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When indie broker and Inman contributor Troy Palmquist joined eXp Realty Chief Growth Officer Michael Valdes on stage in August at the Inman Connect real estate conference in Las Vegas, it was billed as a frank conversation about recruiting and retaining talent in the brokerage world.
Little did Palmquist know, he was being recruited himself.
Palmquist has joined eXp as the company’s director of growth for the state of California, he announced Wednesday on a phone call with Inman. He’s also moving his 30-member team at Doora Properties over to eXp from Side, which had previously powered his brokerage’s operations.
It’s a move whose origins can be traced directly back to that Las Vegas stage, he said.
“I had a good conversation with [Valdes] on stage, and then off-stage really resonated with a lot of the things that he said,” Palmquist told Inman. “We kept the communications going, the conversations going, and I really liked everything I heard. And then that turned into, subsequently, an opportunity to come and work on the growth side of eXp.”
In his new role with eXp, Palmquist will provide support and informational services to agents throughout the state, helping them grow their businesses through recruitment and other methods.
All but a couple of the agents at Palmquist’s brokerage have informed him they plan to make the move over to eXp. One or two, he said, are still mulling over the decision.
In the meantime, the independent brokerage he founded early last year will continue to do business as Doora Properties. He’s hopeful that the switch will also benefit his agents, who will have access to more opportunities for networking and professional education.
Palmquist informed Side earlier Wednesday that he would be leaving their platform, and began the process of transitioning his brokerage over. He told Inman that his reason for the switch was not due to any dissatisfaction with Side, but the opportunity with eXp being too good to pass up.
“It truly felt like it was going to be a better platform for the team to grow,” Palmquist said. “And then an opportunity like this is really a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I think my career’s had a good trajectory that leads up to this point, and it felt really right.”