David de Gea is an Alumni of the International Business Degree at the European University of Madrid. He is currently the director of HousingGo, his own real estate firm, which has grown up to 450 percent in 2021. It has two offices, at 62 Ayala Street and 81 Serrano Street.
You can find the interview at European University website: https://alumni.universidadeuropea.com/historias/mi-mejor-recuerdo-en-la-universidad-europea-no-se-define-en-un-momento-espacio-temporal-sino-en-un-proceso-constante-de-evolucion-y-cambio
Tell us what class you are from, in which faculty and campus you studied. How was the trajectory since you finished your studies at the European University of Madrid until you created HousinGo.
I started my studies in the International Business Degree in 2014. During the first two years, I studied at the Villaviciosa de Odón campus. The third year I had the opportunity to do an international exchange at UC Berkeley, in California, and in the fourth year, I was a student at the LSE (London School of Economics).
Since the beginning of my university studies, I had the vocation to create my own company. When I finished my degree, I decided to continue my education, while conducting market research in different sectors in order to design a business model that could become a reality.
This is how I identified the need among international students coming to Madrid for a reliable and knowledgeable guide to their real estate rental needs. As soon as I finished my studies, I started by myself to look for apartments in Barrio de Salamanca, and to market them. And so "HousinGo by David de Gea" was born, with a name that allowed me creativity in everything I could do later on.
Describe us a little more about your work. What do you like the most? What challenges do you face every day? Any anecdote you would like to share?
My business is real estate intermediation. I ventured out, starting freelancing, in August 2019. I always say, very proudly, that HousinGo's growth has been organic. In October 2020 I took a strategic location at Ayala 62 in Madrid. Eleven months later we were opening our second office, at Serrano 81, 150 meters from the U.S. Embassy.
From the very beginning, I identified that the real estate sector was marked by an abundance of malpractice. When you carve out a niche for yourself in Madrid's "Golden Mile", the only way to compete with the big boys is to be extremely competent and professional. The challenge we always face is to have the ability to generate trust among owners. Managing the assets of others involves holding the keys to high-end properties, and being aware at all times that our clients' profitability depends on how we do our job in marketing these properties.
With a portfolio of 62 properties for sale, with an average price of €1,270,000, the key to HousinGo's progress has been being able to delegate different tasks to different departments of the company.
What is your best memory at Universidad Europea?
My international stay in Berkeley, California has been key to my business development. Through the European University, I had the opportunity to take an IDP (International Diploma Program) at UC Berkeley, which opened the door to soak in the ecosystem that revolves around entrepreneurship.
There I learned that the limit for the business world is within oneself. In an environment where all business ideas are listened to, and practically all those that fill a need in the market are financed, being present and observing how others move is the best "master class" one can have.
My best memory at the European University is not defined in a moment in time, but in a constant process of evolution and change, which has allowed me to grow, and shape what today is HousinGo, and who today is David de Gea.
What advice would you give to those who have just finished their studies and are now going out into the professional world?
Work is dignifying. I have been fortunate to have lived the entrepreneurial culture since I was a child at home. The vision that my family has brought to "HousinGo by David de Gea" has been immensely useful. That said, it would have been useless if it had not been backed by long days of work.
The only thing I can say is that what has worked for me is to work. In my early days I was attracting properties, positioning them on the internet, managing my agenda, visiting properties with clients, processing offers, preparing contracts, and providing after-sales service. While others were enjoying their free time, I was walking the streets looking for prospects, and while others were sleeping, I was preparing the publications.
In "HousinGo by David de Gea" we treat a client who gives us the keys to his 900€ apartment to rent the same as the one who hires us to sell his 1.500.000€ penthouse with terrace. And I personally make sure that my team continues to work in the same line, because those were the beginnings of HousinGo. To anyone who goes out now to the working world I recommend that they work, that they are professional, and that they are committed to who they want to be, and where they want to go.