For John Garner, there’s only one way to truly fail and that’s not to try.

 

An entrepreneur’s entrepreneur, John is CEO and co-founder of Freemodel, his seventh successful Silicon Valley start-up. Launched in 2020, the pre-sales real estate renovation company now operates in California, Texas and Florida.

 

John says the concept of Freemodel is simple: help sellers maximize the sale price of their homes by providing a turnkey pre-sales renovation service, the secret sauce of which is its project directors.

 

“I know firsthand the pure agony of managing renovation projects,” John says, referring to his years as a developer and agent. Among his other business concerns, he’s currently the principal of Rise 8 Properties, a property acquisition and management firm.

 

 “That’s one of the reasons I started Freemodel, to make it easy for agents to help their homeowner clients do profitable pre-sales renovations.”

 

As for that secret sauce, John has said, “We originally thought we just needed guys with tool belts, but it turned out what we needed was designers with iPads.”

 

In setting up the business, he says his team soon found designers with their own established businesses were not only very talented but welcomed the opportunity to continue to have autonomy and creative control over their designs while making more money. As a result, John says Freemodel has been able to attract the best of the best.

 

He says the Freemodel process works like this:

 

The project director first meets in person with the agent or client, collaborates on the design including finishes and other details, drafts the scope of the project and hires highly trusted and vetted subcontractors.

 

Once finished, the project director takes care of all inspections. There’s no upfront cost and payment can be deferred until the house sells, he says.

 

One of the best features of the process, he says, is Freemodel’s proprietary technology platform that helps empower project directors to manage renovations more effectively and efficiently.

 

“The project director is the single point of contact who has the responsibility and authority to make sure things go right,” John says. “So clients always know where to turn for accountability.”

 

Born and raised in Southern California, John has a BA from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

 

He became a highly successful entrepreneur after a career in data networking sales and management and then mortgages. Then one day, he says “I reached a point where I realized the job I had at that time would be the last in which I worked for anyone else.”

 

“I wanted to be in control of my own destiny and pushed myself to start my own business.”

 

Married to his wife Sylvie since February 29, 2008, he jokes that because of the date he only has to buy an anniversary gift every four years.

 

His interests away from Freemodel include tennis, surfing, skiing and snowboarding, to mention a few. And anything he gets a chance to do with 13-year-old daughter Revell, “our pride and joy,” is extra special, he says.

Here are e few of the folks who make Freemodel work:

 

“I love that we help homeowners flip their own houses and reap the rewards instead of an investor doing it and taking all the profits,” Laura says. “It’s a win-win for everyone—the agent, homeowner and the local subs.”

 

“I would say we are the general contractor, designer and project manager all rolled into one.”

Calling the Bay Area home since the mid-90s, Laura had studied to become a physical therapist but ended up in pharmaceutical sales for 20 years instead before joining Freemodel.

 

Outside the office, she says you might find her playing pickleball, taking in live music, trying out new restaurants, or just chilling on the couch at home.

 

A Bay Area native and graduate of the West Valley Interior Design Program, Debbie brings more than a dozen years of industry experience to Freemodel.

 

Like all project directors, she says, one of her primary goals is making the process as smooth and seamless as possible. Key to that, she says, is a project director’s ability to coordinate the talents of those working to meet client goals.

 

She says her greatest joy comes in creating solutions for spaces that clients have struggled with, saying “Their worst spaces are often my best projects.”

 

When not working, she says she enjoys spending time with family and friends and taking in “her ultimate escape—nature” any chance she gets with her two favorite people in the world, her children, Ellie and Tyler.

 

Pandora says another key to a project manager’s job is being able to work well with clients and really understand what they want.

 

“I love working closely with clients to understand their unique needs and preferences and then use my expertise to deliver interior spaces that exceed their expectations,” she says.

 

“Freemodel project directors all offer a high level of creativity, attention to detail and professionalism,” she says, adding each is also skilled at managing projects from start to finish.

 

In her spare time she enjoys time with her family and exploring different cultures and foods.

 

Korey’s family has gone to the dogs, literally. They’re involved in the Beagle Freedom Project, which rehouses beagles from around the world, and they’ve also served as Puppy Raisers for Guide Dogs for the Blind in the past.

 

With a degree in interior design, she first pursued a teaching career but eventually circled back to design, she says, and started her own successful interior design firm before joining Freemodel.

 

As a project director, she says a goal is to always use creativity and logic to solve design problems. “The best part of working in design and renovation is creating a space that is functional, aesthetically pleasing and improves the quality of life for the people who occupy the space.”