Compass, founded in 2012, the country’s fastest-growing luxury real estate technology brokerage company is quickly dominating the luxury turf in 80 cities around the country. Today Compass has 165 offices with 7000 agents in 13 states and over 1,000 employees.
Compass’ business model--“a national network of local experts,” has attracted investment capital from Softbank, Fidelity, Wellington Management, Goldman Sachs, IVP, Advance Publications, Founders Fund, Kenneth Chenault, chairman and CEO of American Express, Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce and LeFrak.
When Compass held it’s 2018 All Team Retreat in Los Angeles in late November 2000 Compass agents and employees filled the Orpheum Theatre where Compass Founder & CEO Robert Reffkin spread the Compass 2020 Vision. The plan--20% market share in the top 20 cities by 2020.
Over 7,000 additional Compass agents streamed the event according to Reffkin. The enthusiasm, energy, and excitement ran non-stop from the time Reffkin walked on stage to a standing ovation. The words on the giant screen behind Reffkin, “The future of real estate is in the hands of the agent.”
A graduate of Columbia, Reffkin spent time as a prestigious White House Fellow, at McKinsey & Company, the global management consultancy, then he moved onto Goldman Sachs on Wall Street before launching Compass.
What motivated Reffkin to move from high finance into real estate? “I grew up in a real estate family. My mom was an agent and went from firm to firm always hoping she would get support to realize her dreams of providing a living for her family as a single mother,” Reffkin recalls. “It became clear that agents needed more support and more tools and technology from their companies. My strategy was to provide that for agents from the beginning. One example is the average agent has to log in to 11 different companies to do their job. We are rebuilding all the required tools our agents need into one system,” adds Reffkin who started a charter school prior to Compass and has run 50 marathons.
Recruiting top agents and providing access to top technology on a single platform combined with innovative corporate support is propelling Compass’ growth. “When we hear about agents with consistently great reputations, we take a look at them as entrepreneurs,” Reffkin explains. “Every agent we hire has to be nominated and approved by three other agents.” Innovative Compass agent programs include agent healthcare benefits, a Compass credit card and bridge loans to sellers, to name a few.
Founding Partner of Compass’ newly opened Greater Palm Springs area office, Valery Neuman attended the Los Angeles retreat. Neuman was continually impressed by the Compass management, staff, and fellow agents. “People are educated, passionate, humble and motivated,” said Neuman whose luxury sales consistently total over $100 million annually, ranking her as the number one real estate broker both in listings and sales in the Greater Palm Springs area. Throughout her 25-year plus career, Neuman has produced over $1 billion in sales. With those numbers, it’s no surprise Compass asked Neuman to come on board. “I was invited a year ago to attend the Compass holiday party in New York. I fell in love with the people and the culture. Compass is truly a human-driven company.”
Neuman was at a career point where partnering with a nationally acclaimed real estate firm focused on bringing value back to top agents and supporting them with latest in technology and data, made perfect sense. “I met Robert Reffkin who impressed me the moment I met him! My gut said Compass....is the right decision for my clients and myself,” Neuman confides.
Koki Adasi, senior vice president in Compass’ Chevy Chase, Maryland office joined Compass last April. “I was introduced to the company four or five years ago before they were in DC. When I did speak with brokers who were working there, I saw how Compass was way ahead of the curve in so many ways. I was impressed with so many big agents moving to Compass.”
In late August, Compass became a significant force in California. Pacific Union International, the leading luxury brokerage firm in California with sales volume of $14.1 billion in 2017 merged with Compass. Reffkin and Mark McLaughlin, Pacific Union International CEO first got together through a mutual friend. “We had no agenda, I had heard about Mark for a long time and wanted to meet him. The concept of merging didn’t exist initially. We just talked about helping our agents. We got together a month later and continued the conversation and it became clear to both of us that we would be better with the two companies together,” Reffkin recalls.
“Compass is investing hundreds of millions, so the real estate professional can become more relevant and effective in the client’s eyes. That is very important to us and we wanted to be a part of that,” said McLaughlin.
Look to Compass to continue its growth trajectory in 2019 with management driving the culture that is a key to Compass’ success. “With every month that goes by we are offering something new to agents. We will work as hard for them as they work for their clients,” Reffkin promises.
