Today we’d like to introduce you to David Lecko.
David, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in Saint Louis, and as a kid I was always looking for solutions to make things easier. For example, to save time and avoid sweeping grass off the sidewalks after mowing, I attached a fan to an RC car and drove it up and down to clear the grass.
I graduated from college with a degree in engineering and starting working in a windowless basement in USPS on bulk mail systems. I was doing all of the “right” things, but I wasn’t fulfilled or happy. I realized that something needed to change when I was at my best friend’s wedding, and I had to step away to fix software that had stopped working. So I started looking into real estate as a way to have more control over my time.
When I started out, I had a lot of trouble finding quality leads and following up with those leads, and I found that there wasn’t a great software solution for people doing what I was doing. So I built a simple app that helped me save addresses and automate sending mail so that I never missed out on closing a real estate deal. Now I’m the CEO of DealMachine, which helps thousands of real estate investors find and close deals. In 2021, DealMachine was #36 on the Inc 5000’s list of Fastest-Growing Companies in the United States.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I wish I could say that it’s always been a smooth road! I failed a lot my first few years as a real estate investor and learned a lot through the process. It was hard to convince my family that leaving my secure software job to pursue real estate investing was a good idea. It also took me some time to figure out how to find unique leads and follow up. Once I started DealMachine, there was a whole new set of challenges that came with leading a company for the first time.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
DealMachine offers investing and wholesaling software to help individuals and small business owners scale their real estate business. The app allows investors to target specific properties, which helps them lower their marketing costs and reach the people most likely to be interested in selling their property. Our team works really hard to make sure our DealMachine members are successful. The DealMachine Instagram, YouTube, and blog is filled with great advice from experts in the field, and our customer support team goes above and beyond to answer questions quickly. Our goal in releasing new features is always “complexity masked by simplicity.” We want the app to be very user-friendly while also offering our customers everything they need to start or scale their real estate investing business.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
When I was growing up, I loved bugging my sister. Classic little brother! Sometimes I would hide in the same room as her, and after several minutes, I would jump out and yell a nonsense word to scare her. One day, she was pestering me to get off the computer so that she could have a turn. So I recorded an audio file that was 5 minutes of silence, then I said the nonsense word into the mic. I pressed play on the audio file just before I handed her the computer and made sure it was hidden in the background. Then I went to sit in a different room with my parents. A few minutes later, we heard my sister yell “DAVID GET OUT!” The best part was the confused look on my parents’ faces!
Contact Info:
- Website: dealmachine.com
- Instagram: @dealmachineapp
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DealMachine
