Last week I hosted five female real estate agents for a Girls Day Out in Pleasant Grove. We went to QuickGreens for lunch, walked La Finca Flower Farm, and ended at Stella's Ice Cream. We talked about the market, about what was working in our businesses, about what wasn't. We laughed a lot. Nobody gave a presentation.
It was intentional.
I have been in real estate for ten years. I have sat through recruiting pitches (given some of them myself) and I know what they feel like from both sides of the table. They feel like a transaction. Someone is trying to sell you something, and you are deciding whether to buy it. That's a fine way to sell a software subscription. It's a terrible way to build a team.
The agents I want at Foundry are not agents who got sold. They're agents who looked around at what we're building and decided they wanted to be part of it. That's a different process entirely. It starts with showing people who we are before we ever ask anything of them.
Why I started Girls Day Out
The real estate industry can be isolating; particularly for women. You're often the only person in the car, the only person in the negotiation, the only person who knows what it actually took to close that file. The camaraderie that makes difficult careers sustainable doesn't happen automatically. It has to be built deliberately.
Girls Day Out is one version of that building. A small group of female agents, a local business tour, a real conversation about what the work actually looks like. No agenda beyond genuine connection and showing up for the community we all work in.
What I've found is that when you lead with value;real information, real relationships, no strings attached, the right people notice. Not everyone who comes to Girls Day Out is looking for a team. Some of them just came for the flower farm and the ice cream. That's fine. They still got to see what Foundry's culture feels like in practice, and that leaves an impression longer than any brochure would.
What value-first recruiting actually looks like
The handout we gave every agent who attended laid out the Pleasant Grove market data; median sold price, days on market, homes sold in the last 12 months, alongside practical frameworks for becoming the local expert in their specific market. Know three small businesses per neighborhood by name, not just by category. Have the current median price memorized before every listing appointment. Keep a running list of where you'd send your clients for coffee, food, florists, and contractors.
That's the kind of information that makes an agent better at their job regardless of where they hang their license. We gave it freely. Because that's who we are.
If someone who attended last week eventually decides they want to know more about Foundry, they'll reach out. And the conversation will start from a place of genuine connection rather than a cold pitch.
That's the only way I want to build this team. Reach out to Foundry Group if you're curious about what that conversation looks like.
FAQ
What is Foundry Group's approach to recruiting real estate agents?
Foundry Group recruits through relationship and demonstrated value rather than traditional pitching. McKelle Siebert hosts events like Girls Day Out specifically to build genuine connections with agents in the market; sharing practical knowledge, local business resources, and real market data with no recruiting strings attached. Agents who join Foundry almost always do so because they experienced the culture first and made an informed choice, not because they were sold on it.
What kind of agents does Foundry Group look for?
Foundry looks for agents who are genuinely good at their work, care about their clients beyond the transaction, and want to operate inside a well-built infrastructure rather than build everything from scratch alone. Cultural alignment matters as much as production history. The team is intentionally small because quality of fit matters more than volume of agents.
How is Foundry Group different from other Utah County real estate teams?
Foundry was built infrastructure-first; with a transaction management system handling tasks, structured onboarding, operations support from a Director of Operations with 15 years of experience, and ongoing investment in agents' personal brands. The team is led by McKelle Siebert, who has spent ten+ years in Utah County real estate and built Foundry specifically to give agents the support structure she wished she'd had earlier in her career.
What is Girls Day Out?
Girls Day Out is a Foundry Group initiative where McKelle Siebert hosts a small group of female real estate agents for a local business tour and genuine conversation about the work. The format prioritizes connection and shared learning over recruiting. McKelle shares local market data and practical frameworks for building a local expert brand alongside agents from other teams, with no expectation of anything in return.
Does Foundry Group offer agent training and business development support?
Yes. McKelle runs sales training twice a week, business development coaching once a month, and individual coaching once a week. Agents also have access to Foundry's content library; blog posts, neighborhood pages, market data, for their own brand building, and Foundry invests in agent-specific production including professional video content.
How do I learn more about joining Foundry Group?
Reach out directly to McKelle at fndrygroup.com/contact. The first conversation is straightforward, no pressure, no pitch. Just an honest look at whether what Foundry offers and what you're looking for are actually aligned.
This article is for general informational purposes only and reflects publicly available information at the time of writing. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice.
