Meet Cagatay Sevil | Co-Founder Youthinn

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

Hi Cagatay, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
When you move away from your own country, you are already starting a journey into the unknown. The unknown journey starts with finding housing. At that point, you are already a foreigner to everything. You don’t know the culture and the system. Also, English, or the local language is not your first language, which creates an extra barrier between you and others. You don’t know the geographical location where you are going to live. You don’t know anyone. Additionally, currency differences can make a financial challenge, particularly if your country’s currency is weaker compared to the US dollar. So, as an international student, you have really limited money in your pocket. You don’t want to be scammed or spend extra money for nothing. Even now, if you have extra money in your pocket for renting a house, you still might not be able to rent a house with the current student housing crisis. These are already big issues and create lots of stress for you.

As an international student many times in the US, I have faced extreme stress and anxiety in terms of searching for housing. I needed to think about “where I was going to live?”, “Is it going to be safe?”, “What kind of people am I going to live with?” Those questions were unknown to me. However, soon I realized that I was not the only one. Even I do know some friends who could not go for their education abroad because of not being able to find accommodation. Many students were experiencing the same situation just like me. It does not matter in which country you are going to study, whether Europe or the US. The student housing crisis is real and it affects many students around the world. Moreover, students cannot focus on their studies because of trying to find trustworthy and affordable housing. With the current housing crisis, students’ mental health is suffering more than we can imagine.

After witnessing and experiencing these problems firsthand, I’ve gained insight into the underlying issues. Although the housing options are limited, the main issue is landlords and tenants/students are not trusting each other. Before agreeing on accommodation, both parties want to know each other. Especially if the householder lives at the same property with the tenant. Householders want to know much more about the students such as their education, profession, their personal preferences, and to have a stable income and to be able to pay the rent. If they are international students, those questions significantly become more important.

After I highly experienced this housing process, I found Youth Inn. This community-driven solution is designed to simplify the rental experience for both property owners and international students. In response to the challenges faced by international students in finding affordable and reliable housing, trust issues between landlords and students, lack of transparency, and the complexity of proving financial stability are just a few of the hurdles. Youth Inn aims to address these pain points and redefine the student housing experience.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
You will be tested many times before you make your goals real. You will be asked, “Are these things really your goals, or just desires?” Throughout our career journey, life presents us with so many opportunities. At that point, most people follow the crowd, and many determine their career paths according to what is popular. Following the crowd prevents you from finding your own passion. However, when we distance ourselves from the crowd and listen to our true inner voice, we begin to understand ourselves better. Understanding our true selves helps us determine what we like and what we don’t. However, to discover our full potential, knowing ourselves is not enough. We should go through a variety of career experiences and educate ourselves on multiple topics. I always believe limiting ourselves to one topic narrows our perspective of the world. Therefore, I think we should focus on changing our perspectives every day. This is what makes our world larger than it was yesterday. Having a variety of experiences helps us find our life goals more effectively. When you find your true goal in life, even if it’s a difficult path, it becomes hard to give up on your own goal. This is what makes us unique in our career journey.

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 be picking up my friend from the LAX airport, and would take him directly to In-N-Out just next to the airport to give him a warm LA welcome! In the morning time, a visit to Runyon Canyon Park is so ideal for feeling relaxed and enjoying the panoramic views of the city from a distance. For breakfast, I would recommend Urth Caffe in Santa Monica, known for its organic coffees and fresh pastries. Later, to truly experience the essential Californian lifestyle, Santa Monica and Venice Beach are a must! These iconic locations offer scenic beauty, vibrant street life, and beach cultures that define Los Angeles!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give recognition in my story to “Yetkin Gencler” -an education based on a 21st-century Century Skills program including group work, presentation skills, financial skills, algorithmic thinking, modeling with Excel, sustainability, social innovation, career planning, and, entrepreneurship. At the beginning of my career journey, I had a chance to get that education from Prof. Dr. Erhan Erkut which changed my whole perspective about the career world. After being surrounded by entrepreneurship awareness, I was not able to work for someone else again.

Website: youthinn.co

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cagataysevill/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cagataysevil/