This $40M Real Estate Team Was Named After Generations of German Shepherds
A family dog born in 1952 inspired The Cinder Group’s name. Now, the 14-agent Alabama team is joining eXp Realty with plans to take its “pack” nationwide.
What does a 1952 German Shepherd named Cinder have to do with closing $40 million in real estate volume? For Madison and William Stephens, co-founders of The Cinder Group, the connection makes total sense.
Long before William was born, his family welcomed its first German Shepherd named Cinder. Garbage trucks traveled through narrow alleyways behind the Stephens family’s home, where the ground was covered in deep black, slightly shiny cinder rock. The puppy’s dark coat looked so much like the rock that Cinder became the obvious name.
She quickly became the family hero. Although the first Cinder lived for only seven years, she made such an impression that William’s father continued raising German Shepherds. Every one of them has carried the Cinder name, creating a family tradition that has lasted more than seven decades.
Over the years, the name grew to mean loyalty, respect, and showing up for people. So when Madison hit a ceiling in her solo career, those family roots inspired a brand-new business strategy – The Cinder Group.
"You go further as a pack than you ever could alone, and real success is something best shared," Madison says.
Today, their 14-agent team (plus one crucial support staff member) serves the Greater Huntsville, Madison, and Athens markets in Northern Alabama. This summer, the whole group officially moved to eXp Realty.
Moving Beyond the Solo Grind
The Cinder Group started when Madison ran out of hours in the day. She built a thriving business, but handling every listing, call, and closing alone left zero room to scale. Building a team fixed her workload while also bringing a great bonus. Madison realized she loved coaching other agents and watching them build their own income.
While growing their footprint in Northern Alabama, Madison and William noticed a major gap in their local market: practical agent training.
“Most agents in our area are handed a license and left to figure it out on their own,” says William.
They built The Cinder Group to give agents actual coaching, daily support, and practical skills that licensing courses skip. That extra training paid off fast. Better-prepared agents delivered a better experience, helping the team hit $40 million in sales volume in 2025.
Its success in Northern Alabama also convinced Madison and William that the model could work in other markets. To get there, they needed a brokerage that could support the team beyond one geographic area.
Why eXp Was the Next Move
By late 2025, Madison and William wanted to expand into new markets across the country. They spent months talking to top producers, taking weekend calls, and catching up with leaders at national conferences.
A clear pattern kept showing up.
“The people we were spending our weekends talking with, the leaders we kept running into at conferences, the agents whose mindset and approach most aligned with ours, they were almost all coming from the same place,” Madison said.
That place was eXp.
They liked that top agents at eXp shared their strategies, scripts, and systems without holding back secrets.
“For us, collaboration is king,” Madison says. “At eXp, there isn't the gatekeeping or competitive mentality that's so common in our industry.”
What’s Next for The Cinder Group
The team plans to take their model nationwide while keeping deep roots in North Alabama.
To kick off their expansion, they are hosting the first annual Cinder Social on September 3 in Huntsville. The complimentary event brings together local agents, brokers, lenders, and title professionals to talk shop and build local connections.
“Our goal isn’t just to host an event,” the team said. “It’s to strengthen the North Alabama real estate community by bringing great people together. Everything else grows from there.”
Planning to be in the Huntsville area? Reserve your spot for the September 3 event at TheCinderSocial.com.
