real estate in three years, and Mike is six years out, and this person's six months out. And if every day I'm having conversations, just enjoying having a conversation and getting genuinely curious about what your plans are, and if there's anything I can do to help you and answer any questions and provide value to you and be a resource, now all of a sudden that opens you up to actually being, I would say, open and vulnerable with me on what your true motivation or timetable or lack of motivation and timetable is. We put so much pressure on trying to close every single conversation that all of a sudden we push every prospect away. It's a huge problem with our industry. And therefore, we keep buying more leads, dumping more onto the top of the bucket with all the holes in it. And it's like if we just keep dumping more on, the bucket will always seem full. But really, how do we just patch these holes so we don't have to keep dumping more and more on so we can just live in what we've already acquired? You know?

Host1 26:49

Yeah. Man, that's so good. I have so many more questions. I want to respect your time, though. I'll have to find another another reason to get on here and uh and chat it up sometime in the future. But for people that are listening to this, how can they partner with you? How how could they walk alongside, support you? What's important to you guys right now?

Host 27:05

Just send me an email, Ryan at fellow.ai, f e l o uh dot AI. However, I can help. Like I said, it's all about contribution. You need help with your business, give me a shout. If I can't help you, I can probably point you in the right direction. Who can? And that's what this industry is about. Let's keep supporting each other. We've got a core value on the young team. We say commitment gets you in the door, but contribution keeps you in, right? A lot of people say they are they'll commit and they'll contribute, but ultimately contribution is what keeps you in my room. Like we'll all grow if we all contribute and pour into each other, and that's what this industry should be about.

Host1 27:42

Absolutely, man. I love it. I'll make sure that we link up uh the ways people can connect with you in our show notes. Thanks again, man. This has been an awesome conversation. Really appreciate you spending some time with me. Cool. Appreciate you. Yeah, yeah. And think thank you guys for continuing to listen to the Partner Profit Podcast. You know this was another absolutely epic conversation. I'll see you on the next one. Peace.