10 Years Ago, The Industry Laughed At Me. Today, I OWN Two of the Industry’s Most Talked-About Media Brands

Today marks ten years since Nic Fren became the first agent in Australia to sell a property on social media.

But this milestone isn’t just about celebrating a single post that changed the trajectory of an industry. For the first time, Fren reflects openly on the decade that followed — the good, the bad, and the ugly.

From rejection and ridicule to building one of the strongest personal brands in real estate and a global media and marketing empire, this is the unfiltered story of how one agent turned a desperate Facebook post into a decade of dominance.

It wasn’t polished. It wasn’t coached. It was a vendor in Sydney’s western suburbs who needed a fast sale, an iPhone 4, and Fren’s willingness to try something no one else dared.

That single Facebook post found the buyer.

Weeks later, a second seller reached out. Another property sold the same way.

It wasn’t luck. It was the start of something bigger.

“I didn’t even have Instagram at the time,” Fren recalls. “There were no playbooks, no Canva, no social media coaches. I was winging it. But it worked.”

From Pastry to Platform

After finishing school in Year 10 and completing a four-year pastry chef apprenticeship, Nic stumbled into real estate at 21 when he bought his first property, before moving to Sydney two years later.

“I wasn’t the polished guy in a suit. I wore caps backwards, filmed in singlets, and i said FUCK in my videos. That just wasn’t done back then.”

And the industry made sure he knew it.

By 2017, Fren was gaining traction online — listing, leasing, and selling properties directly through Facebook. But instead of recognition, he copped trolling, ridicule, and industry criticism.

One moment stuck.

“In 2018, during a training seminar with my network in Balmain, one of the biggest coaches in the country looked me dead in the eye and said, in front of everyone: ‘Stop this social media rubbish. No one’s ever going to take you seriously.’

I couldn’t believe it,” Fren recalls. “This was three years after I’d already had massive success in the space. I’d listed, sold, and leased tonnes of properties through social media by that point. To have someone of that stature dismiss it so publicly only fuelled me more.”

“Now, that same coach is selling courses on how to brand yourself and sell property on social media — using the very strategies I was doing back then,” Fren laughs.

It wasn’t the last time Fren’s approach drew fire.

In 2020, another high-profile industry figure even called one of his biggest clients, trying to have his contract torn up. And at a Melbourne conference in 2023, just minutes before he was due on stage, a fellow speaker confronted him over how he handled trolls online.

“Different scares people,” Fren reflects. “I am myself, unapologetically, and that scares peoples relevance, their comfort, or whatever they are worried about. But every time someone came at me, it just gave me more fuel.”

Rejection to Relentless

By 2019, while the “social media boom” was in full swing, Fren had already listed, leased, and sold more than 100 properties through it. Yet the invites never came.

“I watched people in the cliques get the speaking gigs, the magazine spreads, the stages — while I was already doing the work. I wasn’t overlooked because I didn’t have results. I was overlooked because I didn’t fit their mould.”

And that’s when Fren made his move.

He launched his own conference. Built his own media channels. Took his story global. And for the first time, he controlled the narrative — not the gatekeepers.

Building the Empire

Today, Fren is the CEO of Bespoke Media Group, a marketing and prop-tech agency now operating across 11 countries with over 1,600 members.

He’s also the founder of Real Estate Today, a multi-national publication with editions in Australia, New Zealand, India, the Indo-Pacific, and the United States

.

In under 12 months, RET became the #1 most engaging and influential publication in both Australia and New Zealand, and broke into the Top 50 in India. The publication's interest is also currently rising quickly in the United States.

That recognition hasn’t come from follower counts or vanity metrics.

“Everyone’s watching their likes. I’m watching how many people say my name in rooms I’ve never walked into. That’s branding.” he says.

And people are saying his name.

This year alone, someone called it out across Christchurch Airport. Fren had never met them.

“That’s branding. Not a billboard. Not a boosted ad. Just relevance.”

The Wisdom After 10 Years

What does Fren tell the next generation?

“Stop chasing polish. Stop chasing followers. Social media is called social for a reason.

People want to connect, learn, laugh, escape. They don’t log in to be sold to every second.”

He’s quick to admit he made mistakes along the way.

“Facebook Memories remind me of the stuff I used to design in Microsoft Paint. It was ugly.

Over time, I got better at the look of my content — I even upgraded from Microsoft Paint to Canva,” he laughs.

“But the one thing that’s never changed is my personality, my integrity, and my passion. And those shine through every video.”

“I’ve upset some people along the way, sure,” he admits. “But if you’re crying over a post on Instagram, you’ve got bigger problems with your business than my captions.”

That authenticity, he argues, is the only real advantage.

“I’ve literally built a career out of being unpolished, unfiltered, and unapologetic.

And if one desperate Facebook post could set me up for life — imagine what you could do with the tools you’ve got today.”

A Platform For Others

While controversial at times, Fren has also spearheaded meaningful change including rounding up industry figures in NSW to send a message of support to Victoria during the harshest lockdowns in 2021

Then, leading the campaign in 2023 for mobility-friendly filters on property portals, backed by Olympians, MPs, networks, and major tech players.

But today, his focus is not just on himself.

“I know what it’s like to be invisible. Now I get to hand the mic to others — to give them the spotlight I never got.”

Ten years after being told he’d never be taken seriously, Nic Fren has built what once seemed impossible. Today, he stands as the architect of one of the strongest personal brands in real estate — and one of the largest business brands in real estate media and marketing.

He’s turned insult into innovation. He’s turned rejection into resilience.

And he’s not slowing down. With new platforms set to launch in 2026, Fren leaves no room for doubt:

“I’m not here to be liked. I’m here to be remembered.”

And if that makes you uncomfortable, clearly I'm not an account you want to follow.

Written by Bespoke Media