The 1911 Group
The 1911 Group is a curated community of accomplished SMU alumni driving business and leadership across Dallas–Fort Worth. Members gain access to exclusive luncheons featuring prominent speakers from business and sports, private dinners at top Park Cities restaurants, and a 300+ member alumni directory to expand both personal and professional networks. With monthly gatherings and over fifteen signature luncheons each year, The 1911 Group fosters genuine connections, collaboration, and idea exchange among SMU’s most driven alumni.
The 1911 Group
Sam Sawyer on Building Pinnacle Realty: A New Brokerage Era
This week on SMU Stories, we sat down with Sam Sawyer — CEO of Pinnacle Realty Advisors and proud SMU alum from the Class of 2009. Since 2020, he has led Pinnacle from Austin, developing a cloud-based brokerage platform that enables real-estate professionals to retain 100% of their commissions while accessing streamlined tools, rapid support, and transparent monthly pricing.
Sam refers to the model as “brokerage as a service.” It mirrors the SaaS approach: agents select the plan that fits their needs, pay a predictable monthly fee, and clearly understand the services included — with no unnecessary add-ons or hidden costs.
Sam launched his real estate career while still an undergrad at SMU at 19 years old. He has worked in the real estate and technology industries since then across Dallas, Silicon Valley, and currently in Austin.
