by G. Sax, Head of Communications, RESO
Welcome to “Three Questions,” an interview series that introduces you to real estate industry professionals, their businesses and how they interact with real estate standards. The goal of the series is to humanize the tech side of the industry, fun included.
This week’s interview is with Chris Siebarth, VP of Business Development at Modern.tech. We talked about what real estate technology consultancy entails and about the great outdoors. Enjoy!
Q1: Modern.tech began as a software development firm and is now rolling up its sleeves with industry consultancy. What led the company to take on this addition?
Chris: Initially, we realized that beyond the need for software development help, many companies were having a tough time understanding the technical side of real estate and MLS.
I’m not a developer myself, but I’ve often been told that understanding the intricacies of our industry is as hard as learning to code.
Our team had already done a lot – from integrations with MLS and SSO providers to managing data feeds and working with RESO standards – and people started asking for help with the same. Becoming a consultancy allowed us to offer that help.
Making ourselves available for deeper consulting has allowed us to not only “do” but also to “teach” – helping to guide others toward solutions that they may not have even realized were possible. This approach has been the perfect formula, both for our customers and our company.
Q2: What’s it like to be in the world of consultancy, business development and sales during this unprecedented time in the real estate industry, where seemingly everything is out of price reach and margins are thinning? Do you find that organizations are more open to outside counsel or are more doors being closed in your face?
Chris: It’s a mix. Companies that feel uncertain during this crazy time are more conservative, but there are so many companies that see uncertainty as an opportunity to gain a competitive edge and are excited to work with us.
More companies than you would think are open to outside counsel and have proactively reached out to us for help. Navigating these uncertain times can be very difficult, and doing it correctly or not can be the difference between success and failure.
Q3: You list “outdoorsman” as one of your professional skills, which isn’t too shocking, given that you reside in beautiful Colorado. Give us a fun example of what being an outdoorsman entails?
Chris: Trail running. I hate running, but the reason I like trail running is because it’s essentially a quick hike.
I am good at sticking with it and preparing for it, but sometimes I forget the basics, like the time when I was hiking from Breckenridge to Frisco.
I brought a backpack and water and downloaded some music to listen to…which drained my phone battery. I didn’t think much of it until I remembered I still had to get back on a there-and-back trail, and it was already nearing sunset.
I had no phone and no flashlight, and it got dark. Fast.
Running on a trail in pitch dark made me tense, like I was running from an animal or a monster or something. The moon helped, but I was often under a thick canopy of trees, which put me in complete darkness.
Everything felt the same. The trees were thick. There were pine needles everywhere. I was lost.
Thankfully, I was never in any real danger, because I had sent a pin to my roommate before my phone died, but I did think I was going to have to sleep there overnight.
Then I found a break in the trees, and my car was only about 100 feet away!
The key point of the story is to properly plan in advance. It prevents you from dying.
RESO (G. Sax): I said “fun” example.
