Mauricio Umansky, founder and CEO of The Agency, is best known today for helming one of the most recognizable real estate brands in the world. With more than $5 billion in personal sales and a growing global footprint, his reputation for ambition, polish, and precision precedes him. But behind the empire is a sharp strategist shaped by textile negotiations, fashion retail pivots, and an uncanny ability to break into closed circles.
In a recent episode of the Presence Podcast, Umansky sat down for a candid conversation about formative career decisions, business lessons forged in failure, and the principles that still govern his approach to growth. What emerged was a rare behind-the-scenes look at how a legacy is built, one eighth of a percentage point at a time.
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Entrepreneurial instincts aren’t taught
Umansky’s first company, an activewear brand in Malibu, went from $300,000 to $30 million in sales under his leadership. The brand pivoted from menswear to women’s loungewear and became one of the first to experiment with garment dye, a trend that would later dominate athleisure. He ended up selling the company and was, as he says, “kind of my first entrepreneurial experience, going from one business to another business, buying it, acquiring it, growing it, and then selling it.”
Though he entered real estate without formal training, Umansky’s early clients trusted him because of his track record in these other ventures and his reputation in the community. He didn’t work his way up through low-price listings. “I never said to myself I need to sell a $200,000 house in order to sell a $2 million house,” he explained. “I just said, I need to start selling big properties.” Friends, former clients, and even family members’ exes helped him land early listings in the $6 million to $12 million range. It’s a reminder that networks, not resumes, often unlock high-value opportunities.
Umansky’s trajectory from clothing executive to top producer hinged on his willingness to take risks, especially the kind most would second-guess. “That fear stops us all from doing things,” he said, reflecting on why many aspiring entrepreneurs talk themselves out of progress. “It’s your own head. You’re creating your own blockages.” By contrast, his boldest moves, whether cold-calling a CEO or jumping into a listing well above his “experience level,” were driven by narrative clarity and conviction.
Small details drive big growth
Umansky learned to sell by negotiating down to the cent in his family’s textile business. A lesson that stuck? Small margins scale into major profits. “You multiply $625 million worth of sales by an eighth of a percentage point — that’s a lot of money,” he said. This detail-oriented mindset gave him an edge not only in deals but in how he structured and measured success. “There’s a lot of eighths between one and two,” he added, referring to commission negotiations, which is a nuance most agents overlook.
Branding is a belief system
At The Agency, Umansky built a brokerage, but he also established a brand with a singular identity, global reach, and a tech-forward posture. He credits his earlier businesses with teaching him how to shape perception at scale. “Storytelling is all about selling,” he said, emphasizing the throughline between fashion, real estate, and leadership. His ability to tell a cohesive story — about a home, a lifestyle, or a vision — continues to drive The Agency’s growth.
Even as The Agency expands into new international markets, Umansky still leads with structure. From tracking fractional percentages in negotiations to leveraging buyer psychology, he applies the same discipline across every layer of the business. The throughline? A constant effort to remove friction from the client experience to internal systems. His story reinforces that scale is not just about ambition, but about clarity, repeatability, and an obsession with details most overlook.
How to build your brand with Luxury Presence
For real estate professionals navigating a shifting industry, Umansky’s path is a study in calculated boldness, enduring optimism, and unrelenting precision. His advice is as tactical as it is timeless: Know your worth, tell a compelling story, and never let fear write the script.
Luxury Presence supports ambitious agents with the tools, technology, and strategic frameworks to help turn bold visions into results. From branded websites to marketing automation, see how we can help you build a scalable brand that commands attention.
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