In today’s world, tech CEOs often aspire to attain a level of celebrity status, which can lead to polarized public opinions. While some are admired for their achievements and public personas, others are criticized for being out of touch with everyday realities. Often, they are fueled by a thirst for wealth and fame. But sitting down and talking with Trevor Marticke, founder and CEO of RealtyAds, one is immediately thrown off by his calm presence and humbled demeanor.
In no way does Trevor fit into the stereotypical mold of a CEO of a successful prop-tech company, which is using artificial intelligence (AI) to help commercial real estate owners and brokers better market their properties on digital and social media platforms.
Trevor talks about his successful career and his million-dollar idea without even a whiff of egotism. His passion for upending the marketing side of the industry matches his love for technology, which gives RealtyAds an edge in the prop-tech game. Maybe it’s because, deep down, Trevor considers himself a commercial real estate broker at heart, after spending more than a decade as a very successful one. To him, that is the key to running a successful business—empathy for and a connection with your customers.
“We have so many people at our company that are former brokers and former asset managers,” he boasts. “We’ve all been in the trenches where we have a building, we have a brand, and we have to get our message out to the marketplace. How would we match this office vacancy to the right decision-maker?”
Intern to Broker
Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, with roots in Boston, Trevor’s early years were marked by a fervent passion for sports and a curiosity that would later fuel his professional journey.
His foray into commercial real estate began while attending Colgate University in Upstate New York. He landed a prominent internship that many college students only dream of—at TF Cornerstone, a major player in the multifamily real estate market in New York City.
The experience at TF Cornerstone in 2007 wasn’t just a typical summer internship but a career launching pad. He was handed the significant responsibility of project management, ensuring that the corporate office’s orders were met on-site and that construction units adhered to tight schedules. This experience set the foundation for Trevor’s future, providing challenges that were pivotal in shaping his approach to business and entrepreneurship. He learned quickly that in the fast-paced world of New York real estate, efficiency and precision were not just beneficial, but essential.
Broker to Entrepreneur
The lure of exploring new cities led Trevor to Chicago, where he joined Transwestern as an Associate in 2008. He went through a rigorous internship program, rotating through various service lines every two weeks. It was here that he found his calling in office brokerage, a niche that would define his career trajectory.
He moved to Cushman & Wakefield in 2011, where he honed his skills in brokerage, understanding that it can take years to win significant business. Trevor quickly showed that the patience, perseverance, and commitment required to be a successful broker were invaluable lessons that he carried into his role as a business owner.
It was during this time that Trevor’s brother, Drew, caught the entrepreneurial bug, starting his own company, Progressus Media, which provided mobile advertising solutions for car dealerships, agencies, and automotive marketing companies. He then sold Progressus to CDK Global in 2018, right around the time the seeds for RealtyAds were sprouting in Trevor’s brain.
So, he did what any good brother would do and asked Drew for help. “I went to my brother with the idea and told him I thought the industry could really benefit from the adoption of digital channels, which is what Progressus was doing previously,” he says. “And Drew said, ‘I love everything about the idea, but you don’t need me because we have the same leadership skill set. You need someone like Keegan’.”
Drew was referring to Keegan Kuhn, a long-time friend who co-founded Progressus with Drew and was the Chief Technology Officer. A talented software engineer, Keegan had extensive experience with AI, machine learning, and advertising technology. His expertise helped bring RealtyAds to life.
For Trevor, walking away from a successful brokerage career wasn’t easy. However, the front-row seat he had watching his brother and Keegan’s success made the idea palatable. If they could do it, he could, too.
“Their success was maybe the push I needed to walk out the door and give up a long tenure in brokerage,” he reflects. “Anyone in brokerage knows it can be very tough to leave behind when you spent a decade plus building a list of customers.”
With that strong conviction, Trevor’s vision for RealtyAds became clear: create the most effective, cost-efficient medium in commercial real estate for engaging decision-makers and brokers. The inspiration was born out of frustrations as a broker spending an exorbitant amount of money on marketing and not being able to reach the right executive.
RealtyAds wasn’t just another startup. It was a product of Trevor’s deep understanding of the real estate industry and Keegan’s keen awareness of the technological advancements reshaping it. Their combined domain expertise helped shape a product early on that was not only effective, but could easily be deployed for any asset class in commercial real estate.
One of the key innovations of RealtyAds is its ability to harness artificial intelligence to launch, manage, and optimize a client’s paid digital advertising strategy. In fact, RealtyAds’ AI is currently overseeing more than 10,000 digital advertising campaigns across eight countries without a single “Campaign Manager” on staff. With data targeting audiences and updating daily, RealtyAds’ AI system is processing 3,500 data points per minute from more than 100 sources.
Without data feeding the AI, any AI system would be limited. However, this technological edge paired with RealtyAds’ treasure trove of data on top brokers and decision-makers allows for a more effective, cost-efficient, and scalable adoption of digital channels than was previously obtainable in commercial real estate—strengthening the industry’s ability to reach key audiences.
But the secret sauce really lies in Trevor’s customer-centric approach. Unlike many tech founders who build products in isolation and convince themselves their product is the best, RealtyAds thrives on customer feedback. This feedback loop ensures that the product evolves in line with market demands, making it highly effective and relevant.
“We have new software that will poll our customers on what we are doing well and what needs work,” he says with excitement. “So, as they’re logging in, they’re giving that real-time feedback, and those tickets go directly to our head of engineering. It’s not hidden behind department after department.”
Trevor likens RealtyAds’ role to that of the boxing manager in the corner, helping the broker or asset manager fight in the ring one-on-one to get the deal done.
“We’ll nourish you with information. We’ll give you the water and help you fight for deals through more sustained reach to brokers and decision-makers,” he says, furthering his analogy. “But ultimately, you need leasing teams to transact. So that’s exactly how we’re trying to position ourselves, a component of the leasing strategy that differentiates itself through a unique ability to better educate brokers and decision-makers at every stage of the transaction.”
The approach is working, with the average client realizing a roughly five times increase in broker reach and a near 30% uptick in tours by embedding RealtyAds’ AI into their leasing strategy.
Moving Forward with Strength
As RealtyAds enters its fifth year in business, Trevor feels very comfortable with how the company has grown organically to provide service in more than 115 markets, as a young startup with little press.
The toughest growing pain, he says, was getting the right talent in the door. But not just talent—good people who integrate well with the company’s culture and help shape it.
“Much like Stream, we didn’t want just anybody. We wanted the right fit. And that’s what we really struggled with in the first three years of the company,” he recalls. “We’ve made some tremendous hires that have really panned out well for us, shaping the future of the company to carry the next generation forward.” Still, Trevor couldn’t really point to a moment in the business’s life cycle so far where he felt any sort of dread or sense of defeat. Every time he and Keegan hit a bump or even a wall, they bounced back even stronger.
Unfortunately, like many families, he learned how to process disappointment and weather life’s storms by dealing with family tragedies. When he was in college, his older sister passed away. And throughout the years, both his mother and father have battled serious cancer diagnoses.
“So, you have these life events that maybe put the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurship into perspective,” he says reflectively. “The best advice I can give is just staying optimistic and trusting your gut. It’s worked well so far.”