Colby Culbertson didn’t just leave a cushy Zillow gig. He jumped back into production and built one of Northern California’s top real estate teams—scaling from 6 to 185 agents in just 5 years.
In this episode Colby unpacks the real story behind his 875-unit, $545M volume business. He shares why culture eats production for breakfast, and why his team runs more like a startup than a traditional brokerage.
You’ll learn:
- Why he counter-recruits top agents (and what he tells them in the first 5 minutes)
- The onboarding challenge every agent must complete before joining
- His “no *expletive*” rule—and how it applies to $50M producers
- How a shared tech stack keeps 180+ agents aligned
- Why some agents are terrible negotiators (and how to fix it)
- What Zillow got right—and where they still miss
Colby built a scalable, culture-driven business using systems, honesty, and a ruthless focus on the right people—not just more people.
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Links mentioned in the episode:
Connect with Colby on LinkedIn.
Learn more about Culbertson and Gray online at culbertsonandgray.com.
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