We hosted our first-ever Industrial IQ Bootcamp. Twenty real estate operators flew in from all over the country. The event sold out in a matter of weeks.
Here’s the crazy part: we had no Facebook ads, no complex sales funnels, and no countdown timers creating fake urgency. We sold it out with a simple newsletter mention and an application form.
But that’s not what shocked me. It was the feedback.
On Sunday evening, we sent out a survey, and the results were unanimous: every single participant rated the event a 10/10.
Honestly, I didn’t expect that. It forced me to step back and analyze why this thing we created—something that went against every conventional sales playbook—worked so incredibly well.
Here’s the full story.
Table of Contents
The Thesis
Before we even started, my partner Shea and I had a core thesis. Most industry events feel transactional. They pack a room, pitch hard, and push a big backend offer. It’s a model built on scarcity.
We wanted to build ours on two different principles:
- Overwhelming Value is the Goal: We knew we had to give away the entire playbook—every tool, spreadsheet, and contract we’ve honed over the last five years. But more than that, we had to give them the mindset. Tools are useless without the right operating system. We wanted to ensure every person left ready to operate on a completely different level.
- The Mastermind is the Magic: The most valuable insights don’t come from a speaker on a stage; they come from the collective intelligence in the room. Our goal was to facilitate an environment where 20 smart, ambitious people could solve real problems together.
How We Executed
That simple thesis guided every decision.
First, we were intentional about the environment. Instead of a soulless hotel ballroom, we hosted it in my friend Jittender’s personal boardroom. The capacity was capped at 20 people. This wasn’t a numbers game; it was a quality game.
Second, the curation was manual. There was no “click to buy” button. We had an application, and we personally vetted every single person. Our main criteria wasn’t their net worth or portfolio size. It was simply: “Are they a good person? Would we enjoy spending two days in a room with them?” We trusted that good people attract good people.
Third, we were radically transparent.
On day one, I stood up and told the group our two “selfish” motives:
1) We’re launching a software and they are our ideal beta testers
2) We’re building a portfolio of properties and would love for them to partner with us. No hidden agenda. No surprise upsell. Just honesty.
The Pre-Event Coaching Call
A week before the event, we did something that turned out to be a game-changer. We held a group coaching call with my performance coach, Phil Towle.
He asked everyone a single, powerful question: “Why are you really here?”
Hearing everyone—from the hungry 20-somethings to the seasoned pros—share their core motivations created a foundation of trust and purpose before anyone even stepped foot in the room. It shifted the event from a transaction to a co-creation.
The Magic Moment
On Saturday evening, Shea and I stepped out for a debrief. The energy inside was electric. People who were strangers a day ago were deep in conversation, scheduling dinners, and discussing deals.
I turned to him and said, “Dude, I think we killed it.”
The real magic wasn’t happening when we were teaching. It was happening in the spaces between: during the live property tour, on the bus ride, and in the late-night conversations at the hotel bar. The collaboration was happening organically, without any facilitation from us. That’s when we knew our thesis was right.
Here’s what a few of them said:
“The openness and genuine desire to share and uplift others.”
“Because I do not currently own a small bay, I was super interested in hearing the pitfalls and the buy criteria… you ultimately saved me from making a huge mistake. That is priceless!”
“The class size was perfect to be able to ask questions in real time… Shea and Saul were so patient and kind to answer any and all questions to make the learning experience fulfilling for everyone.”
Conclusion
So, what’s next? In the survey, we asked if they’d be interested in a follow-up call to brainstorm how we all stay connected.
Every single person said yes. We’re now doing a 2-hour Zoom session with no predetermined agenda—just 20 smart people figuring it out together.
We accidentally created an anti-playbook that works:
- Choose a small room over maximum capacity.
- Use applications instead of buy buttons.
- Embrace transparency over artificial scarcity.
- Prioritize collaboration over one-way teaching.
- Aim for co-creation instead of a predetermined outcome.
The biggest lesson for me is this: when you optimize for genuine value and authentic relationships, the business results take care of themselves. You create raving fans, the connections compound, and the game starts coming to you instead of you chasing it.
Forget the gurus. Focus on transformation. The magic will handle the rest.