BUSINESS
ON THE UP AND UP This page: The reception at The Next Step Realty’s office in midtown Manhattan, where clients are
THE NEXT STEP REALTY—A start-up offering apartment-finding services for graduates as they embark on their careers—is revolutionizing the real estate market in New York, as well as in other cities. Enter Blair Brandt, who co-founded The Next Step Realty in 2010 in order to ensure that graduates are well situated before they begin their jobs at a variety of companies, including Christie’s, Goldman Sachs, and Ralph Lauren. The Next Step Realty serves graduates from elite schools like Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, the University of Virginia, 96 QUEST
Georgetown University, the University of Richmond, and Trinity College. At The Next Step Realty, graduates work with 13 exclusive, in-house agents from the same backgrounds and networks, thereby establishing a sense of camaraderie—as well as a sense of accountability—that has been proven to ensure success. With such a precedent, The Next Step Realty creates an experience that is positive and productive for everyone who is involved. When Brandt—an alumnus of Deerfield Academy and the University of Richmond ’10—graduated, he returned home to Palm Beach, Florida,
to work for Christian Angle at Christian Angle Real Estate. Soon, realizing the challenges of being a twenty-something agent—as well as the challenges of being a twenty-something in search of an agent—Brandt employed his enterprising spirit to create the company that would evolve into The Next Step Realty. By March 2010, there was a logo: a blue and white giraffe, symbolizing the transition of the graduate. Soon, Jason Briggs—an alumnus of Tabor Academy and Columbia University ’94—invested $100,000 of seed capital, becoming chairman of the board. Within a year, he solidified his commitment to The
CO U RTE S Y O F T H E N E X T S TE P R E A LT Y; E L I Z A B E T H Q U I N N B RO W N
greeted by their agents.