Episode Summary:

Our guest today has served as president of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and is the author of an upcoming book on how to hack happiness. Joining us is Mike Simonsen, co-founder, and CEO of Altos Research. Altos Research is a data company with a fascinating backstory on how it became the leader for real-time real estate data.

In this episode, join Mike and me as we discuss how Mike went from writing software at the age of ten to being in Silicon Valley in the late 1990s. We consider how Mike has fused his entrepreneurial drive of owning his own company with his technical data side. Listen in to hear how Mike broke into the real estate industry to become one of the leading sources for real estate market analysis for the entire United States!

Top Takeaways: 

• Mike Simonsen’s Advice for New Agents
• “I am absolutely certain that the personal aspect of the real estate transaction is here forever.”
• People want a high service transaction and really appreciate and want to pay for all the nuances that come with that. Mike is convinced that the power of connection and real expert guidance of the real estate agent is not going away.

“I actually started building little models, databases for my own understanding of what was happening in the local market because I needed to know what was going on. There were some really interesting early observations…” – Mike Simonsen [16:56]

 “Hacking Happiness is a process that I went through. Personal transformation time, it actually has its roots in my Entrepreneurs’ Organization group. We all go through these times where you find yourself in crisis mode.” – Mike Simonsen [30:51]

Episode Highlights:

[00:24] Intro

[00:40] Meet Mike Simonsen – Where Data and Real Estate Meet

[02:22] Growing Up Outside of Chicago

[03:54] An Entrepreneur Before Her Time

[05:43] Attending University of Nevada- Reno

[08:10] Back to Chicago for MBA with Entrepreneurship Focus

[08:59] Silicon Valley in the Late ’90s

[11:21] Knowing How to Sell with a Technical Expertise

[14:11] Breaking into the Real Estate Industry

[20:28] The Catalysts for Creating Altos Research

[24:58] Enterprise and Consumer Level Data Needs

[26:33] Entrepreneurs’ Organization

[29:54] The Hack Happiness Project

[33:16] The Philosophy Behind Hack Happiness

[37:58] Mike’s Advice for New Agents

[39:33] Connect with Mike Simonsen

[40:14] Outro

Episode Notes: 

Joining us today is Mike Simonsen, the co-founder, and CEO of Altos Research, a leading data company bringing real-time real estate data to the entire United States. Mike was born just outside of Chicago and raised by his father, a high school teacher, and his mother, an entrepreneur who started her own company in the ’70s doing career development and HR consulting.

Mike Simonsen grew up skiing and went on to be an athlete skier at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he received his bachelor’s in computer systems. After graduating, Mike went back to Chicago to earn his MBA with a focus in entrepreneurship at DePaul University while also writing software for his mother’s...