Bianca D'Alessio: Grow Your Business Without Selling Your Soul
The “Selling the Hamptons” star and author talks about finding your path, building mental fortitude through setbacks, and being intentional about how you grow.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Bianca D’Alessio is the star of HBO Max’s acclaimed series “Selling the Hamptons,” the top-ranked real estate broker in both New York City and state, and the founder of one of the highest-producing brokerage teams in the U.S. She oversees a $10 billion international real estate portfolio and writes a weekly column in Money Magazine. Bianca is a frequent expert voice in Forbes, The New York Times, Fox Business, Medium, and The Real Deal. She is the author of “Mastering Intentions: 10 Practices to Amplify Power and Lead with Lasting Impact.”
In this discussion with EIX, she shares how she discovered her calling in real estate; her approach to business ownership, growth, and team building; and her advice to people trying to find their own path.
From Teaching to Real Estate
EIX : Bianca, please tell us a little about your own career journey.
Before I began my career in real estate, I worked in the nonprofit sector teaching leadership development to college-aged women across the United States. I was part of an organization that helped young women identify their personal values and use them as a compass for decision-making. I spent a year traveling to college campuses, leading workshops, and facilitating honest conversations about confidence, leadership, and self-awareness. Watching people connect their actions to their purpose was deeply fulfilling. At the time if you asked me, I would have said this was my dream job.
When that chapter ended, I faced an uncertain transition. Many of my peers were already building careers in corporate environments, while I was still searching for direction. I had drive and ambition, but I lacked the confidence to pursue a traditional path. People often told me to consider real estate because I was good with people, so I decided to give it a try.
I was drawn to real estate because it combined my interest in human connection with the opportunity to create tangible impact. What I did not anticipate was how difficult those early years would be. Sales requires resilience, patience, and the ability to manage constant rejection. Over time, I realized that success in this field is not determined by talent alone; it is defined by mental strength. The best professionals learn how to stay grounded and consistent through the highs and lows.
As I gained experience, I became more intentional about how I wanted to grow. I built my business one client at a time, focusing on relationships and results over quick wins. Working under several leaders taught me valuable lessons about strategy, culture, and communication, but I also recognized a gap between success and fulfillment. I wanted to create something that aligned with my values and reflected the kind of culture I believed business should have.
Eventually, I launched my first company with business partners. That partnership ended, and although it was a painful experience, it became one of the most defining moments of my career. It forced me to reexamine what leadership truly meant and to rebuild from a place of clarity rather than fear. That failure became the catalyst for my next chapter. It motivated me to step into my own power and create something that reflected my vision for what leadership could look like.
That moment led to the creation of The Masters Division, which I founded with a simple mission: to build a business rooted in intention, integrity, and impact. Today, as Founder and CEO, I lead one of New York’s top-performing real estate teams and manage a $10 billion global portfolio. My team works alongside developers to design, build, and sell luxury condominium towers across the world, with our main hub in New York City. Each project represents more than architecture. It represents trust, collaboration, and the ability to bring a shared vision to life.
As the company grew, I made the decision to expand with purpose. My career evolved to include television, where I appeared on "Selling the Hamptons" on HBO Max, and public speaking, where I share lessons on leadership, mindset, and growth. Writing my book, “Mastering Intentions,” became the most personal extension of that work. It was written from the lessons that rebuilt me when everything around me felt uncertain.
"Mastering Intentions" is not just about success or entrepreneurship. It is about leading yourself first, turning adversity into clarity, and choosing to live and work with purpose. My hope is that readers come away understanding that their story matters, their voice matters, and their ability to create lasting impact begins the moment they decide to live with intention.
The Entrepreneurial Mindset
EIX : Real estate is a business that seems to require entrepreneurial skills in many different roles and in companies of many different sizes. What can you tell us about your approach to entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship, for me, begins with clarity of purpose. I believe that building anything meaningful starts with understanding why you are doing it and what impact you want to create.
In real estate, every day demands a balance between creativity and execution. You have to be strategic enough to plan, resilient enough to pivot, and courageous enough to take risks when the outcome is uncertain. Entrepreneurship is not a title or a position. It is a mindset built on curiosity, accountability, and adaptability.
When I started my company, I made a conscious decision to lead with intention. I wanted to create a culture that valued both structure and innovation, where people were encouraged to think differently while still being held to a high standard of excellence. I have learned that purpose without process creates chaos, and process without purpose creates burnout. The balance between the two is where true entrepreneurship lives.
"The best advice I can give is to focus less on how fast you move and more on how intentionally you grow."
I also believe that entrepreneurship is deeply personal. It is not just about creating opportunities for others but also about developing the self-awareness and discipline to lead effectively. My approach has always been to stay grounded in my values, no matter how fast things move. I measure success by alignment, not by speed. The question I ask myself often is whether the business I am building still reflects the person I am becoming.
At its core, entrepreneurship is not about building a business. It is about building yourself. Every challenge, every failure, and every small victory shapes the kind of leader you are. I have learned that the more intentional you are with your vision, the more naturally opportunity begins to align around it.
Shared Purpose: The Secret of Great Teams
EIX: Teamwork is very important to the way you work. What advice would you give to people trying to assemble or manage an entrepreneurial team?
Building an effective team starts with alignment. Skill can be developed, but shared purpose cannot. When I hire, I look first for people who are hungry, self-aware, and driven by something deeper than a paycheck or a title. I want people who are curious, who care about doing the work well, and who bring energy and perspective to the table. The right team is not built on the most impressive résumés; it is built on chemistry, trust, and shared vision.
The biggest mistake leaders make is hiring for talent alone and hoping culture will take care of itself. Culture is not a byproduct. It has to be built intentionally every single day. That means creating an environment where people feel seen, supported, and empowered to take ownership of their work. Leadership is not about control. It is about clarity and connection. When people understand the vision and feel that their contributions matter, they naturally perform at a higher level.
Managing an entrepreneurial team also requires consistency and vulnerability. You have to be willing to communicate openly, make hard decisions with transparency, and model the behavior you expect from others. Accountability is not about perfection. It is about creating trust through action. The best leaders are the ones who create space for others to lead alongside them.
At The Masters Division, I remind my team that we are not just building a business; we are building people. Every project, every challenge, and every success is an opportunity to grow together. When your team feels aligned, valued, and connected to something larger than themselves, they stop working for you and start building with you. That is when a group of individuals becomes a collective of leaders.
Advice for New Entrepreneurs
EIX: Keeping the long view in mind seems to be another key theme of your approach. For students and young people who are just starting their careers, though, it might seem hard to think really long-term. What advice would you give to them?
The best advice I can give is to focus less on how fast you move and more on how intentionally you grow. Early in your career, it can feel like everyone else is ahead of you, but success is rarely a straight line. The truth is that every stage of growth has value, even the slow and uncertain ones. The people who build lasting careers are the ones who stay consistent when no one is watching and who keep showing up even when progress feels invisible.
Thinking long-term does not mean having every step mapped out. It means developing the habits, values, and mindset that will allow you to evolve as opportunities appear. You will pivot, fail, and rebuild more times than you expect, but each season serves a purpose. Your job is to stay committed to learning through it. You do not need to know your final destination to start moving forward, but you do need to know your values. Those values will anchor you when things become uncertain.
One of the most important lessons I have learned is to reshape my relationship with failure. Failure is not a reflection of your worth; it is one of the most valuable teachers you will ever have. Every rejection, setback, and disappointment carries a lesson that can strengthen your mindset and deepen your understanding of yourself. Learn to use failure as fuel. Let rejection motivate you instead of discourage you. And practice gratitude for the difficult moments, because they are building the resilience and perspective that success will eventually require.
Playing the long game means recognizing that the small, consistent actions you take now will compound over time. Every late night, every extra effort, every act of integrity creates momentum that others may not see but that always pays off in the long run. The best lessons I have learned and the biggest opportunities I have been given came from being willing to work for free to learn from the best. I wanted to earn the right to be in the room, and I made sure that when I was, I added value. I proved to others and to myself that I was someone worth investing in.
Hard work has always been my brand. At every stage in my career, I have outworked everyone around me, and that has never gone unnoticed. Perseverance opens doors that talent alone cannot. You cannot underestimate the power of showing up prepared, dependable, and driven. The long game rewards people who combine humility with hunger, who keep learning, and who refuse to give up when things get hard.
For students and young professionals, remember that your early years are not meant to define you; they are meant to shape you. Focus on becoming the kind of person who can handle both success and struggle with gratitude and grace. If you can stay patient, curious, and committed to working harder than anyone else, you will create opportunities that others will never see coming.
