>> it was new york city real estate mogul and shark tank investor barbara corcoran. >> you're barbarareached out asking if he'd like to tour her penthouse. >> this is the guest room. this is where you're going to put me when i come back? >> yeah. why not? you could use it. >> when barbara corcoran dm'd me, like, 2 or 3 months into the series, i was like, come to my apartment. i was like, whoa, dude, this is crazy. why is she dming me? and then that kind of just, like, shook the landscape a little bit. and from there i was like, okay, i think this is a thing. guess that tiktok song with us? yes he did. >> he'd experimented with different types of content creation for almost a decade. when he came up with the idea of asking new yorkers about their apartments, just as he was about to lose his. >> i just, like, had gotten fired from my job. i had like four weeks worth of cash in the account, which was like for rent. so i was like, my back was up against the wall and i was like, dang. i'm like literally walking around asking people, how much do you pay for rent? and i cannot pay for rent.