Ignite Comercial Real Estate’s 20-something CEO has the fire for success

Phoenix’s commercial real estate industry can be an older man’s game.

But Jesse Rozio, a young broker in the Valley, did not want to wait until he was an old man to finally be in charge. So, in 2023 Rozio decided to start his own commercial real estate firm. He believes his youth and ambition gave him a different approach to the industry that has led to early success.

A year ago, the now 27-year-old founded Ignite Commercial Real Estate. Ignite has landed more than a dozen leasing assignments around the state and has signed on some high-profile retail clients such as V’s Barbershop, Zaxby’s and IHOP.

Rozio has worked closely with the owners of Mesquite Fresh Street Mex on their real estate needs for years and is helping that team develop new locations.

Since its founding, Ignite has hired on an associate and Rozio wants to grow a team of young brokers who approach the industry with the perspective of a younger generation.

“There’s no other company in town that is just young, hungry, aggressive, sophisticated and well-trained individuals,” Rozio said. “I want to build a team of young hungry guys and gals that want to learn the business. We’re still in the mindset of wanting to take over the world. We have a 15 to 20 year run ahead of us. We really want to make something for ourselves and make a mark on the industry.”

Rozio has lived most of his life in Arizona, graduated from the University of Arizona and worked at GPS Commercial Advisors for several years where he quickly became a partner in his mid-20s, but soon got an itch to get out and build his own thing.

Even though Ignite is a small shop for now, Rozio wants to grow into a bigger regional player. While he knows that will take time, he is trying to make it feel like his clients are already working with a bigger firm.

Rozio doesn’t want to be the ‘tenant-rep’ guy

Rozio has wanted to avoid being known as a tenant-rep guy or a capital market specialist and has tried to build his business around being able to offer everything to clients — even perspective and advice that brokers don’t usually give.

“We’re full-service. When we get involved in a project with a property owner, we look at how we can merchandise this to make this the best project with the best tenants at the highest rents we know are sustainable,” Rozio said, “But then, how can we also help them extract the value out of it on the investment side.”

The other way Rozio wants to set himself apart from other CRE firms in the Valley is how he relates to his clients.

“Right now, we are small in number and we’re giving our clients better service than a lot of [other firms],” Rozio said. “We’re winning business because people are seeing that we’re willing to go the extra mile.”

The biggest example of that could be how close he has become with Ahmad and Naser Alatrash, the owners of Mesquite Fresh. The company has not only significantly grown its footprint since Rozio started working with them, but they have switched up their real estate philosophy and have started developing their own sites. Rozio and the Alatrash brothers have also become close enough friends that hang out in their personal time and invite each other to their weddings.

While not every client will turn into that close of a bond, Rozio said he approaches the business as a friendship first.

“We love to get close to our clients, that’s really the pleasure, and then the fact that we get to do business together is icing on the cake,” Rozio said. “I tell new clients ‘I can’t wait for our friendship to begin.’”