From Army Setback to Startup Success: Zach Farkas' Real Estate Revolution

After trading his Army uniform for the high-stakes world of residential lending, Zach Farkas discovered a passion for entrepreneurship rooted in autonomy and impact. A former top VA lender in the country, Zach turned a major personal setback into the fuel for a thriving business. Now, through his company relos, he’s transforming how real estate agents manage transactions—saving them time and stress with smart automation. As part of our Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight series, Zach shares how discipline, cold calls, and ditching perfectionism helped him build a business that works as hard as he does.

Hi, Zach Farkas! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?

We automate real estate transactions for real estate agents. relos reads purchase contract documents and makes a timeline, task list, and handles document uploads and communications for agents. Our users report relos saves them 12 hours per deal.

Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.

I went from wantrepreneur from entrepreneur when I was the #4 Va Lender by volume in the country in my 2nd year as a mortgage lender. 

Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.

After I left the army, I very much wanted to work at a small organization. Residential lending was an easy hop, 100% commission based industry, that opened to my eyes to hunting what you eat!

Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?

V7 Labs. This is the software provider we use to read our contracts. Great service!

We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.

I was medically dropped from US Army Ranger School after completing the entire course. This ultimately changed the trajectory of my military career and probably led to my separation of service. This was a major failure for me and my life that led to a thriving business career. 

What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?

Cold calling. Everyone hates it but if you do it well, it's a great way to generate business. 

What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?

Don't be a perfectionist. Action is always better than inaction. 

Want to dive deeper into Zach's work? Check out the links below!

• Connect with Zach Farkas on LinkedIn: Zach Farkas
• Follow relos Software on LinkedIn.