“Must Haves” when starting a brokerage?

[Matt Mulvihill]

Hey BP! 

Myself and two others are in the process of starting an investment firm and are wondering what essential tools/services you’d suggest for the starting days? Our objective is to have a lean operation to start, and then can add to the systems once business gets rolling. That said, we know we will at least need a website, CRM, and list/skip trace system like propstream or realeflow. 

I was wondering what systems this community uses, what we should stay away from, and ultimately what are the essentials to help us run like a well oiled machine?