When Cristina Panagopoulos decided to make a shift from personal training to real estate in 2017, she was terrified. Her second child was on the way and many people were telling her not to do it. Although she questioned whether it was the right move and had no clue what she was about to get into, she felt compelled to prove the naysayers wrong. 

“There were many times in college and childhood where teachers or coaches would tell me I couldn’t do something, and I always used it as fuel. I never let it get to me. So even though my mind kept telling me I was crazy to enter real estate, my heart pushed me forward,” explains Cristina.

Cristina’s heart has always been drawn toward homes. Her family ran a second-generation-strong interior design business that she pretty much grew up in. While her parents told her to never become an interior designer, she inherited their entrepreneurial spirit, creative eye for space, and love for homes. 

Cristina comes from a long line of entrepreneurs, starting with her grandparents. She recalls telling her parents at a young age that she wasn’t meant to work for anyone but herself. And she showcased that spirit early on. “I loved making lemonade stands and selling it, or making bracelets and trying to sell them for pennies. I just loved the idea of creating something and watching it grow,” she says. 

While Cristina was always very business minded, she was always creative as well—a perfect blend of attributes for entrepreneurs. She attended a performing arts school in Chicago and went on to study dance movement in college at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. Although dance may seem miles from real estate, Cristina can make a direct connection:

“As a dancer, you have to work hard every single day to become better than you were the day before. Dance taught me the discipline I needed for my adult life, and especially for real estate,” she notes. 

Movement has been a big part of Cristina’s path—from dancing to studying kinesiology, to owning and operating a personal training and nutrition business (which she still runs, but doesn’t take clients), to following her dreams of helping people move into homes. 

At the core of Cristina’s real estate career, however, is helping others. She excels in helping clients envision the potential of a space (much like an interior designer would), of turning houses into their homes, and assisting them in starting new chapters in life. A people pleaser at heart, she tends to go above and beyond for others, loves establishing deep connections, and is always trying to make a positive impact. The same sentiment extends to her team, CPango & Partners with Compass. 

“I love having a team, and I love watching my agents grow,” Cristina shares. “Besides doing sales, we now have long-term investments like rentals, and we have done short-term investments through remodeling and reselling properties. I love diversifying in the industry. Not only is it good to do, but it also makes you more knowledgeable about other sectors. I want people to come to me and my team when they have questions about investing and growing their financial wealth within real estate, as well as when they need to move.”

Outside of the business, Cristina is a big family person. Both she and her husband, Louie, come from large families—Italy on her side and Greece on Louie’s side. Cristina’s mother was born in Italy and still has a lot of family there that they love to visit. For Cristina and Louie, traveling to southern Europe and introducing their three children—Isabella, Elias, and Giuliana—to other cultures is one of their favorite things to do. 

Then again, Cristina is always on the move—be it working on her business, or working out at the gym, or picking up after her children, or tending to her garden. “I am not one to ever sit still,” she emphasizes.  

As Cristina looks back at how far she has come in the past five years, and how much she loves where she is currently at in life, she would tell her younger, more timid self just one thing: “Whatever you plan on doing, don’t wait. Live now and don’t put it off. Life is too short to say, ‘One day,...' Be smart about things, but don’t push them off.”

No matter where Cristina decides to go next, one thing is certain: she will never stop moving.