Podcast Summary – The Code To Winning

Episode 050: THE FUTURE OF REAL ESTATE BELONGS TO INNOVATORS || RUDY GOMEZ
Host: Kagiso Dikane
Guest: Rudy Gomez, CEO & Co-Founder, Acquired
Date: August 30, 2025

Overview

This episode dives deep into the evolving landscape of real estate, with a special focus on innovation, wholesaling, and building lasting business relationships. Host Kagiso Dikane (“KG”) sits down with 25-year-old seven-figure wholesaler Rudy Gomez to discuss his entrepreneurial journey, the dynamics of contemporary real estate investment, and the importance of mentorship and continuous learning in building a thriving business. Whether you’re a real estate pro, investor, or new to the game, Rudy offers inside perspectives and actionable advice for seizing opportunities in an ever-changing market.

Rudy Gomez’s Journey: From Shoe Salesman to Real Estate Innovator

Early Influences and Getting Started

• Rudy’s sales acumen began at Journeys shoe store, where his knack for upselling caught the attention of a mentor who introduced him to business and investing.
• “I was selling shoes, and I was pretty good at it. You’d come in for one pair of shoes, you leave with two socks and a shoe cleaner, right?” (00:08, 05:53)
• Key Book: Rich Dad, Poor Dad fueled Rudy’s curiosity about investing—especially the concept of making money work for you and real estate as a wealth-building vehicle (00:20, 06:24).
• “What really stood out to me was the investor, right? Because I was like, wait, you can make your money work for you?” (00:22)
• By age 17, Rudy was interning at Keller Williams, doing open houses and cold calls in Spanish to the Hispanic community (07:31).

Transition to Wholesaling

• Attended a small Torrance meetup where he learned about wholesaling—securing properties under contract and connecting them with investors (01:00–01:21, 09:17–10:27).
• Joined a corporate wholesaling company and later co-founded Acquired with his business partner to do things “our way” and innovate within the space.

The Real Estate Market Post-2020: Challenges & Adaptations

Market Volatility

• Discusses pandemic-era booms: “I remember in 2021, 2022, like it didn’t even make sense… Properties were selling 3, 400k above the ask. Money was so cheap.” (11:04)
• “But the jump from 3 to 6%, I saw a lot of commercial brokers leave the industry, a lot of mortgage brokers leave the industry.” (12:01)
• Personal story: A mortgage owner faced severe financial and mental stress due to market corrections (12:08).

Current Trends

• Investors are now more risk-averse, especially for higher-ticket flips.
• “What we are seeing though is that the bigger price point… investors are a little more skeptical to touch it. There’s still buyers out there, it just comes down to risk tolerance.” (15:22)
• Lower-priced properties with less margin are selling quicker; volume over home-run deals is the emerging strategy.

Demystifying Wholesaling

What is Wholesaling?

• Rudy breaks it down simply: “I look at wholesaling as matchmaking. It's like arbitrage… You’re connecting motivated sellers with qualified investors.” (17:14)
• Like Airbnb and Uber, wholesalers are “middlemen” making connections for value, not owning the asset (17:18).

Common Misconceptions and Best Practices

• On transparency: “There’s two numbers I will not give: ARV and the rehab. I let the investors decide what that is.” (20:13)
• “Let’s differentiate the difference between the facts and the opinions… Provide the comps, let the investor run their own numbers” (20:54–22:39).
• Building trust requires facts-over-inflated claims: “If I tell an investor it’s going to cost 50k to fix and then they spend 50k and they’re not even done, they’re not going to want to buy from me.” (21:44)

The Acquired Model

• “Every wholesale deal we’re actually closing on the property, taking title, if only for 24-48 hours, and then concurrently selling it off market.” (23:24)
• Particularly strategic with strong deals, using flips and crowdfunding within the team to build wealth internally (25:02).

Building a Winning Team and Company Culture

Team & Leadership

• Acquired launched in February 2024, already boasting 26 team members across offices in Beverly Hills and Costa Mesa.
• “He focuses more with the acquisitions team, and I focus with the sales team… building relationships with investors, networking, adding them to our list.” (26:56–27:38)

Relationship-Driven Approach

• “You have to take the time to come to one of our offices… or we can do a Zoom or Google Meets call. I want to emphasize the relationship part.” (41:29)
• Using a “doctor” approach: Understand investor goals before offering deals—quality over quantity.

Hiring Philosophy

• “As long as you’re licensed and you can commute, I don’t care if you’re brand new. I’d rather have someone that’s willing to hustle and learn than someone who knows everything but won’t pick up the phone.” (45:52)
• Trial and error in team-building—prefers soft skills and coachability over experience.

Innovations, Strategy & Navigating Challenges

Off-Market vs. Traditional

• Advantages of off-market deals: Easier to manage expectations, less exposure, and investors prefer off-market even at similar price points (27:53–28:53).

Collaborating with Agents

• Growing source of deals through agent relationships—agents often prefer direct connections with wholesalers for efficiency and potentially higher commissions (37:48).
• “Our biggest source right now… is relationships. Agent relationships have been key.” (37:48)

Handling Complex Deals

• Detailed story: Triple-close transaction in Palm Springs, involving nine simultaneous escrows, shifting margins, and legal surprises with unwarrantable condos (49:07–52:35).
• “It was a three-month process… triple close. Nine total escrows… but we finally got it to the finish line.” (51:55)

The Power of Mentorship & Networking

• Mentorship has been a key to avoiding mistakes and accelerating growth.
• Rudy invests heavily in personal development—Dale Carnegie, Patrick Bet-David’s The Vault, local mastermind groups, business coaching.
• “I paid like 30k for the inner circle group… and I met a CPA that saved me six figures. That’s why networking and talking to people is so important.” (35:50, 36:09)

Actionable Advice & Final Reflections

For Aspiring Wholesalers

• “If you deleted all my contacts and I had no money, I’d go on Redfin and Zillow, start calling agents and looking for closed fixers… You’re planting seeds and building relationships. Do it every day for 30 days, there’s no reason you can’t get one or two deals.” (52:55–54:43)

Defining “Winning”

• “To me, winning is being in a position where I can teach and influence people, where they can do literally what I’m doing. I get more excited seeing someone else do their first deal than me doing a bigger deal.” (55:28)
• “I’d rather have 1% effort of a hundred people than 100% effort of my own.” (56:26, quoting Rockefeller)

Notable Quotes

• On the importance of facts in wholesaling:
  “There’s two numbers I will not give is the ARV and the rehab. I let the investors decide what that is.” (20:13, Rudy Gomez)

• On building client relationships:
  “I want to get away from just being like a wholesaler to being more of a real estate investment advisor… a real estate investment consultant.” (42:09, Rudy Gomez)

• On mentorship:
  “I met a CPA that saved me six figures… If I never paid [the $30k group fee], I would have been paying $100k to the IRS.” (36:14, Rudy Gomez)

• On team-building:
  “Time is more valuable than money. I’d rather spend 10 to 20k to save two to three years.” (48:23, Rudy Gomez)

Key Timestamps

• [05:35] – Rudy’s origin story, first mentor, and entry into real estate
• [09:17] – Transition from agent to corporate wholesaling & founding Acquired
• [11:04] – Pandemic-era real estate boom, shifts, and risk management
• [17:07] – Wholesaling explained: Matchmaking, arbitrage, and value add
• [20:01] – Industry myths: ARV, rehab numbers, and fostering transparency
• [23:24] – The Acquired model: Concurrent closings and team syndication
• [37:48] – Power of realtor relationships in deal sourcing
• [45:52] – Rudy’s approach to hiring and fostering a learning culture
• [49:12] – Complex deal example: Palm Springs triple-close
• [52:55] – Start-up strategy: Leveraging calls, Redfin, and agent connections
• [55:28] – What “winning” means for Rudy Gomez

Closing & Contact Info

• Connect with Rudy on Instagram: @rudycz
• Business IG: @acquiredtm
• Facebook: Rudy Gomez & Acquired Homes

Episode Takeaways:

• Success in real estate hinges on relationships, facts over hype, continuous learning, and bold, consistent outreach.
• Wholesaling is an ever-expanding, relationship-driven niche with room for innovative approaches.
• Winning is about empowering others to succeed and creating a multiplying effect through people.

For more insights and future episodes, follow The Code To Winning and stay ahead in the business and real estate game.