How SERHANT is growing 104% despite market headwinds (w/ Ryan Serhant)

Ryan Serhant discusses why he launched SERHANT. during COVID, the brokerage's person-first approach, and the media strategy behind its growth.

Ryan Serhant during a Playmakers interview

Real estate's most-followed founder sits down with Andrew Flachner — and nothing is off-limits.

Ryan Serhant is the CEO and founder of SERHANT., the most followed real estate brokerage in the world with over 10 million social followers, operations across 16 states, thousands of agents, a Netflix series, and multiple bestselling books. He started his career doing hand modeling gigs to pay rent and entered real estate the day Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. What followed is one of the most intentional brand-building stories in the industry's history.

In this episode of Playmakers, Andrew Flachner sits down with Ryan for a conversation that's part masterclass, part manifesto. Ryan breaks down why he launched SERHANT. in the middle of COVID, how he built a zero-CAC brokerage growing at 104% year over year, and why the future of real estate comes down to one word: person.

What you'll hear

  • Why Ryan launched his brokerage during COVID — and how he lost $73M in deals the day New York went into lockdown
  • The "person vs. property" philosophy that separates SERHANT. from every other brokerage
  • How Simple, SERHANT.'s AI-native platform, was built to flip agents' days from 80% admin to 80% human-to-human
  • The three-prong media flywheel behind zero customer acquisition cost
  • The "AND strategy"
  • Ryan's "give, give, give, give, ask" follow-up framework
  • Why he bootstrapped for years
  • Why Ryan says what drives him isn't ambition

If you're an agent, a broker, or a founder trying to build something that lasts, this episode is the blueprint.

Chapters

  1. 00:00:00Intro
  2. 00:01:03Why Ryan Had No Choice But to Launch During COVID
  3. 00:04:41He Lost $73M in One Day — Then Built the Brokerage Anyway
  4. 00:05:50The Vision: Building the Most Important Real Estate Company in the World
  5. 00:08:07Compass vs. SERHANT. — Property First vs. Person First
  6. 00:10:45Why the Transaction Layer Is the Real Battleground
  7. 00:13:08What the NAR Lawsuit Actually Did to the Industry
  8. 00:14:40What Acting Taught Ryan About Sales (and Being Human)
  9. 00:19:45How Ryan Won His First Big Deal (The $8.5M Cold Call Story)
  10. 00:25:17Zero CAC, 104% Growth, and Why SERHANT. Never Buys Revenue
  11. 00:27:01Every Company Should Be a Media Company — The Three-Prong Flywheel
  12. 00:31:38Advice for Young Agents: Play Your Age, Keep Your Blinders On
  13. 00:35:02The AND Strategy — Why You Can't Just Be Real Estate
  14. 00:37:14Give, Give, Give, Give, Ask: Ryan's Follow-Up Framework
  15. 00:38:13He Ghosted Ryan for 5 Years. Then Bought for $16M.
  16. 00:39:10Content Strategy for New Agents: The Kale Booty Story
  17. 00:41:38California Expansion — 200 Agents, 5 Cities, What the Pitch Looks Like
  18. 00:51:41Why Ryan Finally Said Yes to Outside Capital
  19. 00:53:26How Simple Was Built: Flipping Agents from 80% Admin to 80% Human
  20. 00:55:34The $45M Yes — What Camber Creek and Left Lane Unlocked
  21. 00:56:33Scrappy CEO Meets the Board: The Day One Mentality
  22. 00:58:37$12 Billion Projected Volume and the Problem of Making Too Much Money
  23. 01:01:25It's Not Ambition. It's Responsibility.
  24. 01:03:45Outro

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