Last week, San Francisco-based real estate technology company RealScout announced that Andrew Flachner had returned as its president and CEO. Flachner is one of the company’s co-founders and replaces former CEO Arthur Kaneko, who will continue to serve RealScout as an adviser.
Flachner, who has maintained his involvement with RealScout over the past seven years as the company’s president, has previously served as the company’s CEO. Flachner spoke with HousingWire‘s Sarah Wolak about the transition and his plans for 2025. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Sarah Wolak: I understand this isn’t your first time serving as RealScout’s CEO. What led to you taking back the role?
Andrew Flachner: The timing felt right for this transition. Over the past seven years as president, I’ve remained deeply involved in our strategy and growth while Arthur [Kaneko] led operations. We’ve hit an incredible stride recently with 40% year-over-year growth and strong product-market fit in the teams segment. When Arthur decided to pursue a new venture, it was natural for me to step back into the CEO role to build on this momentum and accelerate our path to becoming the industry standard for lead nurture.
SW: RealScout announced a couple other leadership changes. What is the collective goal?
AF: These leadership changes reflect our commitment to intense focus — honing in on what RealScout does best while scaling our impact. Nick Blumenthal has been instrumental in building our platform over the past decade, and as COO, he’ll ensure we can scale operations efficiently. Adding Seth Price as CMO brings deep industry expertise that will help us reach and serve more customers. Together, we’re focused on helping real estate professionals thrive amid today’s market challenges.
SW: Can you share what you’ve learned since being CEO in 2017 versus now, and what changes are you bringing to the table?
AF: The biggest lesson has been that success comes from doing a few things exceptionally well. During my time as president, I’ve learned the power of doubling down on our strengths while integrating deeply with other best-in-class vendors. Our strategy isn’t to build everything — it’s to be the absolute best at automated lead nurturing while working seamlessly with the other tools our customers rely on.
SW: You’re a founding member of the Forbes Real Estate Council and a founder of several venture capital companies. How do you plan on balancing this renewed role with your other endeavors?
AF: RealScout has always been my primary focus and that won’t change. As president, I’ve led our strategic initiatives and key partnerships while maintaining strong relationships with our customers and industry leaders. The transition to CEO is a natural evolution of this work. I’m fully committed to leading RealScout through this next chapter of growth.
SW: We’re only a few weeks into 2025, but can you share anything about what’s to come for RealScout?
AF: What excites me most is our ability to help customers navigate today’s challenges. The real estate industry faces significant headwinds — from tightening margins and the NAR settlement implications to rising lead-generation costs, persistent low inventory and the evolving landscape of buyer and listing data.
Our platform directly addresses these challenges by helping practitioners automate engagement and surface conversion opportunities. We’re committed to sustaining our momentum as the top lead nurture platform and helping our customers succeed in this evolving market.
