We recently connected with Maia Samb and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Maia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I moved to the metro-Atlanta area in 2008 from France. Moving is a stressful situation no matter where you are from. Moving from one country to another has even more stressors, because of the culture shock that goes along with it.

So, when I decided to transition to real estate after close to 15 years in corporate marketing, it was natural for me to find a way to help people alleviate the stress of relocating to a new home. I made sure that every member of my team has a heightened level of cultural sensibilities. Because of our diverse backgrounds, we are able to truly spend time trying to understand our clients and their needs, no matter where they are from.

This goes beyond the search criteria of a house and the net profit needed after a house sale. We incorporate additional information about the entire process from the planning stage to the post sale stage. You would be surprised how many of our clients (foreigners or not) experienced cultural shock, while working with previous real estate brokerages. We take time to answer questions, proactively share explanations for different stages of the process and cater the services to the specific needs of each client. Embracing and celebrating differences is what makes the Puttogo Global Group different.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I consider myself a multilingual global citizen having lived in 3 continents (Africa, Europe and now America). I was born in Dakar, Sénégal. Because of my background, I have a keen understanding of how to mitigate stress when it comes to relocation, and my clients greatly benefit from my unique global perspective in real estate. With the help of my team members, we service clients in English, French and Spanish.

I have 15 years’ experience in corporate marketing and communications, a Master’s in Strategic Public Relations and two undergraduate degrees. Before launching Puttogo Global Group in 2021, I was a top producing single agent in the North Metro Atlanta office, under Keller Williams Atlanta Perimeter. I moved from France to Atlanta in 2008, where I have lived ever since with my husband and my two daughters. When I am not working, you will find me reading, traveling or enjoying exotic food somewhere around the globe.

As the the founder of the Puttogo Global Group, a real estate firm based in the metro-Atlanta area, I pride myself for offering full-service, creative real estate solutions to our clients. We bring a fresh perspective when working with real estate clients from all over the world. We educate and accompany our clients throughout their journey. For example, we offer concierge service to guide our clients to obtain a social security number and establish credit upon arriving to the United States. We tap into our network to help them secure rentals, while they are establishing credit and transition them to homeownership when they are ready. We also offer fix and flip mentoring to our clients who are interested in learning how to invest in real estate and guide them the entire way. Sometimes, clients who want to be in a specific area but can’t quite afford it can also use our Upgrade Program, which allows them to buy a fixer upper, consult with our designer and upgrade the home before moving in. Like I mentioned, all of these solutions won’t be found in a traditional real estate firm.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I come from a corporate marketing background. After many years working for other companies, I got seriously burnt out. As a black female professional, climbing the corporate ladder can be quite daunting. Unfortunately, I have my fair share of stories about being overlooked or asked to be a superhuman in order to get half the recognition that my Caucasian/male counterparts were getting. Times and times again I was overlooked for a promotion, while my performance warranted the opposite. However, my inability to play office politics and be nothing else but a straight shooter (laughs) was hindering my career advancement.

After the George Floyd incident in 2020, whatever little patience I still had in me left. I could no longer stand by, while I saw injustices at work every day. I decided that I was going to do something more meaningful. I decided that I was going to lead by example and create a business that would empower talented yet disenfranchised professionals, instead of being a by-standard of the system. Because I was already dabbling in real estate as a hobby and an investment avenue, it was just a natural transition for me to go into it full time. So, I resigned from my position at the end of January 2021 and never looked back. To be able to say today that I launched a diverse and successful real estate team today makes me proud beyond measure. I know I have a lot of work to do, within my existing company and with my clients, colleagues and many others to make sure WE are more accepting and encouraging of people’s differences. But now, the future excites me. I bring my creativity, my passion and the experience from all those years in corporate marketing with me at work and I know the sky’s the limit for the Puttogo Global Group!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Social media marketing has been a game changer for me and my business. I have leveraged the languages we speak and we have been capturing the French, Spanish and English-speaking expats audience by developing ads catering to this segment. As a recovering marketer, I recognize that there is still a lot more we can do in this area, but I am quite proud of how much business we were able to drum up from online strategies and tactics.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://puttogo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homesbymaia/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/puttogogroup/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maiadiversedigital/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@maiasambputtogorealestate3507