How Mendy Pollock Pivoted from 100 Cold Calls a Day to Creative Real‑Estate Investing

A Candid Journey from Cold Calls to Creative Capital

In Episode 10.1 of Confronting the Impossible, Leo Jacobs sits down with a longtime friend and colleague: Mendy Pollock of Ironwood Capital CRE. What follows is an unfiltered conversation about discovering your true strengths, surviving seven years in a role you never loved, and making the leap toward something meaningful.

This isn’t a story about overnight success. It’s a quiet, honest tale of endurance, reinvention, and a broker who learned that his real value wasn’t in the volume of calls he made—but in the creativity he brought to the table.

Cold Calls, Unclear Purpose, and the School of Hard Knocks

Mendy Pollock didn’t set out to be a mortgage broker. Like many others, he needed a job to support a growing family. So he joined Eastern Union under Ira Zlotowitz in 2002, working out of the brand-new Lakewood, NJ office.

He was handed a script, a phone, and a goal: 100 cold calls a day.

But the truth? It never fit.

“I’m not a salesperson. I didn’t enjoy pitching interest rates or pushing products. It felt like a numbers game with no soul.”

Despite that, he stuck around for seven years—learning, observing, and slowly figuring out where he did add value.

Faith, Family, and the Foundation That Grounds You

Before real estate, before sales, Mendy’s life was rooted in learning. Raised in a religious household, he studied in Yeshivas in New Jersey and Israel, then continued post-marriage in BMG Lakewood.

“In our community, it’s tradition to build your foundation through learning after marriage. But eventually, you need to pay the bills.”

With no formal business education, Mendy entered the industry through persistence, faith, and a commitment to figure it out. Not out of ambition—but out of necessity.

Seven Years in the Wrong Role: Why He Stayed

So why spend seven years doing something you don’t love?

Because Mendy could close deals. He could survive. And sometimes, survival delays self-reflection.

“It wasn’t that I failed. I just didn’t feel fulfilled. But I kept going. And slowly, I started to see where I fit.”

Rather than chasing the same borrowers every broker pitched, he began targeting harder deals: borrowers with rougher profiles, messier portfolios, unusual requests. The ones most brokers avoided.

That’s when things clicked.

From Commodities to Creativity

In commercial mortgage brokerage, everyone’s selling the same product. The only differentiation is how you show up.

Mendy found his niche not by being louder—but by being more thoughtful.

“I was never going to win on price. But I could win on problem-solving.”

He built a reputation for handling deals that weren’t cookie-cutter. That required work. That required trust. And in doing so, he transitioned from transaction-focused to relationship-driven.

That creative approach eventually led him to Ironwood Capital CRE.

Final Thought

Mendy’s journey reminds us that not every career starts with passion. Sometimes, it starts with pressure. But pressure can create clarity.

You don’t have to love your first job. You don’t need to follow a perfect path. But you do need to listen—to what you enjoy, to what you avoid, and to what makes you feel valuable.

And when you do? You might just find yourself on the other side of the impossible.

🎧 Watch Episode 10.1 now

Hear Mendy Pollock's story of how years of cold calls, religious grounding, and relentless questioning led to one thing: clarity.

PODCAST - Confronting the Impossible with Leo Jacobs.

Leo Jacobs, Founder and CEO of Jacobs PC

Known for finding creative, expedient solutions to complex and high-profile cases, Leo excels in matters including distressed investment and asset management, real estate law, corporate law, dispute resolution, business divorces, negotiation, and more. Leo’s extensive expertise in debt and equity structures enables him to employ a full spectrum of legal tools to achieve swift, optimal results for clients. His practice, Jacobs P.C., bridges commercial litigation, corporate transactions, and financial rehabilitation, handling cases across federal, state, and bankruptcy courts, as well as administrative tribunals.

If you would like to join the podcast email requests to pr@jacobspc.com