Nicole Pominville's story is one of precision, reinvention, and a genuine care for the people she serves. Now with Compass in Denver, Nicole grew up in Colorado Springs as what she calls the "adult child," the oldest of all the cousins, the one who ran the show and did everything by the book. Raised by a bar-owner mom and a salesman dad who never went to college but pushed education hard, she headed to DU, chose accounting as a freshman, and spent five years earning her degree and master's.

A career in numbers followed, from internal audit work on financial controls to a brief, unhappy stretch in oil and gas to a regional accounting firm. Along the way she realized she couldn't picture doing it for the next 30 years. A friend's success drew her into recruiting, her first true sales role, where she spent several years placing accounting and finance leaders at major companies and discovered she loved the human, matchmaking side of the work. Then COVID arrived, froze hiring, and dried up her commissions, just after she'd bought her first home. When her own realtor suggested she'd be good at this, Nicole got licensed.

She did it wisely, keeping her recruiting income while she learned the ropes, passing her exam the week of Thanksgiving in 2020 and closing her first deal the following March. She leaned hard on her sphere and on the mentor who guided her through one of the craziest markets in memory, and when a stretch on her own exposed how much she still needed to build, she rededicated herself to creating real systems and a repeatable process.

In this episode, Nicole opens up about the winding road from accounting to real estate, the discipline of nurturing relationships in a business with little instant gratification, and the deep value she places on mentoring new agents, teaching them to lead with empathy and treat every client's story as if it were their own. Above all, it's an honest conversation about caring enough to get everything right for the people who trust you.

And Nicole's story… starts now!

www.everettslending.com
720-979-8742
jimmy@everettslending.com
IG: @jimmythesaint5280

Brady Efting's story is one of reinvention, self-awareness, and the quiet confidence that comes from finally being yourself. The co-founder of the Denver Living Group at Compass grew up a normal, sports-obsessed kid in small-town South Dakota, with stretches in the Colorado mountains and a childhood shaped by his parents' divorce and a lot of moving around. He'll tell you all that bouncing between towns, including twice in his freshman year, toughened him up and taught him how to connect with anyone.

After a political science and psychology degree at the University of Northern Colorado, about four and a half years as a paralegal at a Vail real estate law firm, and a memorable failed attempt to open a bar in Spain, Brady moved to Denver, earned his teaching credentials, and spent six years teaching social studies. When that path ran its course, his wife Alejandra offered the nudge that changed everything: if you're not happy, why wait? He gave himself 90 days to close his first deal, leaned on mentors and his own database of former students' families, and never looked back.

Twelve years later, Brady has built a business he's genuinely proud of, but the road there taught him something important. He spent time trying to operate like other successful agents before realizing his real edge was simply being the trustworthy, down-to-earth guy his friends and their families already knew. That authenticity became the foundation of everything, and eventually the basis for the Denver Living Group, the team he co-founded with Sam Newman.

In this episode, Brady opens up about fatherhood and building his days around his son, Luca, why quitting drinking three years ago sharpened his mindset, the morning gym routine that anchors him, and the books and philosophies (give without keeping score, focus on what matters, let the rest go) that shape how he works. Above all, it's a warm, funny reminder that your success finds you once you're honest about who you are.

And Brady's story… starts now!

www.everettslending.com
720-979-8742
jimmy@everettslending.com
IG: @jimmythesaint5280

Ezra Aldern's story is one of resilience, compassion, and a lifelong commitment to the people society is quickest to give up on. Now with Homes by Ez at Guide Real Estate, Ezra describes himself as a kid in two words: resilient and disciplined. Both were forged in unthinkable circumstances. At five years old, Ezra lost his mother to tragedy, and he and his younger brother were raised first by their grandparents and then adopted by their mother's youngest brother, a single schoolteacher who stepped up at 32 to become their dad.

That upbringing built a boy who made the family breakfast before school, ran his own lawn-mowing business at eleven, and poured himself into sports and into coaching kids with disabilities through Special Olympics. It set him on a path through sociology and criminal justice at CSU, a discovery of social work, and a career devoted to young people, from re-engaging, expelled students in Jefferson County to earning his master's at DU. Along the way he found the work that would define him: developing the life histories of people sentenced to life in prison as juveniles, offering context rather than excuses, and giving a voice to those who never had one.

Real estate found him almost by accident, through a friend, a condo, and a few beers, and grew into a genuine second calling. Licensed in 2019 and fully committed by 2021, Ezra brings a rare perspective to the business: after the weight of his consulting work, he approaches clients as a patient advisor rather than a salesperson and rarely gets rattled.

In this episode, Ezra opens up about the family who caught him, the mentors who shaped him, the broken systems he's spent his life working within, and his vision to merge his two worlds by using real estate to create housing and jobs for people coming home from prison. He talks about his wife, his two young kids, and the perspective that fatherhood brings. Above all, it's a conversation about the cards we're dealt, and how, with the right people beside us, we can still learn to play them.

And Ezra's story… starts now!

www.everettslending.com
720-979-8742
jimmy@everettslending.com
IG: @jimmythesaint5280