Today we’d like to introduce you to Ligaya Thompson.
Hi Ligaya, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My journey started early during the digital tech boom. For thirteen years, I worked my way up the corporate ladder at a major technology organization—starting as part-time retail sales, advancing to corporate sales where I lead strategic marketing initiatives across the region, and ultimately capping my corporate career in high-level Business To Business sales. The turning point came when I relocated my family from Houston to Austin in 2018 for a role meant to prepare me for a leadership position. That move gave me a profound clarity. Despite my track record, I never felt full authority to truly be myself, and I was tired of navigating corporate politics. The reality of corporate life is that loyalty is a one-way street, and anyone can be replaced in an instant. I came to accept a fundamental truth: I was never going to thrive in an environment defined by corporate politics and artificial boundaries. So I stepped off that track entirely, choosing to take full control of my trajectory and build my own legacy in real estate. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t just wake up one day and say I’m going to start selling houses. My husband, Bryan, and I started investing in rental properties in our mid-twenties. We were young parents to twin boys and worked hard to establish a strong foundation for them. Neither of us came from wealthy families, and while our parents taught us life lessons that we’ll never forget, no one taught us about financial literacy or investing. As young parents raising twin boys in our twenties, we took it upon ourselves to learn the financial world from the ground up, starting with rental property investments to guarantee our family’s future. You know, building generational wealth except we are the first generation to build it. Transitioning into full-time real estate was simply turning that personal strategy into my professional legacy. Originally, when I was resigning I thought I just wanted to get my real estate license, continue investing, and possibly get into property management. I didn’t know what eventually would happen is that Bryan and I would become a husband and wife team selling luxury real estate and working with sophisticated investors. As for the leadership role, I strongly believe being a leader is more than just a title and a corner office. You can lead people every day in your words, your actions, and in how you make them feel when they interact with you. In real estate, I bring that same mindset to my work: leading my clients through what is often the most significant financial investment of their lives. As I approached the final days of my corporate career, I remember I was so afraid of failing on my own that I almost chose to stay in my comfort zone. But I knew deep down inside that I wouldn’t let myself fail. I couldn’t. My children not only depend on me but they are also watching me. I looked at this as an opportunity to show them that life is about taking chances. There is more to experience than just getting up daily and working for someone else. You can create your own opportunities betting on yourself.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting a business is not for the faint of heart. When I left my corporate career I walked away from structure, steady income, paid time off, a balanced schedule, benefits, and so on. Not only that, but I was new to Austin and didn’t know that many people, which made it feel like I was starting from scratch more than ever. And to make things even more complicated, the pandemic hit and I found myself having to stop building out my business and focus on my kids and their well-being. All together now Bryan and I have four children, and I was always a working mom, so looking back it was a blessing in disguise to be able to slow down and spend more time with the kids while they were still young. But I grappled with the thought that if I wasn’t putting myself out there as a Realtor then I wasn’t building the business. I had to learn to give myself a little grace if I didn’t get everything accomplished in one day. The first five years were the hardest. It’s a period where you are building your brand and learning what works and what doesn’t work. You are also stretched thin financially and are figuring out how to make the little income you have stretch as far as you can. In the beginning of my journey, months at a time would go by with me contributing little to no income to our household. It took about two to three years working as a full-time agent to finally start seeing the fruits of my labor. Then there’s the failures along the way that taught me that failure is a two-step process; it’s learning where you can improve and learning how to not let it defeat you and keep going. Even the way I socialized with people changed whether or not it was making new friends or meeting up with old ones. When you’re focused on building something for yourself you realize that no one will understand you unless they also have a burning desire inside of them to do the same. So, I went from being extroverted to selective about who I share my time and energy with. And then as if I wasn’t challenged enough, I had this crazy idea for Bryan and I to join forces. He was licensed before me, but I left my corporate job before he did. We went all in together, and then I was faced with the challenge to learn how to build a business with my significant other. It was hard in the beginning, because I didn’t look at him as a business partner, I only saw him as my husband. And every wife loves to tell their husband when they are wrong, am I right? But all jokes aside, business challenges felt more like marital problems. We both had to come to the realization that when we are talking business and strategy, we need to separate our personal feelings and approach it as if we were talking to someone that is a co-worker, not a spouse. It took a good year and a half or so for us to finally start having fun working together. Often, we say we should have started sooner. But I believe timing is everything and if we had started sooner then chances are we would still be living in Houston. Coming to Austin was a blessing for the both of us. It allowed us to spend more time with our children, close out our corporate careers, and start a new journey together in life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We founded Thompson Real Estate Group in 2022, bringing together a combined 20 years of real estate experience as a husband-and-wife team. Based in Austin, Texas, we specialize in luxury real estate, strategic investments, and developments across the greater Austin and Houston areas. Beyond serving our local community, we frequently guide families and individuals relocating from all over—including our international clients transitioning from across the world. Having lived in Houston for over 30 years before making the move to Austin, we found ourselves settling our family in Northwest Austin as we were captivated by its sweeping Hill Country landscapes and waterfront living. While our hyper-local expertise center on communities like Steiner Ranch, River Place, Comanche Trail, and Grandview Hills, our passion naturally expands across the entire Lake Travis and Lake Austin corridors. And though our reach extends to every corner of the Greater Austin metro area, we pride ourselves in maintaining active, lifelong relationships with our client base back in Houston. Having walked that path firsthand, we bring unique insight to making intra-state and long-distance transitions seamless, comfortable, and stress-free.We’ve always believed that real estate is about more than just properties—it’s about people, community, and finding a place to truly call home. Grounded in our core values of faith, family, and health, we prioritize deep relationships, open communication, and strict confidentiality, always treating our clients like family. To offer an elevated level of expertise and a higher standard of care, I became a Real Estate Broker in 2026. Whether you’re searching for your dream luxury estate, expanding an investment portfolio, or relocating from across the globe, our door is always open—and there is truly nothing we love more than celebrating a successful closing together.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
When it comes to reading, I’m constantly looking to grow. I love self-improvement books like Grit, The Gap and The Gain, and The Alter Ego Effect, as well as classic literature—there’s something fascinating about how authors from past generations can still teach us timeless life lessons through storytelling. Above all, the one book you’ll find me reading every single day is the Bible. I like to start my mornings with a devotional and scripture. I didn’t always have this routine, but over the years, I’ve learned that when challenges arise, my faith takes me further than any motivational book or affirmation ever could. Through the good times and the bad, I seek God’s guidance in everything I do. That love for learning extends to my heritage. As a half-Mexican, half-Filipino American, I’ve been on a personal journey to become more fluent in my parents’ native languages, Spanish and Tagalog. To refresh my Spanish, I turned to tutors on an app called Preply and listened to the Duolingo Spanish podcast. Hearing real-life stories of people around the globe overcoming adversity was just as inspiring as it was educational. My Tagalog is still at a beginner level, but I’m working toward making it just as strong. Ultimately, I view learning and something that is essential for the mind and soul. I’m always open to a great book recommendation, a new podcast, or a fresh language challenge.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thompsonregroup.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theligayathompson/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ligaya.thompson
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ligayathompson/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LigayaBryanThompson
