BCBusiness Magazine: October 2018 Feature
2018 Technology Enterpreneur Runner Up Morgan Carey, Founder and CEO, Real Estate Webmasters
Nanaimo-based Morgan Carey should be used to accolades by now.
This is the third year in a row that his Real Estate Webmasters (REW) has been named an Entrepreneur Of The Year finalist.
Carey keeps earning more laurels because he refuses to rest on any of them. He founded his bootstrapped business in 2004 to make websites for realtors, but both the company and its technology have travelled light years since then. Among REW’s latest innovations is the augmented reality feature on its app, which Carey describes as “Pokémon Go for real estate.” Point your phone around a neighbourhood, and instead of Pikachus and Bulbasaurs you’ll see which properties are for sale and for how much.
Carey says his business grows 35 percent year-over-year like clockwork, and he no longer has to fight for every win. “It’s a lot easier to make money when you have relationships and you have money,” he adds. “Success breeds success.”
What did your summer jobs teach you about business?
I never really had a summer job. My childhood was, unfortunately, the kind of childhood you didn’t really talk about too much. Children and families are our mandate when it comes to my personal time, but also when it comes to corporate initiatives. We do a lot of support for underprivileged families around Christmas time. We are big supporters of Easter Seals Canada. Anything to do with women at risk and children at risk is right up our alley.
Is an entrepreneur born or made?
Both. I think you need to be born with the entrepreneurial spirit, and you need to make yourself into a true entrepreneur. You need to put in the work. You need to make yourself avoid working 40 hours by working 80 hours.
What is your definition of success?
Happy kids, happy family. In life, a lot of the things that break down relationships are related to stress. And a lot of the stress that we feel in life has to do with personal pressures to feel adequate and to provide enough for your family and to be able to provide opportunities. The opportunities that come with success do lead to additional happiness.
What other career might you have had?
I’d dig ditches and be a landscaper. I love working outside.
What’s one thing that people would be surprised to learn about you?
I love to cook. I’m the chef of my family. I’m a big carnivore. Whether it’s barbecue, whether it’s a roast, it doesn’t matter. I love sous vide. We do a lot of sous vide and finish it off on the grill or on the cast-iron pan. I’m not a big baker. I don’t do cookies and things like that.
Finish this sentence for us: “Entrepreneurs need a lot more…”
Support. From a municipality’s perspective, from the federal government’s perspective—entrepreneurs are our country’s best opportunity, and I think we need a lot more support for entrepreneurs in Canada.