🧱From $320K Debt to #1 NYC Broker: How He Did It

“If I keep doing this, I'll never be happy.”

Imagine thinking that every day; imagine sitting down to work in your law office not because you love the work but because there's $320,000 in student debt coming after you.

And the worst part? The “smart” move was to stay put, keep the steady paycheck, and play it safe.

He did the scary thing. He walked away from his legal career to become a real estate agent and live 100% on commission.

Zero experience. Six figures of debt. No safety net.

But 10 years later, he's managing $400+ million in active listings as one of NYC's top brokers.

Here's the story of how he did it.

— Andrew

THE “BREAKING” POINT

Ravi wasn't just unhappy as a lawyer; he was experiencing a full-blown crisis of faith.

Sure, there was securities litigation. 80-hour weeks, clients at rock bottom, and every month, that $320K debt growing faster than his payments.

But the breaking point came during a case so vile it soured his view on the entire system, there really is no other way of putting it.

He was trapped, stuck between a rock and a hard place, between debts and a career he hated.

"If you don't love what you're selling, nobody is going to buy it from you." 

His future father-in-law said. Then something clicked, and everything changed. 

Ravi didn’t just realize he hated his legal work; he realized he would never be great at something he truly disliked.

So if you can’t be great at something you hate, you must be great at something you love.

What DO you love? And the answer came clear and simple to him.

He'd always loved New York City; he’d always loved its historic architecture and brownstone townhouses.

So the choice was easy for him, which did not make it any less terrifying.

BETTING FOR A LIFELINE

In 2015, Ravi handed in his resignation, giving up his apartment to move in with his future in-laws, knowing full well that if this didn’t work out, his debts would consume him.

His plan? Join a small townhouse brokerage and learn from scratch.

But first, he had to survive the transition.

LIST 973

Townhouses were the second key.

He downloaded a list of every single townhouse owner in Brooklyn Heights, and then he called every person on that list by hand, all 973 of them.

"To this day, like you rattle off a name, I can probably tell you the address."

But his approach wasn’t to pitch; he wasn’t trying to get something from these calls, instead he focused on giving value first.

So he would call up the neighbor of a house he just sold to let them know the price it was sold at, how the deal went, and how they would stand to benefit.

And then, he would shut up.

Silence. No follow-up pitch. Just the valuable information.

This made people curious. “Why is this guy calling if he has nothing to gain?”

Many owners were still not interested in selling their properties.

But, many thanked him. And others started asking questions, which should have been the first sign that something big was going to happen…

RAVI’S FIRST BILLIONAIRE

By month six though, Ravi was exhausted, still broke and questioning everything.

Had he made the right choice?

He dialed another number from his list:

A woman answered, and it went just as it usually did, she didn’t want to sell.

Except this time, it was like no call he had ever had before.

"If you find that type of thing, I would buy it. Because that's what we're looking for as, like, a family asset."

Ravi had just cold-called his first billionaire; She was now a prospect. His unorthodox approach was paying off.

And it did because the real breakthrough happened when he came across the $100 million waterfront deal.

Way out of his league, no idea what he was doing, but he knew who would be interested in it, and he had nothing to lose, so he made the call.

And at first, she didn’t get back to him.

In fact, she never did.

It was her real estate guy who came and met Ravi in Midtown and said:

"She wants to buy it. She gets what she wants. How do we get this done?"

Four months of grinding later, the deal closed.

Ravi paid off every penny of his student loans, but best of all, he found the third key to success in his career.

SPECIALITY REAL ESTATE

While other agents chased every deal in every neighborhood, Ravi went nuclear in the opposite direction.

He became the "townhouse guy."

Not Manhattan real estate, not Brooklyn real estate, only townhouses in specific neighborhoods.

THE FIGHT AGAINST TIME

This new problem had a name, and we all know him: Time.

The number of potential buyers was such that he needed more time every day to make more calls and close more deals.

And his solution might sound a little crazy because it can cost hundreds of thousands.

But it makes sense when you do the math.

That’s how much it costs to hire a full-time driver, upwards of $100K a year.

Except for Ravi, it was a lot less than that.

Yes, he has to pay a lot every year, more than many people’s salaries.

But that driver investment generated 10X returns.

And something he realized could be applied to every aspect of his work, systematic delegation:

• Operations manager for paperwork.

• Marketing director for content.

• AI tools for client matching.

CLIENT MATCHMAKING

Using AI, assessments, quizzes and other tools, he paired every one of his clients with the most suited agent.

So analytical investors with his former engineer agent, and creative buyers with his empathy specialist.

"Match the client with the agent who can serve them best."

The results were immediate:

• Higher satisfaction.

• More referrals.

• Smoother deals.

At this point, his life was no longer at risk; his debt was paid, but Ravi still wanted more. And if one massive decision had paid off…

GAMBLING AGAIN

In 2024, and Ravi just made another wild move, another gamble.

He left the partnership that had helped him achieve such success to join Ryan Serhant's new brokerage.

Why? One reason: their in-house video studio.

"I came to Serhant for the social media and content capabilities."

Ravi knew how to sell, he knew how to build rapport, establish a reputation, optimize a business.

He needed exposure, and this opportunity meant his $20 million listings now had cinematic tours.

His insights now reached millions through Netflix's "Owning Manhattan." And while other agents posted generic market reports, Ravi kept building those authentic relationships, now at scale.

The phone started ringing from places he'd never marketed to before.

A COMPLETE EMPIRE

Today, The Kantha Team manages $400+ million in active listings.

They've grown from 4 brokers to 13 team members in 18 months, and Ravi's townhouse specialization has expanded into new developments and luxury condos.

From that terrified lawyer with $320K in debt to the undisputed king of NYC townhouses, these are the principles that made it possible.

WHAT YOU CAN STEAL FROM RAVI

The 5-7 PM Golden Hour Call executives when their assistants go home. You'll get them directly at their desk instead of getting screened.

Own ONE Thing First Pick a single neighborhood or property type. Become the expert there before expanding everywhere else.

The No-Pitch Cold Call "Hi, I just sold your neighbor's house for $X. Thought you'd want to know what's happening on your block." Then shut up. No sales pitch. Just value.

Hire Your Time Back If you make $200/hour, pay someone $50/hour to do paperwork. One extra deal pays for months of help.

YOUR MOMENT OF TRUTH

Everyone sees the finish line: $2 billion in sales, #1 team rankings, Netflix appearances.

But the real victory happened in that law office 10 years ago.

When a miserable attorney chose happiness over security.

When $320K in debt became fuel instead of anchor.

So stop competing with everyone attack a specific market and build an advantage.

Buy back your time, get that "delusional self-confidence" from your ability to outwork, out-think, and out-serve everyone else.

Have the audacity, like Ravi, to go all in on yourself.

WANT THE FULL STRATEGY?

Search How this ex-Lawyer Built a $2 Billion Real Estate Business on YouTube or your favorite podcast app to watch the complete episode now!