Meet the Disruptors

/ D I S • R U P T • O R /

N O U N

A company that changes the traditional way an industr y operates in a new and effective way.

MEET THE DISRUPTORS Allow us to introduce our team of dreamers.

Discover

how

this

redef ine

the

real

group

has

estate

fought

industry

to by

commit ting to do it different, do it bet ter and do it right. Featuring the photography of Tif fany Blake Fox and Kyle McInnis, the pages

that

follow

are

a

glimpse

into

our

wo r l d , o u r cu l t u r e , o u r m i s s i o n a n d o u r w hy.

If you would have asked me f ive years ago if I’d ever work in real estate

the

answer

would

have

been, bluntly: no. Being a creative professional

who

has

worked

from London to Shanghai, I always wanted to associate myself with the best ar tists, designers, innovators… creators who made the world a more interesting place. So real estate? Hard pass. I was all set.

I remember the day vividly. I had just lef t a video production at Sundance Resor t and was wearing my signature berr y colored one-piece

ski suit with matching beanie. I was meeting (so I thought) a senior manager from Summit Sotheby’s International Realty for lunch so she could pick my brain about marketing, about ad agencies, about video. When I walked into our meeting place I quickly realized that I had fallen victim to the old bait and switch. Sitting, awaiting my arrival were the core group of leaders of Summit

Sotheby’s

International

Realty. As they all glanced my way I remember slowly pulling off my beanie and pushing my hair to the side in true ski bum fashion.

I A LWAY S WA N T E D TO A S S O C I AT E M Y S E L F WITH THE BEST ARTISTS, DESIGNERS, I N N O VATO R S … C R E ATO R S W H O M A D E T H E WORLD A MORE INTERESTING PL ACE.

Instead

of

me

talking

about

marketing, adver tising agencies and video, I asked the group to share their stor y, their why and their vision for the future. Each spoke with a level of passion and conviction that I hadn’t quite heard before and their consistent goal, while lof ty, inspired me and lef t me feeling intrigued to know more. “ We want to redef ine the real estate industr y. We want to redef ine the marketing and the experience of how people buy and sell homes.”

“What do we need to do so that you want to be a par t of it?” I was asked.

Looking back at it now, I giggle at my response, perhaps I was just young and gutsy, or maybe I already trusted these people to allow me to

be me. I blur ted out: “Let me do things my way and build a team of ar tists who don’t f it the mold. Oh… and I need to be able to go skiing.”

“That’s it? Done.” I was off icially in real estate.

Just with any thing that is new, the f irst days and weeks were challenging and at times, full of doubt. But this time was different.

In this new thing, I was surrounded by a whole suppor t team and agents who were working just as hard as me, who were always choosing to dig deeper and most impor tantly, who were doing the right thing.

Watching

their

commitment

to

this redef inition, to disrupting the industr y only lef t me more hungr y and more motivated to do my par t.

We began amassing and assembling our various teams.

We questioned current processes and recreated them. The foundation was as ready as it ever was going to be and we had goals to achieve. I wanted to f ind the ar tists, the creative minds, whose gif ts weren’t understood and who had that magic thing called individuality. My counterpar ts searched for those who wanted to be a par t of something bigger than themselves and who lef t their proverbial egos at the door.

The beauty of working for and with a company with a clear vision and nimble leadership is that change and implementation can occur instantaneously. What I’m tr ying to say is that, we were moving… and quickly. Legal, operations, transaction management, photography, marketing, and videography teams all star ted being built or rebuilt from the ground up.

THOSE WHO WANTED TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN THEMSELVES AND WHO LEFT THEIR PROVERBIAL EGOS AT THE DOOR.

I’m going to pause here and share the ‘why’. Why redef ine real estate? Why build these visionar y teams? Why push harder than the competition? Our agents and leadership took a look around and realized that our industr y should be better and that we had the responsibility to change it. We wanted to show our clients what a full-ser vice luxur y real estate experience could be, regardless of their area or their price point.

One by one the depar tments and teams became stronger. Bigger changes star ted to take place. Market share grew and along with it, so did our ser vices. The demand for our style of real estate increased.

We took risks and opened new off ices. Our clients noticed, and our competitors def initely did. Our staff stepped up. I stepped up. Our leadership continued to inspire and led by example. This was big, but together we could do this. We put our heads down and dug in like never before. This was our time.

WE WANTED TO SHOW OU R CLIENTS W H AT A F U L L- S E R V I C E L U X U R Y R E A L E S TAT E E X P E R I E N C E C O U L D B E .

I’m f illed with gratitude as I recount and ref lect. I asked for a lot looking back at it all. Fashion editorials, Holly wood quality camera equipment, collaborative creative off ices — each request was met with “I trust you. I believe in you. Here are some things to consider, but I’ve got your back.” That level of freedom, suppor t and oppor tunity doesn’t happen of ten, for the record. Each time I heard the words, I felt a renewed sense of passion — I could do this. I wanted to make the team better, the agents proud and to continue to push the envelope. I wanted to take great care of the responsibility given to us.

So here we are. In the thick of it still, but the redef ining has happened. Our agents have shown the world that the status quo doesn’t have to be accepted. But we’re not done yet and knowing this team, these innovators, we never really will be. Because that’s who we are, and as canned as it sounds, it’s who we were all born to be: disruptors.

When this all star ted, in my private circles I called us a team of dreamers. As we moved along I began to call us friends. Now, I call us family.

Tiffany Blake Fox

AH, YES... DISRUPTOR Today’s current buzzword.

Today’s clickbait. We live in a world searching for the next disruptor, the next shiny thing, the next fancy technology.

So what is a disruptor?

With that def inition in mind, let us offer a glimpse into our world, our culture, our mission. Eleven years ago we saw an oppor tunity, the oppor tunity to, dare we say... disrupt. The goal was lof ty, the vision, ambitious. Redef ine an industr y. Do it different, do it better, do it right. We assembled a team of dreamers, a group that believed that the impossible was possible, a group that looked at ever y turn as an oppor tunity to question the norm and to expect more. There were losses along the way, mistakes, doubt – but the commitment to building a full-ser vice real estate brokerage continued for ward. Change star ted to take shape, the disruption began, clients at ever y price point and area experienced something different, something inspiring, something we call luxur y. Sales grew, ser vices and staff increased, the industr y noticed. All of a sudden we looked around and we had done the thing, the redef ining of what real estate could be. But we’re not done yet, the disruption has just begun, the experience only gets better from here, because this now family of dreamers is committed to creating the marketing that others can’t, the experience that others won’t, and giving our clients what real estate should be: full-ser vice and inspired.

S U M M I T S O T H E B Y S R E A LT Y. C O M