Our Story
Our initial success exceeded our expectations, catching us off guard with the dedication needed to fully serve our product and its community. At the time, both of us were navigating the complexities of managing other significant ventures, all while honing our entrepreneurial skills. Despite these challenges, we remained committed to our early adopters, continuously engaging in strategic discussions about the product's future. Each meeting between Ben and myself served as a powerful reminder of the product's critical role and its potential to transform the real estate sector. As our separate enterprises evolved and our capacity expanded, we recognized the opportunity to reintroduce MRA to the market, aiming to enhance the industry as a whole. We firmly believe that improvements in the real estate market stem from elevating the consumer experience, which is directly linked to the caliber of the agent representing them.
Founders
Ricky Cain
Ricky Cain co-leads the award-winning residential real estate company, Cain Realty Group (CRG) at Keller Williams Realty, one of the top-selling real estate groups in the country. MRA was his inspiration. He began his real estate career in 2006 and in 2009, he and his wife, KodiKay, co-founded CRG. Ricky and KodiKay's passion for delivering a five-star customer service experience led to an abundance of referrals from clients and other Realtors from across the country. Starting the group happened quite organically. Since 2009, CRG has continued to grow annually in both clients served and in attracting exceptional team members that align with CRG's Core Values.
Ben Peskoe
As the founder of Sierra Interactive and its CEO until its acquisition by Alpine Software Group in 2022, Ben brings a wealth of experience in real estate technology and a deep commitment to transforming ideas into impactful solutions. With 20 years of experience at Sierra, he gained a profound understanding of the challenges and pain points faced by agents and brokers, as well as an appreciation for the meaningful impact that technology can have when developed in true collaboration with them. He believes that our success is not only measured in numbers but also in the positive impact it has on our customers' quality of life.
Team
Kate Starnes is an experienced tech entrepreneur who's worked with many venture-funded founders and helped raise over 1 billion. She started her first company at the age of 15 in 2009, and it's still helping survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking to this day. Today, she focuses on My Referral Agent, agent experience, and helping agents achieve their business dreams through agent-to-agent referrals.
Savio Monteiro, an accomplished technologist, has a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology from the University of Mumbai, as well as a Master's in Computer Science and a PhD in Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas. Savio has exceptional leadership skills, a talent for creative problem-solving, and a natural ability to develop innovative solutions that enhance the user experience. His areas of expertise include software engineering, telemedicine, artificial intelligence (AI) and microservice architectures.
Lara Becker is a Designer and Innovator with over 20 years of experience in the digital design industry with clients ranging from startups to Fortune 100. She specializes in turning ideas into usable and beautiful products and loves it! Her work has been instrumental in reshaping businesses and corporations. She’s contributed to an estimated business value of over $2.5 billion. She's also a co-founder of BigDesign Events, a non-profit connecting members of the design and development community to share and learn from one another.
Joshua is an experienced Automation Engineer who specializes in optimizing processes and improving efficiency through automation technologies. Throughout his career, Joshua has demonstrated a remarkable ability to analyze existing processes, identify areas for improvement, and develop innovative automation solutions. He has a proven track record of successfully implementing automation projects that have resulted in significant cost savings, increased productivity, and enhanced safety measures.
Core Values
At MRA, we are driven by our values. We use them to keep in touch with our purpose, serve our customers, and drive the future of the product.
Unwavering dedication to providing exceptional product and customer service that meets and exceeds real estate agents needs in getting and sending high quality agent referrals.
We uphold the highest ethical standards, honesty, and transparency in all our interactions. We do what's right, even when faced with difficult decisions.
We continuously expand and improve our offerings, capabilities, and expertise. We promote a culture of continual development, empowering ourselves and our customers to reach their full potential.
We believe that through our work and our actions, we can make a positive impact in the lives of our customers, our families, and the world. This keeps us going and fuels all of our work.
We value teamwork and believe it can yield greater results by working together. We encourage diverse perspectives and open sharing. We partner with like-minded individuals and organizations to innovate and create mutually beneficial outcomes.
We embrace creativity, curiosity, and forward-thinking to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving world. We encourage new ideas, technologies, and approaches that challenge the status quo and drive positive change.