Shane Smollen

With a remarkable career in the property industry over 4 decades, Shane has established himself as a prominent industry figure, through delivering exceptional results and consistent market leadership. Shane is also a director of McGrath Ltd and a previous owner of a multi office real estate network, generating sales of over $3 billion per annum. His deep involvement and broad, national contact network ensures he is extremely wired into the marketplace and is well positioned to identify trends on macro and local levels, in real time. In this episode, Shane shares his thoughts on the alignment of motorsport and business, lessons in delegation, efficiency, focus, life balance, optimising performance & jumpstarting a Datsun 180B. Enjoy.

As CEO and Founder of Fastlane Consulting Group, Deanna has been engaged by CEOs and Boards as a consultant in the field of professional services for high growth ASX listed companies including banking, finance, infrastructure, urban development, universities, professional education institutes and industry associations, as well as major arts organisations and global luxury brands. Deanna is currently engaged as the Director, Media & Communications UDIA NSW & National and has led numerous leadership and on-line courses on marketing, media and communications and professional development training programs. Deanna brings deep sector experience, advising on strategy, business development, corporate fundraising, stakeholder engagement, business planning and alignment of value proposition & purpose with key messaging. In this episode….Deanna explains how to build your personal brand and discover your real purpose in life. Enjoy

Mark is the CEO and Co-Founder of Downsizer.com, a digital home-buying platform that runs on R3 Corda blockchain technology and offers an affordable risk management product to protect developers from shortfall events. His MVP (minimal viable product) targets the Australian property market, but has built his product infrastructure for scale and expansion to other similar markets, such as the UK, USA and Canada. Mark is an eternal optimist and is passionate, driven, and committed to leading the PropTech disruption or simplification (as he describes it) and creating positive social impact with Downsizer.com. In this episode we learn how peace, love and veggies (amongst other things) led Mark to help solve one of property marketing's greatest challenges - i.e how to unlock the downsizer market.

In this wide ranging conversation we covered everything from growing up in Enfield to discovering & falling in love with the beautiful Central Coast, rugby league, long distance swimming, what it’s like to live on a horse stud, discovering what it takes to create world class places and property developments, hosting a TV show, watching & writing ads (and songs) and reminiscing about the legendary parties he used to host at his first agency SPASM in Darlinghurst – back in the day.

Stephen Brookes is the CEO and founder of Airviewonline. com. Over the last 20 years, he has helped revolutionise the way property professionals worldwide approach their marketing campaigns. Recognising the property industry’s struggle to source exceptional aerial images and video, Stephen has been dedicated to empowering his clients with the perfect resources. As a result, he has helped thousands of people collectively sell billions of dollars worth of property. Airviewonline.com’s cutting-edge online solution has garnered widespread acclaim, captivating the attention of top Australian property marketing companies, esteemed architects, content providers, influential publishers, and prominent media outlets. Stephen’s commitment to delivering compelling marketing content has positioned him as an industry leader, leaving an indelible mark on the real estate landscape. Stephen is on a mission to help one million property professionals boost their marketing engagement and increase their revenue by 2033. In this episode, Steve explains how to create cinematic aerial film footage, reveals all on the rise of the drones, and describes his life as a pseudo rock star. Enjoy

Today’s episode features Leanne Pilkington, one of the real estate industry’s most respected and sought after commentators. After all, she’s been in the industry for four decades. Leanne is Chief Executive Officer and Director of leading New South Wales boutique real estate group Laing+Simmons. She was the first woman to lead a real estate franchise organisation across the country. Addressing the gender imbalance, empowering women agents and contributing to a fairer operating environment are all key passions for Leanne. She continues to pioneer industry firsts such as establishing a women’s real estate networking group, and introducing counselling and employee assistance programs for Laing+Simmons team members, while serving on industry bodies and championing the growth of professionalism in the industry at large. Her experience covers the full spectrum of real estate services: residential sales, property management, retail management and development. Overseeing the whole Laing+Simmons group as well as focusing on the growth and development of each franchise, Leanne is instrumental in developing new products, services and training systems to meet the varying needs of each business owner. Leanne joined Laing+Simmons in 1995 as a Franchise and Administration Manager. In 1997 she was promoted to Marketing Manager and became General Manager in 2000. In 2015 she was promoted to Managing Director. In 2021, Leanne joined the Board of Laing+Simmons as the network’s CEO. Leanne completed her Masters Degree in Business Administration at the University of Western Sydney in 2005. She used Laing+Simmons as her research subject in her thesis which analysed the attitudes and expectations of business owners, sales people and consumers. This has contributed to a strong grasp of issues that affect the real estate group and the property market generally. In this Episode Leanne explains How to change company culture, create your own version of success and dance like no-one is watching. Enjoy.

Today’s episode features Adam Di Marco. With over a decade of professional experience in property development, Adam created The Urban Developer in response to a need for greater engagement, information and transparency in the property sector. From relatively humble beginnings, Adam has driven the growth of The Urban Developer into an integrated media, events and education network that has established an enviable reputation in both media and property circles. Adam remains active within the property industry as Managing Director of Brisbane-based development business Di Marco Group. He has been a recipient of the Australian Institute of Management’s ’30 under 30’ Award, represented Australia at the Global Young Leaders Conference in New York and is currently an Ambassador for global microfinance provider Opportunity International. In this episode Adam explains how to maximise development outcomes, optimise full funnel marketing tactics and go deep and narrow. Enjoy.

George is a successful entrepreneur having founded several multi-million dollar revenue companies from scratch without any external investment alongside his business partner Mike Bird. His current “day job” is being the CEO of the award-winning performance marketing agency Social Garden. The agency is home to 70+ employees across four countries and drives digital marketing and sales programs for many publicly listed property development companies as well large institutions such as Universities and Government organisations. George is also a Non-Executive Director and major shareholder at two of his portfolio companies which include Australia’s largest off-the-plan property marketplace, Urban.com.au, and US tech-enabled brokerage and agency, Snaplistings.com He recently closed a private share sale with carsales.com co-founder Steve Kloss which valued his companies at more than $40M (in the middle of a major downturn in tech company valuations). George loves the process of growing a business from an idea into an enterprise. The sweat, the highs, the lows and the people who make the dream possible. Outside of business, George spends his time obsessing over sport and enjoying the outdoors with his family. He’s an avid skier, golfer, basketballer, footy player and skateboarder. George is highly engaged in the non-for-profit space and works closely to empower community organisations with skills, connections and capital via his partnership with Igniting Change.

Adrian McGregor is a landscape architect and biourbanist. He is the founder and Chief Design Officer of McGregor Coxall, a design firm located in Australia and the UK dedicated to assisting cities achieve resilient prosperity. Selected as one of Sydney’s ‘100 Most Creative People’ and recipient of the Prime Minister of Australia’s Urban Design award, he has designed new cities, lectured, and delivered award-winning projects across the world. In this episode Adrian talks about what it takes to write a book about Biourbanism, the process of creating an airport for birds and how it feels to be one of Sydney's 100 most creative people.

This episode features Luke Berry of the Third.i Group. Luke is the Co-Founder & Director of Sales & Marketing and therefore is subsequently responsible for the implementation of all sales and marketing activities across the various divisions and projects owned by the Third.i Group. Luke has over 20 years’ experience in the creation of ‘brand identities’ and is an industry leader in project marketing & sales, which has helped the business set envious sales records & secure multiple international awards. In this episode Luke shares his thoughts on how to see a glass half full, tell engaging stories and innovate, brilliantly. Enjoy