Technology at work
“Think outside the box when it comes to your business.”
From the ashes of a dot-com brokerage, Bryan Russell rose up to become broker-owner of his own company.
In December 2000, Russell’s employer, eHome Realty, switched from being an online brokerage company to becoming a software development company. Russell, a former vice president of sales, was given eHome’s blessing to start Meritage Properties from the client base he had built for eHome. He named the company after the group of high-quality wines to reflect what he calls his company’s blend of high-quality professionals.
Russell learned to build a business and a corporation at eHome--and he still touts the advantages that technology can bring to the business. “But the basics of real estate always come back to a fundamental belief in a consumer-centric business. That’s the heart of my business,” Russell says.
That belief helped eHome bring in $50 million in sales in 2000 and helped Russell successfully launch his new company.