How Courtney Poulos Built ACME Real Estate's Distinctive Marketing Approach

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

27 Mar 2025

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ACME Real Estate founder Courtney Poulos has earned a reputation as one of real estate’s most dynamic innovators. A two-time HousingWire Woman of Influence (2020, 2023), Forbes Real Estate Council member, and sought-after industry speaker, Poulos has built a brand that others frequently try to imitate – but can never quite replicate.

Since founding ACME Real Estate in 2011, Poulos has consistently pushed the boundaries of real estate marketing and presentation. While she’s quick to note that she’s not a designer herself – ACME maintains an in-house design team – her background in marketing and PR has proven to be a natural complement to the firm’s design-forward approach. “What we’ve mastered is how to present,” Poulos explains, reflecting on how different the landscape was when ACME started. “The competition was using company templates, they weren’t using stagers at all, they weren’t using the same photographers.”

This comprehensive approach to presentation, which combines sophisticated staging, innovative design, and cutting-edge marketing, has made ACME a trendsetter in the luxury real estate space for over a decade. The brokerage’s distinctive marketing materials and beautifully staged properties have become so influential that Poulos often spots “bastardized versions” of ACME’s carefully crafted brochures at other brokerages’ listings. But as she points out, imitators can only copy the surface elements: “You can take our good ideas and try to make them yours… but you’ll never have me, and the spirit of ACME is always forward thinking. Once we see somebody else doing what we did, we have to reinvent the wheel again.”

Rather than following the industry’s typical expansion-focused model, ACME has built its reputation on quality over quantity. The brokerage’s innovative “Agent Ascent” program – an intensive 11-week training curriculum – transforms new agents into high-performing professionals through hands-on mentorship and practical experience.

Now, Poulos is bringing ACME’s distinctive approach to Florida through a partnership with broker Heather Unger. The expansion comes at a pivotal moment, as Florida’s real estate market experiences unprecedented growth and an influx of buyers from across the country. “Florida is primed and ready for fresh energy, new branding, new design,” Poulos says. “People are moving to Florida from all over the country, and that’s increasing the demand for great design, which is where we can really deliver.”

Beyond running ACME’s powerhouse teams in Los Angeles and Florida, Poulos maintains a high profile in the industry as a regular speaker at major events like Inman Connect and the California Association of Realtors® WomanUP!® initiative. She’s also made her mark in media, appearing on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles” and hosting her own real estate podcast, “Under All is The Land.” The pace is intense, but that’s nothing new for Poulos. “I was one of those people who had to hustle. I lived in LA, I was hustling. I had 10 jobs… like I’m a person who can work three jobs and still go out at night,” she recalls with a laugh. “Not now though – I’ve got a toddler.”

Poulos is also passionate about empowering women to build wealth through real estate, a mission she explores in her book “Break Up! With Your Rental: The Professional Woman’s Guide to Building Wealth Through Real Estate.” As ACME continues its strategic growth, Poulos remains committed to maintaining the boutique, high-touch approach that has made the brand a standout in the industry. “You don’t get lost in a sea of agents at ACME,” she emphasizes. “Everyone is supported individually, and that is critical.”

Follow Courtney Poulos’ new YouTube channel: youtube.com/@realestateAIcoach – a fun and playful investigation of AI tools marketed to real estate agents. Poulos takes a common-sense approach to evaluating which tools are worth it and which ones aren’t.