Q&A: Eleonora Srugo’08, Top Real Estate Agent and Star of Selling the City

Netflix’s Selling the City stars our very own Eleonora Srugo (Questrom BSBA’08) who was making headlines long before the cameras started rolling. Ranked #4 nationwide for sales volume and #13 for Gross Commission Income, she closed a $75 million deal in 2023. Eleonora spent 16 years climbing the ranks at Douglas Elliman, where she leads her own top-performing team, Eleonora & Co., which she founded. Eleonora’s impact isn’t limited to luxury real estate. She also founded the Stuyvesant High School Alumni Mentoring Program in 2014, a hands-on initiative helping public school students in New York City gain the confidence and skills to succeed professionally—an effort she continues to lead today.

Born in Israel and raised by a single mother in Soho’s artist lofts, Eleonora grew up surrounded by creativity and hustle. Her father was a jazz drummer; her mother, an actress-turned-restaurateur. As a teenager, she worked in her mother’s West Village restaurant, learning firsthand how to read people, serve others, and thrive under pressure—skills that would later define her success in real estate.

After graduating from BU’s Questrom School of Business in 2008, she started in entertainment marketing at E! News, but quickly pivoted to real estate to tackle student loan debt head-on. She earned her license in 2009 and began a journey from rental deals to multimillion-dollar closings, culminating in her current role on Netflix—where she’s now bringing her New York hustle to the world stage.

Below, Eleonora shares more in her own words:

Why did you end up choosing Boston University? What memories or takeaways have stuck with you?

I went to school at a time when more importance was placed on where you attended college. I spent the summer of 2003 at Harvard’s secondary summer program, but ultimately got deferred from Harvard. Being from New York, Boston still appealed to me because of its urban environment and city feel.

I grew up in the age of “Dawson’s Creek” – those characters were from Massachusetts, always drinking their Starbucks. Boston represented that quintessential American collegiate dream to me. When I enrolled in an undergraduate business program, I honestly had no idea what to expect. It wasn’t until later in life that I realized this educational path was truly important for my career trajectory.

My most fond BU memory involves the two major competitions we participated in. At that time, you completed one competition in your freshman year and another during your senior year. The freshman competition required us to choose two companies, conduct a deep analysis comparing them, and ultimately recommend which one to invest in (mine was Sharper Image versus Brookstone). For the senior year project, we had to develop a product and build a comprehensive business plan. I’m proud to say I won that first-year project.

Throughout college, I was working while attending classes. I had somewhat given up on the idea of being a “real academic” and instead saw BU as a powerful networking opportunity. While going to school, I worked at a high-fashion clothing store on Newbury Street. Interestingly, I still get a lot of business from my SMG connections today.

I’ve observed that good students often study well but then panic about their futures, which is why many end up going to law school. Being in an undergraduate business program forces you to think deeply about what to do with your life and set long-term goals. That perspective was invaluable.

You mentioned clawing your way to success in a recent article—what specific challenges did you overcome?

My industry doesn’t have much of a corporate guideline or specific organizational structure – you really have to prove yourself. Working in a male-dominated field like real estate, being taken seriously was a significant challenge. I was in an industry where you didn’t necessarily need a college degree, which created additional stigmas associated with being a young woman in real estate.

Other challenges? Not everything goes according to plan. I’ve failed multiple times over, but I kept trying. Anyone in entrepreneurship or startups knows this reality – so many people try and fail repeatedly. What kept me going was that I truly believed in the products I sold. There’s a certain respect that should be given to sales as a profession. There’s an art and technique to it. There are multiple components to what it means to be in sales.

My biggest strength was being able to take a non-corporate job. I don’t have a physical product to sell – I have a service I’m selling, and that kept me motivated.

Financially, I didn’t get much aid in school. I remember Sally Mae would mail you saying, “You can borrow up to X amount of dollars,” essentially lending to high school students at 9.75-12% interest rates. Becoming a victim of that system made me determined to pay off all those loans, which was a major financial driver in my early career.

How did you learn German, Hebrew, and Spanish? Did you grow up speaking them, or did you study them later?

I grew up speaking Hebrew at home. Both of my grandmothers spoke Spanish – one survived the Holocaust and ended up in Argentina, while the other was Moroccan, from when Morocco was a Spanish colony. My parents initially moved to Israel and then relocated to the States. I also studied German in high school, which allowed me to cover another language group. This multilingual background has become a valuable way to connect with my clients. I find myself mimicking what my clients do linguistically as some way to be relatable to them.

What inspired her to launch the Stuyvesant Alumni Mentoring Program?

I had come back to do my 10th year anniversary. Looking back, I was appointed as the CFO of my student body in high school. Our school was affected and displaced by what happened on 9/11. My little $20K for student government climbed to $150K due to support and donations. It became my job to figure out how to best use it to help our community recover. I loved managing the money, working with the theater to put on a play, and other recovery initiatives.

I felt a need after college to get involved with the alumni association. When I graduated, the alumni association had some resources, but what I noticed about the students was more important – they had so much skill, talent, ability, and they were incredibly smart. They were also professional and could deliver results. But they lacked networking skills. They could not make eye contact with an adult. I felt like they needed guidance, which is why I stayed connected.

What lessons from your creative parents helped shape your perspective and/or work ethic?

My parents were children of the later hippie generation. The only thing I’ll give them credit for is they definitely were of the mindset that “anything is possible” and “be who you want to be.” Love, encouragement, belief—that’s what they were there for. Actual tangible skills were missing though—they were high school dropouts. But telling their kid anything is possible and building confidence? They did a phenomenal job with that. Any insecurities I developed came from the outside world and not from home.

What strategies helped you transition from rentals to luxury sales?

When I got into real estate, I never really got into rentals. I immediately knew that if I wanted to do real estate, I would focus on sales. I immediately joined a sales business. Rentals are currently a way of surviving the summer months for many agents, but I was never interested in that. I only did rentals to meet my quotas for work—there was a requirement of 4 sales transactions a month, so I used rentals to meet quota and fill gaps when I first started in the field.

How has Selling the City changed your career?

When asked how “Selling the City” has changed my career, I don’t really know yet. It’s only been 2.5 months. The experience has been validating. A lot of customers and friends of mine have reaffirmed that I am professional and relationship focused. I am good at what I do and know what I’m doing. For people who vaguely knew me, they’re definitely more comfortable around me now and I’ve gained their respect. There are opportunities to do interviews with Real Deal, NYT, NY Magazine—more of the intellectual/business-oriented side. As much as I love the show, it’s not a business show—it’s not a documentary about a real estate agent. It’s an occupational soap—it’s about personal challenges of those in the real estate industry. Real estate is just in the backdrop. The biggest thing is hearing from women. I had to really fit into a male-dominated world. Women are essentially uncomfortable fitting in this world. They do what men do with more time and hard work. It was never something I led with. I didn’t want to make it the sole subject matter. It was nice to hear from women, children of immigrants, women of color, women entrepreneurs who felt the narrative of the show resonated with them.

Do you have any advice for current business students and recent grads looking to get into real estate?

They have an advantage in that many people getting into real estate don’t have their background. They have the capacity to analyze themselves, their strengths, learn about management, understand the concept of sales and everything from start to finish, and what makes a good product. They can take that approach into real estate. Unfortunately, other people who go into real estate are doing it as a side job. Only those who take it and make it into a career have a shot at succeeding. The sky is the limit if you are passionate. It allows you to go from nothing to everything.

Interview and copy editing by Dee Polat, Director, Alumni Engagement

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