Meet Andrew Younan | Business Development Manager in the Real Estate Tech Industry

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew Younan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Earlier in my Real Estate career I was a pretty conservative person and believed that if I just did my job well I would be able to climb the corporate ladder and reach my full potential. At the time, I was naïve to the fact that sometimes when you do your job really well, employers don’t actually want to promote you because that means they would disrupt the flow of business performance and they would have to find someone to replace you in your previous position. So they dangle a carrot of upward mobility that always seems to be just out of reach in order to keep you motivated and keep you at bay.

I chased this upward mobility for 8 years until I decided to be more of a risk taker and jump ship. I decided to get my Master’s in Business and left shortly after graduating for a job that paid me 30K more a year. Since then, I have used risk as a calculated tool to better my life. I no longer stay at jobs where I feel under valued or under appreciated. Additionally, I realized that the key to financial freedom is multiple streams of income so I decided to start taking more calculated risks by buying investment properties. I’ve purchased 2 investment properties in the last 2 years and plan on building out my real estate portfolio until I can comfortably retire.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I spent over a decade managing diverse property portfolios before ending up in the Real Estate Technology industry. My time in property management was filled with challenging times and obstacles that strengthened my ability to find creative solutions, build valuable relationships, and navigate through adverse/ambiguous situations with a calm and focused approach.

This experience has served me well in joining the Real Estate Technology industry and has allowed me to contribute to the disruption of the traditional Real Estate space. I have worked for companies that use artificial intelligence and big data to help improve the Real Estate customer journey in addition to saving clients time and money.

One of the achievements I have been most proud of in my career is building out a national home services department for a Real Estate Tech brokerage that allows clients to find reliable vendors for all of their home service needs. Knowing how much the department has helped clients in their time of need has made me feel a sense of purpose and watching the department become a revenue generating arm of the company has definitely given me a sense of accomplishment.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would most likely start at the rooftop bar of the Shangri La hotel for drinks, then grab dinner and an ocean view at Elephante, and finish the night with some music and a game of pool at The Bungalow.

We would also hit DTLA for dinner at Spire 73 and a Laker game.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
When I think back to the turning points in my career, I have to give credit to one of my best friends and mentor Charles Wakefield. If it wasn’t for him, I probably would have never pursued a Master’s degree in Business which ultimately opened several new career avenues for me.

While on his journey in higher education, Charles always believed that I was destined for greatness. He would constantly send me opportunities and programs for higher education until one day he sent me an invitation for an info session at Cal State Northridge for their MBA program. I decided to attend and it all fell into place form their.

Instagram: @yando1000

Other: Email: Andrewblueprint@gmail.com