The Windfall:
How a Minnesota Title Company Found Its Niche by Saying “Yes” to Renewable Energy
A lot of family businesses are happy to stay small, trusted, and local. Gavin Winter could have done the same. Instead, he saw a ceiling where others saw success and decided to break through it.
From Local Roots to Something More
Gavin grew up in rural Minnesota, where real estate was the family business. His mom operated an abstracting company, his dad a brokerage and appraisal business. After college, he excelled in real estate sales but quickly realized he wanted more than just trading deals for dollars. He wanted knowledge to be the product, and accountability to rest on expertise, not handshakes. The requirement to know the product, not just the client, drew him to title.
The Foundation
Even before that, his parents had nudged him toward the industry. While Gavin was in college, they sent him to work at a local title company for the summer so someone else, not just family, could show him the ropes. He ended up working for a mentor named Kevin Ohme, an experience Gavin credits with giving him a solid foundation. “Family businesses can be tricky, Kevin’s mentorship gave me a sounding board and a way to assess my own growth. We were operating in neighboring territories, we shared a lot of the same challenges. When we acquired his shop, and he “worked for me” is when we came full circle.”
That grounding became the bedrock Gavin would later rely on when bigger opportunities came knocking.
The First Big “Yes”
One of those opportunities came when a close friend, and wind developer named Corey Juhl asked Gavin to handle title work on a wind project. Gavin had never touched renewable energy before. The deal was bigger, more complex, and riskier than anything he’d taken on.
He could have played it safe and said no, or just agreed to do a sliver of the work. Instead, he said yes. Yes to the uncertainty, yes to the learning curve, yes to figuring it out as he went.
It wasn’t easy. He spent countless hours studying, problem-solving, and double-checking every detail. But when that first wind deal closed- Gavin walked away with more than a fee, he walked away with a new philosophy: growth starts when you say yes before you’re ready. “I think people are capable of more than they assume, more often than not, it takes that “leap of faith” in oneself to get the ball rolling”
Flipping the Script
That mindset paid off quickly. Soon after, the phone started ringing, this time from the biggest underwriters in the country: First American, Stewart, Fidelity, and Old Republic. Each one asked the same thing: “Can you handle 200 searches for us?”
Most would have taken the order and stopped there. Gavin didn’t. After the fifth call in a single day, he saw the pattern. These national players were outsourcing slivers of work. Instead of competing with them, why not become their partner?
So he flipped the script. “I can certainly provide the searches, but why don’t you let us put the whole thing together for you? We’ll handle the production. You focus on underwriting.”
That bold offer, rooted in the same courage as his first wind deal, changed the trajectory of his company. Winter Title wasn’t just local anymore. It had become a production engine trusted by some of the biggest names in the business. “We still provide “search only requests” but the relationship with some of our underwriting partners has grown strong over the years. I think they know that when they are in a bind- our team will likely rise to the occasion.” Winter shared the story of a date down for 330 parcels that was presented to him on a Friday at 3pm, looking for a quick turn prior to a Monday closing. “You can only say yes to those types of deals if you have a team that wants to rise to the occasion. When everyone buys in, then it's just execution”
The Power of “Yes”
That windfall moment crystallized Gavin’s philosophy: say yes, and instead of “is there anything else we can do for you” let them know “here is what else we can do for you”. Every request from a client is an opening to expand the relationship. Every deal is a chance to prove indispensability.
It’s why his team rallies around the motto: “Open at 8, Close All day.” It’s not just about hours, it’s about a mentality of relentless execution. And it’s why Gavin tells his team, “Even the most loyal customer is one bad experience away from wondering what else is out there. Our job is to make sure they never want to.”
From Minnesota to the National Stage
Looking back, Gavin admits his only regret is waiting too long to plug into state and national conversation. For years he thought he had to reinvent everything himself. Now he knows better: “Relationships are the lifeblood of innovation.”
That shift has propelled him forward. His stint as president of the Minnesota Land Title Association gave him a voice in the regional conversation. Today, with renewable energy projects scaling nationwide and partnerships with the industry’s biggest players, Gavin’s voice is growing on the national level.
Lessons from the Wind
For title leaders, Gavin’s journey is more than a success story, it offers strong guidance for innovation anywhere:
- Say yes before you’re ready. Growth rarely feels comfortable. That’s where opportunity lives.
- Flip the script. Don’t just take what’s offered. Identify opportunity. Ask how you can do more and own more of the process.
- Make yourself indispensable. Every customer is just one bad experience away from looking elsewhere. Your job is to make staying the obvious choice.
- Never forget the foundation. Details matter. Accuracy is everything. You earn trust by getting it right, every single time. Innovation only lasts if it’s built on that bedrock.
From a summer job in a Minnesota title shop to partnerships with some of the biggest names in the industry, Gavin Winter’s story is an inspiration for anyone in title: that every market holds opportunity, and the courage to say yes can change everything.
