Pay It Forward: "Efforts That Seem Relatively Small Can Make a Big Difference"
"Find a mentor who is involved in the local community, as well as the real estate industry – they will open your eyes to new ideas and opportunities and connect you with other like-minded people who are eager to make a difference," says Yuen Yung, CEO at Casoro Group.
Yuen Yung, CEO at Casoro Group in Austin, TX
Area of expertise or focus: Multifamily Real Estate
As CEO, Yung is responsible for overall leadership, growth and business development. Since joining the firm in 2013, Yung specializes in structuring investments that are suitable, attractive and efficient for high net worth individuals, family offices and institutions.
What has been the biggest challenge in your particular role and how have you overcome those obstacles/? I see challenges as opportunities. In business we have lots of opportunities every day and every year; it is forever changing and evolving. The pandemic has been an interesting opportunity for us as a company and me as a CEO; at a company where everyone was at the office and our culture was defined by us working together physically every day, working from home was definitely a shift. We had to redefine and reestablish our culture as a company as everyone worked from home and video conferencing became a norm. Luckily the leadership team took the challenge as an opportunity to build new norms and new routines for everyone and we were able to thrive and continue to function as a company.
What about your current role/position at the company are you most happy with? Being the CEO allows me to cast my vision, develop people, and accomplish goals that otherwise could not be obtained. As the leader, everything is your fault if things don’t work out, but being able to gather people and accomplish something is worth the risk of failure.
Social injustices led our company to create the Onyx Impact Fund, which emphasizes investments with minority-owned partners, and the Casoro Group Education Foundation, which aims to increase diversity in the CRE industry through providing commercial real estate education and opportunities to students from underserved communities. Not only are we going to do well as a company – we’re also going to do good at the same time. That’s what I’m most proud of.
What is the best piece of advice you have received that has helped you succeed in your industry/? Also, do you have any advice specifically for the next generation? Even though we are in real estate, which is a hard asset, we are really in the people business. When you focus on the people and what their needs are, then you can truly be successful in the industry. This led us to understand who we are as a company and our belief that better homes lead to better lives.
For example, we have seen investors come in from out of town and attempt to graft their usual strategies onto a unique market; their investments run a higher risk of failure because they don’t understand the community’s needs. At Casoro, we are regularly in contact with our residents through property managers, who pass along invaluable feedback like a preference for a soccer pitch rather than a tennis court. During the height of the pandemic, we installed a pantry of essential items in the lobby of one of our buildings to serve residents who we knew were struggling financially. Efforts that seem relatively small can make a big difference.
My advice to the next generation is to see past all the technology and the physical forms and rather see people and their lives; understanding people is more important than understanding things. Find a mentor who is involved in the local community as well as the real estate industry – they will open your eyes to new ideas and opportunities and connect you with other like-minded people who are eager to make a difference.
Would you advise any younger person to begin a career in CRE and what would you advise them to do to get a foothold in the industry? I believe that commercial real estate is one of the best potential careers that a young person can get into. When you think about what’s always going to be there and what’s always a need, it’s real estate. I suggest learning about the industry as early as possible. Understand it as a user, renter, lessee, owner, partner, etc. – whatever it might be, it’s never too early to start learning about real estate, which can be one of the biggest wealth creators in the world.
Growing up, I was never exposed to real estate. It wasn’t until I got older – in my college years – that real estate came across my radar. I was behind and had to play catch up when I entered the industry. I taught myself and sought opportunities to get involved, and now it is my goal to make sure that young minorities and women can find and access the mentoring, encouragement, education, internships and career opportunities in CRE that will offer them a springboard to growing their personal wealth as well as in their communities.
Please share with us the best lessons learned or a surprising component of your unique journey and an initiative that you are working on that you are most proud of. Real estate has contributed to social injustice and the generational wealth gap. We want to flip the script on that problem by bringing more diversity into CRE. We are at a point in history where we can finally push for more diversity and people are accepting of the fact that diversity is actually good for business. I don’t know how long that window will stay open, but we are working on taking advantage of that acceptance and pushing for more diversity in CRE. We have created the Onyx Impact Fund so that investors can invest knowing that their capital will go to help minority sponsors or developers scale up. We also created a nonprofit organization called the Casoro Group Education Foundation to expose young people earlier to CRE, provide education for those seeking careers in CRE, give them experience through mentorships and internships, and finally help them earn wealth in CRE. Again – we are doing well and we are doing good.
In your opinion what takeaways did we learn from the COVID-19 crisis? COVID showed us that as humans we can adapt and pivot. That even when doom and gloom seem omnipresent, new opportunities are created. That the human spirit is strong and we can overcome.
What three key terms would you use to describe your work mindset?
Significance: Success is great, but being significant to other people is even more valuable in life. What positive impact are you making in other people’s lives?
Drive: Will power and intentionality make things happen. You have to be willing to drive your vision, your thoughts, and the good you want to see. “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Compassion: Empathy and love for your fellow human beings. Be grateful that there are so many different people in the world and our differences are truly what makes us great.
