Dave Clark has clearly built a personal brand. Check out his real estate sign. No where on this sign can you discover he is a Caldwell Banker agent. He does not need their brand to support his business. He may need their infrastructure, but not their brand. He does not even use it.
Compare Dave’s sign to the typical real estate for sale sign, which prominently features the company brand and mentions the agent as an “add-on.” Co-branding at best, but often not even that.
Did Dave drop the big brand to build his own, or did he build his own and the drop theirs. A little of both as best I can tell. Dave has appeared to be all about Dave (and his customers) from the first time I ran across him. (He works in my town and claims to be in the top 1% or realtors). I have no idea if he is any good, but I suspect he is, and he can hang his sign with any major realtor because he does not need their brand. In truth, they need him.
Mitch