We believe high-effort communities are an essential part of every accountant's personal growth stack.
We're doing the same work in parallel. Let's come together, and share what we're learning in community.
We're Investing in community to enable a more efficient value exchange for our profession.
Your Private Community
Join a high-effort community that isn't
underwritten by your software vendor.
• High-context mastermind groups
• Paid community managers
• PM Software meetups
• Advisors in residence
• Ongoing workshops
• A bespoke platform
In addition to Realize-organized sessions, members organize events internally as topics arise that merit live discussion.
Mentors-in-Residence
Book a 1:1 call with a mentor to unload all that keeps you up at night, or just get a second set of eyes. Learn what it's like to work with a business coach with experience running their own firm
PM Pros-in-Residence
The practice management system is the most important tech in your firm. We've sourced professional implementation experts for most of the major systems on the market, so you can ensure you're getting the most from your system. These are real accounting firm owners who have become super users of the software.
Developers-in-Residence
Whether you're looking for support with no-code apps like Zapier or Make, looking to implement RPA, or are considering a full custom development project, the help you need to make your dreams a reality are available in Realize.
Attorney-in-Residence
We even roped in an attorney who runs a hybrid law/CPA practice to tackle general questions you run into in your firm.
Advisors-in-Residence
at no additional cost
Grab time with some very talented firm advisors
There's More
What else can you do when you have a member-funded, vendor-independent community?
As it turns out, quite a bit.
Software Demos
We have a growing library (40+) of recorded demos Realize has produced with the most popular software vendors in the space. Giving you the opportunity to explore new tech without being sucked into the sales process.
Mastermind Groups
Each quarter we matchmake high-context mastermind groups. They run 6 months at a time, and are made up of 5 members each. These are groups of people who run very similar firms, and these sessions have proven to be transformative for many.
Show & Tell
We often get together to privately share our live client setups. One of the best things Realize enables is having the opportunity to swap ideas with other practitioners who are equally motivated to share otherwise sensitive information in a private, high-trust setting.
Past Live Sessions
Where privacy and vulnerability aren't an issue, we generally record our live sessions. We've built a large library of valuble content over the last few years on topics such as presenting better on camera, Airtable training and much more.
Hi, I'm Jason Staats
Five years ago I switched my firm to a new practice management system. We spent a year of work researching, planning and training a team of 40 for the change, and in three months I realized we'd chosen the wrong system.
The reason? We made decisions according to what colorful brochures and commissioned sales people told us.
We were left with an impossible decision. We'd thrown away two years on this project, only to start the process over again. The ultimate cost would be years of lost productivity, and more sleepless nights than I could count.
I needed to ensure I never made the same mistake again.
Flip on a webinar to learn, and you find the same people who are sending you cold emails. Sit down at a conference talk, and you find the CEO of the same company, who bought a hefty sponsorship package to get on the main stage. Don't get me wrong, I adore the software vendors I work with, but their job is to sell software. My job is to get home by 5:20 to make dinner and try not to piss off my staff with more software changes.
It wasn't until sitting at in-person conferences that I realized I'd rather talk to the guy across the aisle. The lady I'm sitting next to who tried this app six months ago. Why I was addicted to conferences was the people, the lunch conversations, the person you run into who understands your pains unlike anyone else in your life. I needed to bottle that inspiration.
Twitter DMs were sent, and an idea was hatched. I gathered my favorite folks in the profession. The types of people who could be vulnerable, would share their wins and losses, and we created a private space for discussion.
We raised money so we could go back out to our favorite experts, and pay them well (better than conferences do, as it turns out) to run private sessions without the vendor filter.
And we found there was more to be learned in a room of people who run firms just like you than anywhere else.
Two years ago I changed practice management software again. I knew every tool in the space. I sat down with 10+ firm owners, who in the last 18 months made the same transition I was considering. They walked me through their live client setups, and told me what it did and didn't do well. The transition went well 😊
These days I have the unique opportunity to invest in making Realize into the space I needed when I was on an island, wondering what the hell I was doing, creating everything from scratch.
Finding community, in all its forms, is the greatest personal unlock I've ever discovered. It's the reason I'm still in this profession. Because we're better off sharing what we've learned along the way, and growing together.
Pricing
We aren't underwritten by a product company. As a result we're able to see the world through the lens of fellow practicioners, rather then that of our vendors.
To enable this, we charge
$180/mo
for membership, and to be fair to members we don't have sales.
In exchange:
• You never talk to a vendor
• We invest in the platform itself
• We pay advisors to deliver coaching at no add'l cost
• We hire the profession's brightest minds to run live sessions
• You will work alongside like-minded high-output professionals
The Realize community will be capped at 500 members in 2024, to prevent the group from growing too large and losing the intimate format that makes it great.