Ridley Culp On Tools To Grow As A Young Industrial Broker

Ridley Culp is a data-driven, intelligent and dedicated Vice President on Stream Realty Partners‘ Dallas Industrial Leasing team. He moved to Dallas from Birmingham, Alabama, to be part of one of the nation’s most exciting industrial real estate markets. Ridley’s numbers-centric approach to CRE has rapidly gained the respect of colleagues and clients, providing him with much success as a young broker.

When Ridley isn’t negotiating leases in South and East Dallas, he is likely spending time with his wife, cooking, saltwater fly fishing across the globe or enjoying a football game with friends. When asked what provides him with a competitive edge, Ridley said he believes the appropriate mentors, tools, work ethic, and attitude are needed to be successful in any endeavor.

Mentors

I’m lucky enough to have several mentors who have encouraged my career. Matt Dornak and Luke Davis have been invaluable, teaching me a great deal about industrial shell leasing. Their depth of knowledge of the Dallas market has helped me with both new and existing clients. They’ve given me the autonomy to learn independently while remaining trustworthy advisors dedicated to my success. Aside from them, I look up to my dad. He’s also an industrial broker and developer. Over the years, I’ve grown to appreciate the wealth of information he offers. My dad always told me, “If you want to be the best, you have to learn from the best.” I’d say Matt, Luke, and my dad are among the best.

Tools

Stream has numerous tools that have helped me see business plans through. Without these resources, my career would undoubtedly look very different.

• The Analyst Program – I see the Stream Analyst Program as an MBA in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage. The program helped me learn the industry from the ground up from Stream leaders to better execute my business plan confidently. I had high hopes for the program, which truly exceeded all expectations.
• Comps Dashboard – Numbers and data are very important to me. I’m often the youngest guy in the room, but I’ve learned that people don’t care as much about that as they do about who knows and can explain the market. As an analyst, I saw some inefficiencies in the way we were delivering comps to our clients, so I created a new dashboard, which is now an integral tool for our team and how we work with our clients.
• Interactive Development Dashboard– Dornak and I created this tool to track the real-time development supply in South Dallas. It’s been priceless, helping us earn over 12 million square feet of new listings and sell over 100 acres within the past two years.

Work Ethic

Managing Director and Ridley’s business partner, Matt Dornak, said, “Hard work pays dividends, and Ridley quickly caught on to that. He’s the first one in each morning and often the last one to leave. He proactively learns core concepts rather than just completing tasks, and constantly challenges himself. He’s a natural leader and a good listener with a humble and positive attitude, which is something you can’t teach. His eagerness to learn from those around him has propelled his career, and made him a valuable team member for Stream’s industrial team.”

Attitude

Perspective – I value hard work. But I also want to look back in 40 years and have more to show for my life than a former career. It’s important to me to have fun and be generous with others along the way. I love to saltwater fish anywhere—Florida, Louisiana, the Bahamas, or Turks and Caicos. It’s a great family sport I can share with my dad and extended family. My fiancé and I like to travel out west or to the low country to visit family. We try new Dallas restaurants whenever we can, and we’re currently on the hunt for a non-profit organization where we are both passionate about volunteering.

Entrepreneurship – Stream supports each individual’s business approach. Several years ago, I started working in South Dallas. There are a lot of big box Fortune 500 spaces and land, but Stream didn’t have a presence there yet. Dornak and I used our dashboard to partner with investors and proved the positive potential of South Dallas industrial developments. I quickly learned how people view land, how to put site plans together, what tenants need to operate, and the economics of underwriting a development deal. Stream supported our pursuit, and we now have a significant market share in South Dallas leasing assignments.

Humility – Managing Director Ryan Boozer said, “Ridley’s been able to learn and advance quickly because he checks his ego at the door every morning and sees everything as a learning opportunity. He’s not self-involved, he’s a problem solver, proactive, and a hard worker.”

Team Player – Willingness to be a team player is essential. That’s something that I love about commercial real estate and Stream. I have the autonomy to work independently, but I also have a team for collaboration. There are many people to learn from, work with, and teach. I love the hustle environment; we always have fun as a team and with our clients.

Client First – I love meeting different people throughout each leasing assignment. The most satisfying part of a project is coming to the end of a project and seeing all the pieces fit together after collaborating with many people. For example, I recently had a client who didn’t have an email, so I’d hand-deliver every document to him. The people and the nuances always keep my job interesting.

At Stream, we know our success begins and ends with our people, which is why we continue to attract and retain the industry’s best. Learn more about taking your career to new heights with Stream.

I see the Stream Analyst Program as an MBA in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage. Stream leaders taught me about real estate from the ground up, enabling me to execute my business plan confidently.