Acknowledgments

I’ve always read these acknowledgment pages in books and thought to myself: where would I begin if I ever had to write one? Well, the day finally arrived, and as I sit here writing this, I—like many others in my position—am trying to remember the names of all the people who have had an influence on my life and had a hand in getting me where I am today. Since this is my first book and it includes an abbreviated version of my life story, to me it’s important to thank the people who played a role in shaping me as an individual and helping me along the way.

I want to start by thanking my family, who have always played a critical role in my career, as you’ll see in the first section of this book. My father Nicholas Lolli was a great man who taught me many life lessons and was a great influence on my decision to go the entrepreneurial route. He also taught me to win with integrity and not to burn bridges along the way. I’m grateful for having him in my life for as long as I did before he passed.

My mother Gladys is also an inspiration to me and has been by my side, serving as an advisor to me, in every major business and personal decision I’ve ever made. To this day I respect my mother’s wise counsel and ask her to weigh in with her opinion. I love them both and will forever be grateful for their efforts in raising me to be the man I am today.

My parents taught me to make wise decisions in both my business and my personal life. I believe that one of the wisest decisions I made was choosing Tereza to spend the rest of my life with. Tereza has been a rock in my corner and now she’s an amazing mom. I get plenty of joy from sharing insights into what helped me succeed in business. However, what brings me more joy is the beauty of parenthood and teaching my kids Nico and Love Lolli the same life lessons my parents taught me and more.

Aside from the support I’ve received from family, a big thank you goes out to the team that helped put this book together: My publishing company Diversion Books for seeing the vision I had for it and giving me the opportunity to get it into the public’s hands and my co-author and friend, Benjamin Platt. Ben’s work on this project required him to be able to write in my voice and decipher the points I tried to convey through our long sessions together, and he did a great job at it. Ben worked as Rapid Realty’s Communications Director for several years prior to taking on this assignment, and he really worked tirelessly to get this done.

I also want to give a special shout-out to Joseph Dobrian for his work early on in the process of putting this book together and getting some of the research and fact-checking done. I’m grateful for his contribution to this project and the unique perspective he brought to it.

To my core team members—both past and present—I thank you for your commitment to excellence and the stamina you continue to show day in and day out, which keeps the momentum going. I couldn’t ask for a better partner than Carlos Angelucci—My Woz (see Part 1) and I can’t speak highly enough of the job that Marina Richards has done over the years, carrying the heavy load of the management of administrative tasks—a list that has grown year after year. Thank you for your tremendous service and continued support.

Throughout the 20+ years I’ve run and operated my real estate business, there’s been so much great talent that has contributed to the growth and success of our brands. From our award-winning technology to our unique marketing concepts, we’ve always had a solid team to depend on. Special thanks to Dustin Buss, Mike Salvaggio, and Rusty Pancrazio for always keeping us at the forefront of what’s happening in the world of tech. Also, thank you Gabriel Chapman for your great title suggestion and for the photography, videography, and media relations work you’ve done over the years.

To my Rapid Realty family: I want to thank all the franchisees, the top-producing agents, and all the tattoo brand ambassadors. I also want to give special acknowledgment to my senior franchisees who stuck with me and played a role in our growth. I want to thank our Franchise Expansion team—Raymond “Ricco” Ruiz and Rodney Bonds. Ricco and Rodney are leading the charge in expanding the Rapid brand into new markets, and their efforts are felt companywide. I also want to mention Yeidy and Katherine Angelucci, Carlos’s sisters, who are senior members of the franchisee family and have been with me since before we became a franchisor. They’re the ones who brought their little brother into the business. I’d like to recognize all the military veterans serving our great country and risking their lives to keep us a free nation. One such veteran is my friend and top multi-unit franchisee Adrian Cardona, who has been a part of the Rapid family since we had just one office. The loyalty and devotion to the brand shown by Adrian, Ricco, Rodney, the Angelucci family, and the rest of our senior franchisees and senior agents are unique in the real estate brokerage industry.

My good friend Charlie Brown who passed away, Nick Roussopoulos aka Nicky Brooklyn, and Jimmy Perez—All of you hold a special place in my heart for your friendship and support.

I must thank my hard working public relations teams, Frank Cipolla, Rich Lorenzen, Adam Weiss, Matthew Sheldon, and Linda Alexander, as well as other PR people I’ve used throughout the years, and my good friend Judy Sahagian, who is a networking queen and has introduced me to many great contacts throughout our friendship. The exposure I’ve received from my PR team has helped get me the brand recognition that is necessary to become a household name in my industry.

I also have to acknowledge some of the press and media members I’ve met throughout this journey. I’ve always felt we were treated fairly by the press, and I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know talented people like Amir Korangy (The Real Deal), Vicki and Josh Schneps (Schneps Communications), Emily Smith (CBS), Teke Wiggin (Inman News) and plenty of other journalists who have worked on stories about us.

Thank you to all of our social media followers and fans. I’m a pretty transparent guy, so be sure to follow me online to see what’s going on in my world every day.

As mentioned in this book, you must have a good legal team behind you, looking after you and protecting you along the way. I’ve learned that you don’t go to a Chinese restaurant and order pizza, so I’ve always worked with attorneys that are specialists in specific areas of law. I’ve received so much guidance throughout my career, and some of the people who provided that legal counsel are: Phil Lavender, Richard Rosen, Michael Einbinder, Harold Kestenbaum, Peter Fields, Al Fazio, Ira Meyerowitz, Paul Petigrow, David Mollon, Peter Guadagnino and others.

Throughout the book I also talk about real estate investing and financing. Over the years I’ve worked with many people in the world of real estate finance, but only a few stand out. I’d like to shout out Jay Steinberg and Alex Freund for coming through for me many times. I’d also like to give a special thank-you to Wolf Landau for his help in the early part of my real estate investing career. I can’t mention finance without thanking Jason Ozone for all the support and structure he provided to our organization from its inception.

To my extended family, I thank you for your assistance, from my brother Guido Pasquel and his wife Aileen and my niece Bianca, to my cousin Victor Lolli and his wife Judy. Thank you to Judy’s mother Mildred Digiglio for providing so much critical mentorship early on in my real estate career. When I first started she was the only person I called almost every day to ask questions on how to get deals done. Her advice and words of encouragement kept my spirits alive, and I’m forever grateful for it.

To my Uncle Pancho, my Aunt Rosa, my grandmother Jesus, and my cousins Erika, Pancholin, and Jenny in Ecuador, thank you for your long-distance support and for being some of my biggest cheerleaders. I have always felt your sincere love and the prayers that you say for me.

I will never forget to thank my two main guys who run my construction jobs, who were there for me when I was just learning how to run a job site and have been working with me ever since. Julio Alonzo and Sebastian will always be more than just workers; they are my family, and I thank them for their role in my success. I also must mention Ralph Succar, a good friend and contractor who worked on projects with me including my home, The Lolli Mansion; and his nephew George Makrinos, who helped design the home and all of Rapid Realty’s offices.

I also want to say thanks to Richard Levine of New York Real Estate Institute for providing people with a place to learn different facets of the real estate industry. It’s facilities like his that allow people to get into this great business and start a new career.

Finally, I would never end this without mentioning the appreciation I have for what Jehovah God has provided me. I remain thankful for my opportunities, and I feel blessed to have had them.