by G. Sax, Head of Communications, RESO
Welcome to part two of two in our interview with Russell Smith, President and COO of Earnnest. In the second set of three questions, we talked about tech startups, volunteering and Oregon Ducks football. Enjoy! | READ PART I
Q4: Earnnest is one of a long line of tech startups that you have worked at in the real estate space. What can you share from these startup experiences that could help new or future technology entrants into the real estate vertical?
Russell: This is actually something that I’m really passionate about, so I’m glad you asked. I would love to do more to help people into this space, and I believe that we are only at the beginning of massive proptech advancements that will shape the future of real estate.
And for all the hype around real estate as an asset class, I believe that it’s an undervalued vertical in which to work within. It’s a great place to start a career. I’m very bullish on proptech, and I think that more people should get into it.
So my advice for folks who are just getting started is to listen, absorb, be a sponge. I’ve been fortunate to work with really smart people who have taken the time to show me the ropes and help me understand the problems that need to be solved. You have to be open to mentorship.
Something that helped me a lot in building a vertical career was to be willing to work in multiple disciplines, such as product development, marketing, sales, strategy, operations – I’ve done it all. I think this has given me a well-rounded viewpoint. It’s helped me in my role now by increasing my understanding and empathy for what my colleagues may be dealing with.
And you have to just dig in. There’s a lot to be done with building a vertical career path in category knowledge and people networking. Wear as many hats as your job will let you. Seek out problems and try to solve them, even if it’s beyond what you were hired to do. Be a problem finder and solver and be intentional and aware of your network. I promise you that you can’t achieve great things in this business alone.
Q5: You have had a pretty significant run as a mentor for both NAR REACH and Moderne Ventures. How did you get into that line of volunteering, and why do you continue to do it year after year?
Russell: When I was at HouseCanary, REACH leaders Dave Garland and Tyler Thompson asked me to join REACH as a mentor. At Moderne Ventures, it was Carolyn Kwon.
Earnnest is actually my third REACH company after HouseCanary and RealScout. I’ve seen how this works from the operational side. And I really love seeing the passion and stick-with-it-ness of entrepreneurship. Just hearing the passion and learning the problems that these founders want to solve is so motivating. Offering whatever insight I can from my own battle-tested learnings is a form of paying it forward – and catharsis! – and it keeps me up to date with what’s going on out there.
You can tend to get bogged down in your own world. It’s easy to lose track of the extensive and talented proptech community. I may not need to follow every MLS-related headline or know the ins and outs of the Clear Cooperation debate, given my current role, but I want to stay up to date on it. It keeps me sharp, it keeps me in the know and it allows me to be helpful, which is one of the greatest feelings there is in business.
If I can pass along some knowledge and use my “dumb tax” to help others avoid some of the same mistakes I made, it is gratifying. I want to see the whole industry move forward. What comes around goes around. You get what you give.
Q6: You are a graduate of the University of Oregon. Among your activities, you list the University of Oregon Football Team. Does this mean what we think it means, and do you lament the end of the Pac 10/12 conference?
Russell: You dug deep! I was a walk-on offensive lineman. My first practice was Chip Kelly’s first practice as head coach.
I became friends with some offensive linemen my freshman year. They informed me that there was a shortage of linemen after a couple of key guys graduated and some others went to the NFL, and they convinced me to try out for the team as a walk-on. Something like 140 guys showed up for drills, sprints, etc. They ended up taking four guys, and I was somehow one of them.
I was with the team for only the spring and summer and decided on my own to leave in the fall. It’s such a huge physical and mental commitment. My chances of contributing in a meaningful manner were lessening as more talent was acquired throughout the summer.
Whether or not I was going to make the final cut wasn’t the point for me anymore. I got what I came to do. I proved something to myself, and I learned a ton. It was an honor to be one of six out of 120 guys that were actually from Oregon. Best of all, no major injuries!
We went to the National Championship a year later, and I get to say that I played with dozens of NFL guys.
As for the Pac 10/12, I have so many thoughts. I do lament the loss of it. I think it’s unfortunate that we have such a cognitive dissonance in college sports right now. The decisions being made are all about money. There’s no thought about the sanctity of something like the proud tradition that was women’s college volleyball in the division.
And the amount of vitriol pointed at players, NIL [Name, Image, Likeness] and the transfer portal is really unfair. The players didn’t have anything to do with it!
Coaches were already taking part in their own sort of transfer portal, abandoning ship for greener pastures and greener bills. It’s more about money now and less about collegiate athletics. It’s unfortunate that these driving forces are tearing apart the excitement and pageantry, and it’s only building.
Three Questions is meant to be a fun interview series that features real estate industry professionals, their businesses and how they interact with real estate standards.
