Hidden Gems: Meet Kamyar Sepanlou of Listabid

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kamyar Sepanlou.

Hi Kamyar, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always operated with the same mindset: get into something first, then figure it out. I’ve never waited to feel “ready.” I’ve trusted that clarity comes from movement, not planning.

That started early. In third grade, I was customizing kids’ bikes and scooters with nail polish — changing colors, adding details, and reselling them to classmates who wanted something different. I didn’t think of it as business at the time; I just liked taking something ordinary and making it feel more valuable.

By early high school, that instinct turned into arbitrage. I began buying replica designer items — sold transparently as replicas — and reselling them at a markup. The moment that flipped everything for me was personal: I bought a red LV x Supreme wallet for $10 because I wanted it. When I got tired of it, I listed it on Craigslist and sold it for $50. That one transaction taught me something simple but powerful — value isn’t fixed, it’s contextual.

At 13, I was doing real volume. I’d meet buyers in parking lots and on street corners, sometimes moving thousands of dollars’ worth of product in a single transaction. I learned quickly about trust, risk, and operations — including being paid once with a fake $10,000 check. Later, I built an Instagram page that grew to roughly 50,000 followers and turned into a profitable dropshipping operation. We sold replica clothing at scale, sometimes to high-profile individuals, until we received a formal notice to shut the operation down. We did — immediately.

By 16, I had saved enough to buy my dream car. Around the same time, I made a conscious shift toward structure and legitimacy. I took a 9-to-5 at a State Farm insurance office and treated it like a proving ground. I consistently prioritized work over school — rearranging schedules, leaving early, and taking community college classes, which I’d started as early as 14 — because I learned best by doing.

Los Angeles played a huge role in shaping everything that followed. LA introduced me to nearly every person who pushed me forward — creatively, professionally, and personally. I lived across the city at different points: Calabasas, Woodland Hills, West Hills, Hollywood & Vine, and beyond. Each place exposed me to a different world — from quiet discipline and routine to nonstop ambition and creative chaos. LA taught me how to move between rooms, how to read people, and how opportunity often comes from proximity, timing, and putting yourself in the right environments.

During COVID, that proximity paid off. Many of my close friends began blowing up on TikTok and social media almost overnight. Instead of watching from the sidelines, I leaned in and started a cut-and-sew passion-driven clothing label. Everything was made in Los Angeles — design, sourcing, cutting, sewing, dyeing, printing, packaging, and shipping — all through fair-wage factories.

Through a friend who worked as a videographer for one of the largest TikTok creator houses, I began seeding product directly to creators. Without paid ads, just organic wear and posts, we sold out six consecutive collections — roughly 250 pieces per drop, back-to-back. We had artists, rappers, actors, and creators wearing the brand consistently — people like Mitsy, Polo Boy, Khalid, Rhegan, Ethan Fair, and others. The brand worked. We ultimately paused it not because of demand, but because of time and team constraints. Still, it taught me more than any class could — about supply chains, margins, creator-driven distribution, and what happens when product, timing, and culture align.

At 18, I earned my real estate license while working full-time as a sales director at State Farm and studying finance full-time. Within my first six months as a realtor, I sold over $4 million in property. One transaction, in particular, changed everything.

I sold a $1.2 million home on referral and earned a full 3% commission — $36,000 — on a deal that closed in two weeks in a competitive Los Angeles market. I was on a graduation trip in Mexico when I got the acceptance email and celebrated like escrow had already closed. It ultimately did. I texted my dad the number immediately — and then had a realization that stuck with me: I would have done the exact same work for $5,000. And a better agent likely would have charged even less.

I realized I was probably the worst agent for that job — and I made the most money.

That moment exposed a structural problem. Agents are incentivized to avoid competition, and sellers — the most valuable party in the transaction — have the least leverage and the least transparency. That insight became the foundation for Listabid: a marketplace where agents compete for listings, instead of sellers chasing agents.

Before launching, I spent time in commercial real estate at the Aaron Kirman Group in Beverly Hills. I loved the environment but didn’t find personal success there. After my first residential sale, momentum compounded quickly. I found a development team through a friend, built the first MVP, and began pitching investors. Early feedback was tough — valuations of $500K, then $1M — but through that process I met people who reshaped the company’s trajectory, including Adam Cohen, founder of STIC (200m startup, hes 22) and Kayvan Ardalan.

With their guidance, I built a team that complemented my strengths — a deeply technical co-founder, hands-on advisors, and operators who shared my bias toward execution. Before turning 22, we raised meaningful capital, brought on experienced leadership, and launched the platform.

Today, Listabid is live — connecting real sellers and agents, generating measurable savings, and helping agents find motivated homeowners in a more transparent way. Looking back, there’s a straight line through everything I’ve done: jumping in early, learning fast, understanding incentives, and building systems that rebalance power.

What started with nail polish on scooters has become a company aimed at changing how one of the biggest financial decisions in a person’s life is made. weve raised hundreds of thousands at high million dollar valuations, became the youngest member at gravitas, connected with Adam Cohen and many many other notable figures. all intros made interestingly in LA

And this is still just the beginning.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
A lot of that comes from my mentality of jumping into things first and figuring them out later. That approach gave me early exposure, but it also put me in situations I wasn’t prepared for — especially at a young age.

When I was selling replica products as a teenager, I experienced real danger. I was chased and nearly beaten when someone tried to steal inventory from me. I was 14. I was paid with fake money on more than one occasion. Those experiences forced me to grow up fast and learn lessons about risk, trust, and personal safety the hard way.

In high school, I constantly had to work around rigid systems that didn’t align with how I learned or operated. I rearranged schedules, left early, and balanced school with earning money — not to cut corners, but because I felt a strong need to build something real before I even understood what “real” meant.

The challenges continued as I moved into more formal industries. While working as a real estate agent, my brokerage made it clear that promoting my startup could cost me my job. I was effectively being told to choose between a stable income and building something I believed in — a tension that forced difficult decisions and reinforced how incompatible traditional structures can be with entrepreneurship.

With my clothing brand, we secured a major collaboration with Red Chickz — a long-standing LA streetwear staple — for a 500-piece co-branded drop. It was a huge opportunity. But I was still young, and when it came time to pay for production, I didn’t have the full $30–40K required. That failure was painful and humbling, especially after seeing the momentum behind it.

Listabid brought its own lows. There were periods where pressure pushed me in the wrong direction — including trying day trading, which in hindsight was closer to gambling than investing. There were nights I valet-parked cars just to afford taking my girlfriend out on a date. At one point, my original development team walked away right before a fundraising effort, which felt like the ground giving out beneath me.

There have been far more lows than highs. Moments of financial stress, self-doubt, and uncertainty were common — especially without a clear roadmap.

But those lows are exactly what make the highs meaningful. They forced resilience, perspective, and discipline. Today, I actively advise early-stage founders — not because I have everything figured out, but because I’ve lived through many of the mistakes already. If I can help someone avoid even one of those setbacks, it’s worth it.

The road hasn’t been smooth — but it’s been real. And that reality shapes how I build today.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Listabid is a real estate marketplace built to fundamentally change how homeowners choose an agent.

Today, most sellers hire an agent based on referrals, advertising, or brand recognition — not competition. Listabid flips that dynamic. Homeowners post their property once, remain in control, and receive competitive proposals from licensed agents who want to represent them. Those agents compete on commission, experience, credentials, and strategy, allowing sellers to compare options transparently and choose the best fit.

What sets Listabid apart is that we don’t sell leads, take referral fees, or force agents into pay-to-play models. Agents submit proposals directly to sellers, and sellers decide who earns the business. That alignment creates better outcomes on both sides — lower fees for homeowners and higher-quality opportunities for agents.

We specialize in marketplaces, automation, and data-driven matching. Our platform uses AI-powered agent matching, bid analysis, and behavioral signals to surface the most relevant agents for each listing, while also giving agents a clear, fair way to win business based on merit rather than spend.

Brand-wise, what we’re most proud of is trust and restraint. We’ve intentionally built Listabid to feel transparent, calm, and seller-first — not loud or sales-driven. The product, messaging, and experience are designed to give control back to the homeowner while preserving agent quality.

For readers, the most important thing to know is that Listabid isn’t just about saving money — it’s about modernizing a system that hasn’t changed in decades. We’re building infrastructure that makes real estate more competitive, more transparent, and more fair, starting with the seller and expanding outward.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me is building something ambitious enough to justify the opportunities I’ve been given.

Los Angeles shaped who I am. My family came here from Iran and benefited from everything this city offers — education, safety, freedom, and the ability to build something from nothing. I was born and raised here, and I’ve experienced Los Angeles from angles most people never do. One night I’d be at a party in a $50M estate surrounded by drivers and private security, and the next morning I’d be eating tacos at a truck in Canoga Park. I’ve seen every layer of the city — and I value all of it.

That exposure gave me perspective. It showed me what access looks like, how power concentrates, and how opportunity moves through cities. It also made me ambitious — not just financially, but culturally.

I’ve been fortunate enough to travel extensively, and one trip to Miami stood out. A real estate agent casually walked me through entire districts — clubs, hotels, restaurants — all owned by a handful of operators under 40. It wasn’t just impressive; it was energizing. It made me realize how much of Los Angeles is still controlled by legacy ownership that’s relied on inertia rather than innovation.

LA is changing. The entertainment industry is shifting, hospitality has stagnated in places, and many of the people who once defined the city no longer feel incentivized to stay. I believe LA needs a new generation of builders — people willing to modernize industries, take risks, and re-establish the city as a global cultural capital.

Listabid is my entry point into that broader vision. Real estate is the foundation of everything — wealth, influence, neighborhoods, and culture. By modernizing how real estate works, I’m building the relationships, capital, and credibility to eventually expand into high-end hospitality, nightlife, and entertainment across Los Angeles.

What matters most to me is using the platform I’m building — and the city that raised me — to help bring Los Angeles back to a bold, innovative, and globally respected prime.

Contact Info:

• Website: listabid.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/listabid
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573195636282
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/listabid/
• Other: www.linkedin.com/in/kamyar-sepanlou