Managing Partner, HM Partners
Gregg Sandreuter
Gregg Sandreuter sits down with Molly Acton to share how he went from delivering newspapers and painting houses as a kid in Connecticut to becoming a commercial real estate developer in the Raleigh-Durham area. After graduating from Hamilton College and working briefly in banking, Gregg realized corporate life wasn't for him. At Harvard Business School, he used a "Ben Franklin" pros-and-cons exercise—not to choose a job, but to define the kind of life and work experience he wanted. That exercise pointed him toward real estate, and a chance encounter at the career center brought him to Raleigh on 100% commission. More than 30 years later, he's still here. The conversation covers early entrepreneurship, the power of networking, why it's okay not to have a plan, and what Gregg tells young people who feel lost: start talking to people, stay useful, and trust that things will work out.
Key Takeaways
- Most careers start without a clear plan—Gregg's path went from banking to business school to a commission-only real estate job in Raleigh
- Early work experiences like his college painting business taught him more about purpose and identity than just earning money
- The Ben Franklin method: instead of asking 'what job do I want,' ask 'what kind of life and work experience do I want?'
- Networking is the single most powerful career tool—most opportunities come through people you know and trust
- Simple habits matter: show up on time, stay late, be willing to do whatever needs to be done
- When you feel stuck or lost, start talking to people—introduce yourself to alumni, ask about their careers, and ask to be introduced to someone else
"If Sunday night I'm excited to get to work Monday morning, I by definition am going to be very successful."