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Top 100 winner Fathom Realty focuses on family, servant values

National cloud-based, full-service real estate brokerage maintained its top three status for a fifth consecutive year.

NO. 3 LARGE COMPANY

FIVE-TIME WINNER

Josh Harley founded Fathom Realty in 2010, applying biblical principles and recruiting agents who, like him, want to conduct business using a servant’s heart.

“Since our inception, we have adhered to the idea that in order to be great, one must first become a servant to others,” said the company’s 45-year-old chairman and CEO. “This is not an idea. It’s a way of life that can change the whole world by simply changing the world directly around us.”

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And it’s a way of life that its 1,800 Dallas-area workers embrace wholeheartedly.

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One Fathom agent summed it up: “The directors and management at Fathom always do everything in their power to be sure that I am successful, and they offer the same to all agents — new and established. They continually host community service events. They want to make the world a better place. And we all have a great time working toward that goal together.”

Another echoed those feelings: “After 21 years with the same broker, I made the switch to Fathom. I love my job because of the servant and family values that Fathom is built on. Its technology grows with our ever-changing market, and constant training is available.”

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This national cloud-based, full-service real estate brokerage maintained its top three status for a fifth consecutive year. This year, Fathom is our No. 3 large company.

Traditional real estate business models simply don’t work in today’s tech-driven world, Harley said. Fathom Realty is powered by a proprietary technology platform that does.

Harley wanted to build a company that gave more power and money back to agents. “That’s how I landed on the name,” he said. “Fathom means ‘to come to understand.’ Clearly our concept has resonated with agents. We grew to over 7,000 agents in 33 states in just over 11 years, with no signs of slowing down.”

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The statement that received the highest score from Fathomers: I have confidence in the leader of this company.

Not even a global pandemic could stop Fathom from coming together to feed the homeless and help those in need.

Agents met each quarter on the volunteer projects through Bringing Hope Ministries. They worked with North Texas Food Bank collecting food and organizing its warehouse — keeping alive more than a decade of food bank service.

Agents in Denton and Wise County assisted First Refugee Ministries, which provides medical services, food, dental care and counseling to people in need.

They also worked with the Samaritan Inn to help furnish apartments and collect needed items such as linens, cookware and toys.

“Over 70 of our agents worked together to furnish a whole apartment around the holidays for a wonderful family who was in need,” Harley said.

Fathom offers its agents 100% commission, small flat-fee transaction costs, support and training.

When Fathom began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market last year, its agents and employees got a piece of the action, having been awarded stock grants by Harley for closing transactions and for assisting with growth by recruiting other agents. This practice continues now that Fathom is publicly traded.

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Revenue was up more than 118%, the number of agents and employees increased by 53%, and it acquired a title company, a mortgage company, an insurance company and two technology companies.

“While all of this is exciting,” Harley said, “what made me the most proud was how our people came together to help each other and our local communities through these tough and unprecedented times.

“Accelerated growth can put a strain on any business, but looking back over the last year, I can honestly say that, as a company, Fathom Realty became significantly better, not just bigger,” Harley said. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of people who truly know what it means to place others first. They are the secret sauce that makes us a great company.”

Fathom Realty workers thank J.R. Russell (center left) and Jacque Swanner (right) and after...
Fathom Realty workers thank J.R. Russell (center left) and Jacque Swanner (right) and after their class on open houses at Truck Yard in The Colony. (Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)