From Broker to Founder What I learned building a media-native advisory in a legacy industry.

Britain's super-prime property market is still largely dominated by tradition, with deals worth hundreds of millions of pounds being handled by the same companies, in the same way, with little appetite for change. It's a legacy industry that has remained relatively untouched by modernisation, with long-standing processes still setting the pace.

I came from a very different world, which may be why I have always seen the industry through another lens. I was raised in local authority housing, I didn't go to university and had no wealthy network to use as a launchpad. What I did have was an early lesson: if you understand people's pain points and how to alleviate them, you make yourself invaluable.

That focus on people, combined with a willingness to give honest advice on the market and how clients could maximise it, took me from a junior role in corporate real estate, to advising on some of the world's largest transactions as an independent agent. My very first instruction at DDRE was valued at over £100m as a result.

In 2020 I launched DDRE. Despite the risk, and the uncertainty of starting at the height of the pandemic, I was convinced there was space for a model that was more personal, quicker to adapt, and built on media and technology, as much as market knowledge. Five years on, I know it was the right call.

People buy from people
No matter what sector you're in, trust drives client decisions, and trust sits with individuals, not institutions. UHNW clients do not commit hundreds of millions of pounds to faceless brands - they commit to the advisor in front of them, as long as they know they have their best interests at heart. It's the same for every high value service provider whether that be in banking, law, etc..

Personal brand is the foundation of modern business. It creates reach, builds familiarity and establishes credibility even before the first meeting. It also matters for talent. The best people in your business do not want to be hidden behind a logo, and under the cloud of the c-suite - they want their own expertise to be seen and rewarded. If you can create a business that supports that, you build loyalty and attract capability that your competitors cannot.

Traditional firms are built to protect the company - I wanted one that empowered people. Everything else in the industry can be copied or automated, but relationships cannot. Whoever is closest to the client wins - and stays winning, regardless of value and geography.

A different way of building
When you're building a business, you can either do what everyone else does, but do it much better. Or, you do something totally different with a better result. Either way you have to be better. For us, information is at the core of how we operate. It is not only about the property size or price data, but about people. What their routine is, what their interests are, what they like, when they want it, what drives their decisions, who drives the decisions, and who they respect and welcome advice from. Our business is not just about real estate, it is about individuals' motivations and desires. Recognising that every business is a people / marketing business that happens to sell something.

What I've learned
Much of what I've learned translates far beyond just property. These principles matter to anyone building a business in a traditional sector.

1. Build a personal brand
A personal brand is not about visibility for its own sake. It is a trust signal. Clients, customers and investors research you to see how you present yourself online, who knows you and who follows you, long before they actually meet you. This is called social proof. Consistent, useful content shows how you think, what you know and what you stand for and also your commitment to the service you deliver and the level of consistency.

2. Don't expect support from the obvious places
One piece of crucial advice I always give is to expect the people you know in the industry not to support you especially if you're challenging the status quo, and the people you don't know to be your biggest cheerleaders. Try to accept that quickly and focus on building credibility with the clients and peers who see value in what you are doing and double down with those people.

3. Sit tight during stormy weather
Business moves in cycles. There are moments when everything falls into place and moments when nothing does - but it will pass unless you are forced to pivot. Have faith that you're doing things for the right reasons, and know that the pendulum always swings towards opportunity. As the leader it's your job to spot and attack opportunities.

The world is incentivised for change. If change isn't invested in, then everything stays static and little value is created this way.

4. Know your client better than they know themselves
Clients rarely spell out exactly what they want. You have to ask the right questions, listen for what is not being said and read the context around their decisions. The edge is not in your product or your price, it is in anticipating their priorities and removing friction before they even name it. That is what builds long-term loyalty and success.

5. Protect their interests at all costs
Every deal tests your judgement. There will be chances to cut corners or prioritise your upside. Don't. Short-term wins are meaningless if they create doubt about your motives. Protecting the client's interests consistently - even when it costs you - is what builds a reputation that others cannot buy. Play the long game.. It creates momentum that will carry you through everything and anything.

6. Hire for adaptability, not comfort
Legacy industries attract people who prefer to repeat what has worked before. That mindset slows you down. Look for people who learn fast, absorb new information and are happy to pivot as needed. Adaptability is far more valuable than stagnant experience.

7. Build incentives that reward sharing
Most traditional businesses are structured to reward individuals for hoarding clients and information. That protects the institution but rarely serves the client. Flip the model.

Design incentives that make it worthwhile for advisers to share insight and work together. The client gets better outcomes and the business scales faster. And always focus on the creation of compound value, you cannot replicate this easily. It can be your moat.

8. Use technology for leverage, not replacement
Technology should give you speed, scale and better intelligence. It can highlight trends, collate information and reduce time spent on things like admin, but it cannot replace human interaction. The role of the adviser is to interpret the data and act in the client's best interests - technology should sharpen your calls, not make them for you. You're winning when you're close enough to high five or hug the client. A handshake isn't good enough anymore.

Nouns are also more valuable than ever before. In a world where we lack human interaction and where technology often dictates communication styles, nouns which are more of a human trait become a real 'love language', which in turn will help to strengthen bonds.

All of these points point to the same conclusion: tradition only protects an industry for so long. Eventually, tradition becomes a liability. The businesses that act before this happens set the pace; the ones that don't are forced to follow.