Brent Gleeson '05 (MSRE)

Former Students Use MSRE Program as Plateau to Launch Online Business
By: Meghan Bokath

For Brent Gleeson, a lot has happened in two years. He graduated from the MSRE program at USD, launched a successful company in one of the largest real estate downturns in recent history, got married, had a baby, launched a new, financial division of his current company and raised a cool million dollars in capital to help finance a third venture. A former Navy SEAL, Gleeson is evidently still not lacking in ambition.

Brent Gleeson, 30, and Brandon Fishman, 26, began working on their business plan for NewCondosOnline.com within their first month in the Master of Science in Real Estate (MSRE) program at the University of San Diego. They used the networking contacts they made during the MSRE program to build rapport within the industry, and sought the guidance of USD professors when creating their business plan. By the time they graduated from the MSRE program, Gleeson was president, and Fishman was CEO of their new venture. The idea behind their Web site is simple: Offer consumers a single online resource where they can access a broad database of information about condo developments from around the country. Three months before graduation from the MSRE program, they launched the Web site.

And it took off.