Tony Hanson and Lucas Mudrey, co-founders of Paracle (a Greek word meaning “to come alongside, to advise, and to counsel”), provide an energetic and highly tactical blueprint for building a successful brokerage. The company spans the Carolinas with five offices, over 400 agents, and does approximately $1 billion in annual sales. Lucas, a former attorney, and Tony, a real estate veteran, built the company with a lead generation-focused model, spending approximately $500,000 per month to acquire highly predictable business. This approach was chosen specifically to eliminate the “yo-yo” effect and inconsistencies associated with relying solely on agents’ Sphere of Influence (SOI).
The core of their operational philosophy is the “Rhino Mindset”—a framework that categorizes people as either “rhinos” (charging massively after goals and taking immediate action) or “cows” (blaming others and avoiding action). This culture is instilled from day one, requiring every new hire to read “Rhinoceros Success”. They teach agents to calculate their worth, breaking down a $1 million income into $520 an hour to highlight the cost of “cow activities” (non-revenue-producing tasks). They aggressively charged through the 2020-2023 market downturn, which Tony calls the “separation season,” leading to 30% year-over-year growth.
Paracle’s system is built to minimize the administrative burden (“dumb tax”) and maximize lead conversion. Their tech stack includes Follow Up Boss, Maverick RE, and specialized tools like Texting Betty. A major innovation is their deployment of BrokerBot, an AI system that houses all company forms, compliance, and training to instantly answer redundant agent questions, freeing leaders for coaching. Lucas challenges the industry’s focus on pre-qualification, arguing that it is “rude” and that every inbound lead is a “relationship opportunity”, worth a potential $120,000 lifetime value. Their final advice for scaling is to prioritize the culture and people, as human capital, not money, is the biggest constraint to growth.
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Learn more about Paracle on Instagram, Facebook or online at paraclerealty.com.
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