Why I came to Nooklyn and Why I Stayed

2013 was crazy. In the second half of 2013 I left (1) a job that had me traveling out-of-state most of the time, and then (2) a job that had me away from the house for 80 hours a week.

My wife and I had a daughter in November and I worked several part-time gigs while doing translations at home. We bridged the health care gap with COBRA, and then starting in January 2014 the ACA (Obamacare). I was so happy to be a dad, but the situation was hairy. I'd had some fun careers in my 20s and early 30s, but nothing that I could really tailor around my new family life.

When I went to NYREI for my real estate license I was in a hurry. I went to all 20 classes back-to-back while doing online gigs and applying for other jobs from the classroom. I studied for the state test during the lunch breaks and took the exam before I finished. I interviewed with recruiters daily. The whole license process must have taken 12 days. I felt like I had more nervous energy than everyone else in the classrooms combined. Every day felt like the last week of Final Exams ... It was time to get something done in my life.

I started at Nooklyn.com because I lived near their Bushwick office, knew North Brooklyn well, and had met an agent there. It had a great feel, a family vibe, and in my heart of hearts I thought I would learn the ropes and generate some cash in the rental game before moving on to "real" real estate.

In my second week I was given a rental lead by Diego (pictured above on a bike ride with me in December) and he helped me close it the next day. Showing was easy, all the information was transparent, and the clients were happy. 2 days later I got paid (and paid my own rent the same day). Even though I was dealing with my first clients they treated me like a seasoned expert. Nooklyn, and Diego, had put all the information I needed at my immediate disposal.

In the almost 3 years since then, I've watched as partners Harley Courts (http://tinyurl.com/js9uoav), Moiz Malik (http://tinyurl.com/zvau46k) and Joseph Friedman have refused to rest on their laurels. Rather than sit back and enjoy the fruits of our success, they have reinvested almost all their time, money, sweat and care into building up our design, our tech, our community outreach, and into making our systems even simpler. To see them focused on the future as a tech start-up, while taking care of agents along the way, made me stay at Nooklyn long after I felt confident in generating my own leads and owner contacts.

At Nooklyn we take down the walls internally. Agents close their own deals, access all our inventory and offices 24 hours a day, become listing agents quickly, and work with each other in project groups the same way they do in tech companies.

Our designer Daniel Haire (http://www.danielhaire.com/) and our engineers have taken our app and our website far beyond what even national real estate firms (or advertising sites) are doing. We were even nominated for a Webby (https://nooklyn.com/stories/nooklyn-nominated-for-webby). The tools we have reflect what people are actually looking for: attractive ways to explore new neighborhoods, meet people, find roommates, learn about events, etc. For agents, we have tools that let them track their own deals, make payment requests from anywhere over the phone, create customized maps for clients, track down the location of keys, and a whole lot more. Right from the smartphone. Our ideas come from giving people the tools they need and ask for, and making sure those tools work well every time.

Last summer I was asked to move into Training and Recruiting at Nooklyn. I was hesitant at first. I felt very confident as an Agent, and was preparing for a great year of making more money in less time, and spending more time with my family.

But I thought of the example of my bosses. I thought about how compelling it is to see them work towards a future vision rather than focus only on the present. And I felt compelled to make the move.

I originally thought Nooklyn would be a springboard for me. Turns out is has been, but in a much bigger and more exciting way that I expected.