Find out more about broker-owner Courtney Poulos’ journey and what she thinks new agents need most from the industry on Inman.
Courtney Poulos created ACME Real Estate in 2011 because of what she calls a “critical gap in the big brokerage experience.”
“What was missing wasn’t just training,” she said. “It was real training that’s comprehensive, interactive and mastery-based. I wanted to build a brokerage with reliably excellent agents who know the Code of Ethics forwards and backwards, understand every paragraph of the purchase agreement, and grasp the psychological impact of buying and selling on clients.
“It’s about creating agents who deliver a truly positive experience, not just close transactions.”
Poulos isn’t just focused on improving training for agents in her brokerage. She also continues her own professional development in a variety of ways. This year, she joined international design and development leaders in the prestigious Advanced Management Development Program at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She has also launched “The Clean Close,” a weekly podcast on the ACME Real Estate YouTube channel.
Find out more about Poulos’ journey and what she thinks new agents need most from the industry.
Name: Courtney Poulos
Title: Founder and CEO
Experience: When Poulos founded ACME Real Estate in 2011, she set out to create something unique — a design-savvy lifestyle firm. Backed by a nine-year career in marketing and PR, she began offering a comprehensive service, replete with remodeling, staging, and a full suite of marketing solutions.
ACME Real Estate quickly grew into a phenomenon, attracting top Los Angeles talent and earning Courtney numerous industry awards. She has since become one of the most in-demand Realtors in the country. And now, in partnership with broker Heather Unger, ACME Real Estate has expanded her LA-based brokerage into the Florida market, ACME Real Estate Florida.
Location: Los Angeles, California
Brokerage name: ACME Real Estate
Team: Brokerage of 35 agents (including Poulos)
Transaction sides: 178 sides in the past 12 months
Sales volume: $155 million in the past 12 months
Awards:
- 2025 Leader of Influence, Los Angeles Business Journal
- HousingWire Woman of Influence (2020 and 2023)
What’s one big lesson you’ve learned in real estate?
A two-year apprenticeship is the most valuable education new licensees can receive. I learned this by apprenticing with a top producer for several years before taking on my own clients. You learn the weight of responsibility when handling someone’s most valuable asset, the importance of every word you choose, and how to approach real estate from a service perspective rather than sales.
Unlike other professions with mandatory residencies or advanced degrees, our industry sends people into the field after passing a test, and we’re hemorrhaging talent because of it.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? How does real estate relate to that childhood goal?
I wanted to be a singer, dancer, performer on a big stage. While that didn’t pan out, I was also an enterprising kid who sold everything from Olympic Cards and Gifts to homemade bookmarks door-to-door.
Real estate requires that same hustle and the art of performance: being comfortable in front of cameras and clients, speaking with conviction and never hiding behind a desk. The confidence I gained from performing translates directly into mastering the art of human interaction that real estate demands.
What’s the most important thing you learned in school?
I studied journalism and public relations, and I learned the power of words. That skill shows up constantly in real estate: framing problems, negotiating with other agents, writing marketing copy.
Understanding nuance and knowing that every email to another agent is probably being forwarded to their client means the words you choose can be the difference between a deal closing or falling apart. Being fluent in a language gives you a real advantage in an industry where so much is nuanced.
What’s the best advice you ever got from a mentor?
My grandfather told me: “Beware the ecstasy in the inertia of defeat.” It means there’s a dangerous comfort in trying and failing that lets people off the hook: “Well, I tried.” He was warning against wallowing in defeat instead of getting back up and trying again.
That resilience is absolutely required for being an independent broker-owner in today’s rapidly changing real estate environment. The hits keep coming, but you never give up.
What do clients need to know before they begin a real estate transaction?
Clients need to understand the sequence of events and what role the key players have in each piece, so they never feel overwhelmed by what’s coming next. I’m very clear from the beginning about what the process will look like and how it unfolds, especially for first-time buyers or sellers, so they’re never blindsided.
Real estate transactions are deeply emotional, and keeping clients informed strategically at every step makes all the difference.
What book has taught you the most?
Care of the Soul explores human experience through mythology and has nothing directly to do with real estate, but it’s invaluable for understanding people as archetypes and recognizing common themes in human behavior. Some clients need nurturing, others reject it and need independence.
Being able to identify people’s motivations and how they’re emotionally interacting with big decisions is crucial. My continuing education as an expert in human behavior might come from an unexpected source, but it works.
ACME Real Estate | Los Angeles Boutique Real Estate Brokerage