Max Fitzgerald, broker-owner of Craft & Bauer Real Estate Co., faced a familiar dilemma: How do you equip agents with the technology they need without overwhelming them with too many tools to navigate?
AI platforms, email, calendars, customer management systems and other applications each serve an important business purpose, but they aren’t always easy to access or use together. Fitzgerald wanted to create a central hub—a single login connecting all the third-party tools his brokerage relied on.
That vision led to StackWrap, a customizable dashboard that brings together a brokerage’s technology tools and tracks which ones agents actually use. What began as an effort to simplify his own operations has evolved into a solution he believes can help other brokerages make smarter decisions about their technology investment decisions. StackWrap was selected for the National Association of REALTORS®’ Second Century Ventures 2026 REACH program.
Fitzgerald shares what he learned about building a more connected technology ecosystem, and how brokerages can get more from the tools they already have.
You’re both a proptech founder and a broker-owner. What was happening inside your own brokerage that made you realize brokerages have a technology problem?
FITZGERALD: “There’s an unlimited amount of tools out there, and each tool promises to be better than the next. As I was running my brokerage, I had to balance the fine line of hand-selecting the tools that I thought would bring value to my agents and also not overwhelm them with too much tech. As we implemented new tools at my office, I realized my agents were getting confused about which tools to use and how to access them. We needed centralize everything we offered our agents into one place, which led me down the path of creating StackWrap.”
When you looked at your own tech stack, what surprised you the most about how agents were actually using—or not using—the tools your brokerage was paying for?
FITZGERALD: “Prior to StackWrap, we didn’t have a great way to track adoption rates for the tech we provided our team. Some agents knew how to find our tools, others didn’t. As the broker-owner, I felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility to make sure my agents understood the value of everything we provided them. Each tool served a specific purpose, but the problem was everything was scattered and disjointed.
“Once the first version of StackWrap was launched in 2018, we were able to consolidate everything we offered our team into one place, and that certainly helped simplify our agents’ lives. However, the true magic came in the form of analytics. We were able to track what our agents were actually using—and not using—which allowed us to make better critical decisions about money we were allocating towards tech.”
So how does StackWrap help brokerages bring their existing tools, systems and resources together in one place?
FITZGERALD: “Quite frankly, the original reason I felt the need to build StackWrap was that we needed to mature as a brokerage. Having scattered tools and a bunch of bookmarks isn’t a great way to attract agents to your organization—especially if you’re trying to compete with the tech-forward brokerages.
“StackWrap allows a brokerage or a team to build a custom SSO dashboard to the exact specifications of their organization, while giving each user the individual freedom to integrate anything they'd like. Instead of using a dashboard provided by your parent company, you can build your own that becomes your team's proprietary home base.
“Another reason why I created StackWrap was to enhance company culture. How aligned are your agents to your brand, and do they feel a sense of community? One of our most popular features inside of StackWrap is our social and communication channels, which allows all members of an organization to build community and collaborate within different social channels.”
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Brokerages can spend heavily on technology without really knowing what’s getting adopted or delivering value. What should brokers be measuring to determine whether their technology investments are actually working?
FITZGERALD: “The first thing to measure is—‘Are my agents even using this tool?’ If the answer is ‘yes,’ or ‘kind of,’ then the next question is—‘Does this tool correlate to top-line revenue, and if we took it away, how would my agents react?’ That second question is a bit more open-ended, but speaks to the importance of knowing your adoption rates across your entire tech stack.
“If your team isn’t using a tool and you’re spending a lot of money for that tool, it’s probably a good candidate to retire.”
How has your experience as a broker-owner shaped the way you build and improve technology for agents?
FITZGERALD: “Being a good broker-owner and a good leader means two things: You have to have a clear and concise vision that people can relate to, and you’re a good listener. Understanding what’s important to your team and where people are getting stuck goes a long way in building a positive company culture.
“When I founded StackWrap, there were a lot of parallels from my days of running a brokerage that I leaned into. It was all about distilling problems down and presenting pragmatic solutions. As we continue to grow and evolve the platform, I’m very intentional about understanding the wants and needs of our users, and developing relationships with our account holders. I value their feedback and love their opinions about how we can continue to make the platform better.”
