Lolli of Rapid Realty NYC: Influenced by his father

Name: Anthony Lolli Title: CEO Company/firm: Rapid Realty NYC Years with company/firm: 16 Years in field: 18 Years in real estate industry: 18 Address: 240 78th St., Brooklyn, NY 11209 Telephone: 917-577-0261 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.rapidnyc.com Which professional accomplishment, honor or achievement has meant the most to you and why? Rapid Realty NYC recently received back-to-back awards in recognition of our company's diversity and commitment to providing opportunities for women and minorities in real estate: the Champion of Diversity Award from the New York Urban League, and the Special Achievement Award from the National Minority Business Council. Over the past few years, we've been recognized for our growth, our innovation, and even the loyalty of our agents. But these recent awards for our diversity really meant the world to me. I wanted Rapid Realty to be a place that would give people a chance, no matter where they came from, what they looked like, or how they talked when they first walked in our doors. The result is that an overwhelming majority of our franchisees and agents are women and minorities, and to be able to provide those kinds of opportunities at a time when opportunities are so scarce makes me proud beyond words. Who or what has been the strongest influence on your career and why? My father had a profound influence on me. When he retired after many years as a N.Y.C. public school teacher and found that his pension wasn't enough to take care of his family, he went right back to work—as a street entertainer. He spent every night walking the city streets with a parrot he'd trained to do tricks, and tourists would pay to take their photo with it. When I was a kid, he'd bring me along to give him a hand. Watching him work (and talk his way into society functions and fancy establishments you'd never imagine allowing an animal inside today), I learned everything from the power of charm and salesmanship to how to calculate profit margins. And above all, night after night, he taught me the value of hard work. Where would you like to be 10 years from today? I'd like to be precisely where I am now, only bigger and better. Rapid Realty N.Y.C. is already the largest rental-based real estate firm in N.Y.C., and we recently set up shop in Boston and San Diego. I'd like to see Rapid Realty become the go-to source for apartment rentals in every major city in the U.S. We're poised to become America's first household name in rentals, and in 10 years, I'd hope that we have clinched that title. At the same time, I want to see Rapid continue to expand its presence in the sales market and continue to develop additional services as we've been doing over the last couple years, such as our green energy and green building consulting.