In this episode of Founders Club, I sat down with Lon Welsh—a true real estate OG who’s been in the game for 20+ years. Lon is the founder of Your Castle Real Estate, which grew to 750 agents and over $2.8 billion in annual sales. He’s also built and sold a title company to Compass and now runs a private real estate investment firm, Iron Capital.
Bottom line? The guy knows what he’s doing.
We covered everything from how to scale a brokerage to dominating expired listings, to investing during a downturn. If you’re in the real estate world—whether you’re an agent, broker, or investor—this is one of those episodes that’ll get your gears turning.
Here are the top takeaways…
1. The Market Is Shifting—And That’s Your Opportunity
Most people see high interest rates and low inventory and panic. Lon sees opportunity.
On the brokerage side, it’s about re-skilling your agents. Listing and negotiation skills atrophied during the boom—time to sharpen that sword. Sellers are no longer in control, and agents need to learn how to educate them on market realities.
On the investment side, he’s seeing 20–22% discounts on multifamily properties compared to peak pricing. He’s bullish on buying right now while the cost basis is low and rent growth is temporarily soft.
This is a classic case of: The fortune is in the pivot.
2. Expired & Withdrawn Listings Are Low-Hanging Fruit
Lon dropped one of the most underutilized strategies in today’s market—working expired and withdrawn listings.
In Denver, more than half of these properties relist within 12 months. These sellers are frustrated, tired of the old agent, and motivated. It’s your perfect chance to step in.
The key?
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Have a solid 12-piece value mailer.
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Follow up consistently via phone, mail, and in person.
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Use AI tools like ChatGPT to help you write persuasive messaging tailored to your market.
Door knocking? Still the most powerful move if you’ve got the guts. But even a consistent mail campaign will set you apart, because—newsflash—no one else is doing this.
3. Want to Scale Your Brokerage? Start with Pain Points
Lon scaled his brokerage to 750 agents by focusing on one thing: Solving real problems for agents.
He recommends diving into MLS stats using tools like BrokerMetrics to identify which agents are struggling. Then, offer solutions based on their current pain.
In a down market, he created classes on “how to succeed in a down market.” Agents came for the knowledge, stayed for the support, and eventually joined the brokerage.
Lesson? Don’t pitch your brokerage. Solve problems. That’s the real recruiting.
4. AI Is the Recruiting Tool You Didn’t Know You Needed
Lon wrote a book on AI for Realtors—and he’s using AI in smart ways.
Want to build a recruiting funnel? Use AI to help you:
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Create training content.
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Roleplay listing scripts.
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Draft high-value follow-up messages.
You don’t need to be a tech wizard. You just need to be curious and committed.
He even built a Realtor Coach GPT that’s trained to help agents boost production. Smart move.
5. The One Thing That Separates Top Producers
It’s not hustle. It’s not marketing. It’s not who has the fanciest logo.
The biggest indicator of gross commission income?
The size of an agent’s personal network.
Followed closely by: using a CRM consistently.
Top agents work their sphere. They don’t chase cold leads on Zillow. They build meaningful relationships and stay in touch 6–8 times per year—calls, coffees, mailers, events.
Your CRM doesn’t have to be sexy. It just has to be used.
6. Grow Your Business Like You Grow Your Sphere
Lon had a killer insight: Recruiting agents is just like nurturing a client database.
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Host live events.
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Run educational workshops.
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Do monthly and quarterly trend updates.
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Mastermind with a mix of internal agents and recruits.
Make yourself top of mind, just like agents do with their past clients. And when the pain hits, guess who they’ll call?
7. Your ‘Why’ Drives the Discipline
We got deep for a second on mindset.
Lon pointed out that people usually earn what they need—not what they want. If you want to raise your income ceiling, tie it to a real ‘why’.
It’s not “I want to make $100k.” It’s: “I want to send my kid to college without debt.” Or “I want to retire my parents.”
If the why is strong enough, the how takes care of itself.
8. Thinking About Selling? Fix the Culture First
Lon sold his brokerage to private equity and his title company to Compass.
Here’s what he learned:
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Culture is everything. One acquisition flopped because the teams didn’t vibe.
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Use masterminds, classes, and events to do “culture checks” before an acquisition.
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The best exit happens when the buyer sees value and the team sees continuity.
He also emphasized identifying other brokerages stuck in the “valley of death”—too big to be small, too small to scale. That’s your acquisition target.
9. The Passive Investing Pitch That Gets Listings
If you’ve got a seller sitting on equity who doesn’t want to be a landlord anymore, Lon has a killer script.
Here’s the play:
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You list the property.
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They roll the proceeds into a fund like Iron Capital’s.
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The fund generates income and delivers tax-saving depreciation to offset capital gains.
Everyone wins.
He even offers to jump on a call with the seller to explain the setup. That’s value-added listing support 101.
10. Tools & Books Lon Recommends
✅ Fixer (Fyxer.ai): AI email assistant that organizes inboxes, writes responses, and syncs with your calendar. Game-changer for busy agents.
📚 Rich Dad Poor Dad: It’s old school, but it’s still the mindset-shifter that turns regular people into real estate entrepreneurs.
Pro tip: Buy a few used copies and hand them out with your card. Great lead gen.
Final Thoughts: Show Up and Do the Work
Lon wrapped with a simple truth:
“90% of success is showing up.”
Real estate isn’t rocket science. You don’t need more tools, more hacks, or more shiny objects.
You need to:
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Be consistent.
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Focus on relationships.
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Solve real problems.
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Work your plan every day.
That’s how you build something special.
If you’re fired up after this episode and want to connect with Lon or download his book on passive investing, head over to:
👉 irononcapital.com/foundersclub
And if you like money and you like real estate… you already know what to do:
Subscribe. Like. Share this with someone who needs to hear it.
See you on the next episode of Founders Club.