# Tim Heyl

> Tim Heyl is the Austin-based founder and CEO of Homeward, a real estate technology and home finance company built around a problem he first met as an agent: homeowners often need to sell before they can buy. After becoming Austin's top-ranked agent at 24 and building The Heyl Group, he tested the idea behind Homeward in December 2018 by using his own savings to buy a client's next house. He has since led Homeward through rapid growth, a $371 million capital raise, layoffs and a high-rate-market pivot while keeping real estate agents central to the model.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Homeward
- **Organizations:** Homeward, The Heyl Group, Phone Animal, Mint Title, Keller Williams
- **Education:** Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Real Estate, Texas A&M University, Mays Business School
- **Known for:** Named Austin's number-one real estate agent by the Austin Business Journal at age 24., Built The Heyl Group into a nationally ranked team that received Inc. 5000 recognition five times., Founded Homeward in 2018 after personally testing its first buy-before-you-sell transaction.

## Career timeline

- **2009** — Graduated from Texas A&M and began working as a real estate agent after an unsuccessful search for a banking job.
- **2012** — Was named Austin's number-one real estate agent by the Austin Business Journal at age 24 and soon received a formative call from Keller Williams co-founder Gary Keller.
- **2016** — Met OpCity founder Ben Rubenstein, who later explained venture fundraising and helped widen Heyl's view of how quickly a real estate technology company could scale.
- **2017** — Sold Mint Title, one of several real estate businesses he built before Homeward.
- **2018** — Stepped back from daily leadership of The Heyl Group and founded Homeward; in December, used his own savings to buy a client's desired home and prove the buy-before-you-sell model.
- **2019** — Homeward won the Inman Innovator Award in the company category.
- **2020** — Homeward secured $105 million in growth capital, including $20 million in equity and $85 million in debt.
- **2021** — Homeward secured $371 million in growth capital, including $136 million in equity and $235 million in debt; Inman named Heyl its Person of the Year.
- **2022** — Won the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Central South Award and led Homeward through workforce reductions as the housing and mortgage market shifted.
- **2024** — Described Homeward's pivot toward a guaranteed offer and open-market sale model for homeowners navigating a high-rate market.
- **2025** — Homeward and Setpoint were included in LinkedIn's Top Startups list for Austin.
- **2026** — Was named a 2026 Inman Best of Finance Award winner and discussed the lessons of growth, failure and leadership on The Tension podcast.

## Achievements

- Named Austin's number-one real estate agent by the Austin Business Journal at age 24.
- Built The Heyl Group into a nationally ranked team that received Inc. 5000 recognition five times.
- Founded Homeward in 2018 after personally testing its first buy-before-you-sell transaction.
- Led Homeward through a $105 million capital raise in 2020 and a $371 million capital raise in 2021.
- Homeward won the 2019 Inman Innovator Award in the company category.
- Named Inman's 2021 Person of the Year.
- Won the 2022 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Central South Award.
- Named a 2026 Inman Best of Finance Award winner.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Appeared on The Tension podcast to discuss scaling businesses, leadership, failure and the lessons of difficult operating seasons.
- **2026-08** — Shared plans to spend more time meeting the real estate teams using Homeward's products and highlighted their adoption of AI and modern growth tactics.
- **2026-07** — Was named a 2026 Inman Best of Finance Award winner.
- **2026-07** — Celebrated The Heyl Group's ranking as the number 21 enterprise real estate team in the United States under Chevy Saucier's leadership.
- **2025-11** — Homeward and Setpoint appeared in LinkedIn's Top Startups list for Austin.

## Links

- Website: https://www.homeward.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timheyl
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/thehomewardway
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehomewardway/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehomewardway/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tim-heyl
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-28