I'm 53. When I was 17, I spent a year getting destroyed on the scout team. Those 1,000+ tackles taught me a vital business lesson. Here's how I went from sitting the bench in a small steel town to managing a $32B global portfolio at BMW:

Some people are excited about AI helping them work less hours, while others are focused on using AI to become more productive in the hours they already work. Choose wisely.

A bit about me: CEO of @reAlpha (NASDAQ: $AIRE). Reimagining the path to homeownership. Real estate powered by AI and designed for people. Small-town Ohio → BMW global ops → fixing a broken industry. Follow for insights on designing organizations that scale execution.

The Mooney scout team taught me grit. BMW taught me scale. At reAlpha I apply both to fix an industry that's been broken for too long. That's what real execution means to me: Building organizations that hit numbers while serving the people who matter most.

We're not just growing fast. We're growing right. Every system we build, every process we design, every decision we make: It serves the homebuyer first. Because there's a difference between building for traders and building for long-term value.

We built AI-powered tools that actually serve buyers. Tools that will eventually make buying a home as buying a car online. As CEO, we cleared our major debt obligations and continued that momentum, expanding to 31 states by October 1. But what I'm most proud of at reAlpha:

Earning your place and scaling execution while keeping customers at the center. The progression happened naturally. CFO → President and COO → CEO in June 2025. As President and COO, I led the team that achieved 1,909% year-over-year revenue growth in Q2 2025.

Traditional models with physical offices, high overhead costs, and multiple handoffs keep fees elevated and experiences frustrating. I joined reAlpha as CFO because I saw the opportunity. Not just to build another real estate company. To apply those skills I had learned:

Even in a $32B operation, we never lost sight of the individual customer. Then I saw what was happening in real estate: • High fees • Opaque processes • Friction everywhere 43% of buyers start their search online, but the experience still feels like it's stuck in 1995.

The scout team taught me how to earn my place through grit. BMW taught me how to use that grit. To apply that grit at scale and create a lasting impact. But one thing that really struck me at BMW:

What I learned at BMW was to design systems that execute at scale. That experience taught me three core skills: 1. Building systems that scale under pressure 2. Managing complexity without losing customer focus 3. Driving operational discipline in regulated environments

At 29 I started working at BMW. At 39 I was responsible for a $32B portfolio. Managing financial services for 1.2M customers across 4 countries, each with: - Complex regulatory frameworks and - Unique financial compliance requirements. It wasn't just about grit anymore...

That year, I got my ass kicked every single day. I stayed, because I understood: 1. Facing Mooney’s first team will make me better. 2. Challenging them hard will improve the entire team. Pure grit and pushing forward. This lesson would shape my career for the next 36 years:

I transferred to Cardinal Mooney, a football powerhouse in Youngstown, Ohio. But all that came with a cost: I lost a year of eligibility. Lowelville school board denied my release. So I volunteered to be on Mooney's scout team...

Lowellville was so tiny that no college scouts came to any games. Football was my best chance at a college scholarship. I knew that I needed to get noticed. But that wasn't going to happen in Lowellville. This led me to the hardest decision of my young life:

Growing up in Lowellville, Ohio, I learned grit the hard way. A tiny village in the Steel Valley of Mahoning County. Everyone knew your name and your family's story. Football wasn't just a game, but a way of life. Your shot at something bigger. But there was one problem.

We just expanded into Nevada, bringing reAlpha Mortgage to 31 states. One step closer to building a seamless, national homebuying platform. $AIRE

Read this in National Mortgage News this morning. It gave me a sense of validation. The U.S. homebuyer is getting priced out: • Median home (~$460K) requires ~$90K income • Median household income is ~$83K • reAlpha average rebate = ~$8K That’s the bridge between “can’t

America is an incredible place that provides the best economic mobility of any country in the world. If you work hard and solve problems for others, you can create an incredible life for yourself and your family. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. 🇺🇸