Ukio Hits the 1,000 Apartments Milestone
This March, Ukio achieved a major milestone with the signing of its 1,000th apartment. In just under four years of operations, it has been a rapid expansion of managed properties across five cities: Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Berlin, and Paris.
For CEO and co-founder Stanley Fourteau, this growth was faster than he envisioned or expected when he founded Ukio in 2020 with his brother Jeremy:
“Reaching this milestone is something we are so proud of. We have a vision of being the world’s leading and most loved housing brand and we are one step closer to reaching that goal. We believe we’re still in day one and we want to grow to ten, even a hundred thousand apartments. But today we are very happy and excited to be where we are.”
From the very first apartment in Barcelona, named “Pipa,” it has been a tough but rewarding journey to get to this point. Stan and Jeremy look back on how it was to be on the ground making things happen. Whether it was performing construction themselves or touring potential customers, it was the full end-to-end experience of building a company. Experiences that make them understand and appreciate the work done by current Ukio employees, they say.
Today, Ukio’s property growth is driven by a xx-strong team of real estate business developers led by Renan Trzesniowski, VP of Business Development. Each city consists of its own squad responsible for scouting apartments, creating strong relationships with property owners, and sharing the value that Ukio delivers.
For Renan, his team’s biggest win has been the ability to standardize knowledge, ways of working, and means of interaction with landlords. This was key because the real estate sector operates differently in each city, from cultural particularities to legislation. For the business development team to move at a fast and effective pace, consistency was needed.
Another key factor is the community of landlords that have come to trust in Ukio’s capabilities to manage their apartments. That trust has served as a network effect, attracting more property owners and making scalability more efficient. In fact, this has led to Ukio managing 15 building complexes and all the apartments in them.
In celebration of this milestone, the thousandth property, which so happens to also be located in Barcelona, will be aptly named “MILLE” meaning “thousand” in Latin. The apartment will be designed in a special and unique way and will be furnished with a commissioned item to commemorate its significance.
As for the future of Ukio, there is no plan to stop growing. Whether it’s increasing the number of apartments in the cities we are in or expanding to new locations, this is simply the beginning.
However, the team ensures that this growth will not come at the expense of the quality and service provided. As Renan puts it:
“Quality over quantity is the most important to us in the ability for us to grow at a standard level, and be true and positive to the community that we operate in. That standard is what will truly make us a great and standout company, whether it’s for the landlords that work with us or the guests that choose to come stay with us.”
For Stan, getting to 1,000 was the hard part. As Ukio continues to improve how they do things, create a stronger brand, and maintain a powerful community of real estate stakeholders, reaching 5,000 will be easy. Getting to 10,000 apartments, even easier.
Stay tuned.
