How eXp Realty’s Glenn Sanford Saw The Future—And Walked Straight Into It

Sometimes in business, you see a hole open up in the universe. Most people stand there and stare. But a few leaders—visionaries—walk right through.

That’s what Glenn Sanford did.

Before he was the founder and CEO of eXp Realty, one of the fastest-growing real estate brokerages in the world, Glenn recognized something most others didn’t: The future of real estate wasn’t in strip malls or fancy offices; it was online. In 2009, that sounded crazy. But he didn’t flinch—he leaned in.

On a recent episode of the Corporate Competitor Podcast, Sanford shares how a moment of clarity led to a movement. His eXp Realty now has more than 85,000 agents, is publicly traded and was named one of Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work. Not bad for a so-called “crazy idea.”

“People follow people with big ideas,” Sanford says. “If you think big, you’ll attract people who like people who think big.”

But his vision was never just about scale. It was about building something with purpose. “Nobody’s attracted to a company just to make money for someone else,” Sanford says. “Your vision has to be big enough to include other people.”

That idea—putting agents at the center of the business—is what made eXp’s success inevitable. And for Sanford, it all starts with three simple principles:

• Live in the future. Sanford doesn’t wait for trends to arrive—he gets ahead of them and prepares accordingly.

• Act on opportunity. “Opportunities aren’t lost,” he says. “They’re just given to someone else who’s willing to act.”

• Win in your mind first. From his days as a track star to his rise in tech, Sanford swears by the power of mental preparation. “I developed the habits of success,” he said, “until they ran on autopilot.”

This is more than a business story—it’s a masterclass in what it looks like to trust your gut, take bold action and build something that lasts.