[Anna]
Welcome to Passionate Magazine podcast, where we explore the visionary leaders shaping industries and driving innovation. I’m your host, Anna. And today we delve into the world of real estate with Mr. Chetan Hayer, who is leading remarkable growth and innovation in the real estate industry. His journey is one of expertise, commitment, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. So let’s get into it. Hello, Chetan.

How are you doing? I really want to thank you for being a part of this episode with me today.

[Chetan Hayer]
Thank you, Anna. I really appreciate you and your company taking the time to spend quality time with us, me and my company here, One Group, to gain the insights that we’re about to. Thank you.

[Anna]
Yeah. So your profound impact on the real estate industry stems from your commitment to delivering high quality projects, innovative financing strategies, and a keen focus on fostering long term relationships, thus setting a precedent for excellence in the field of real estate development. So without any further ado, let’s just get started with some questions so that our audience can discover more about you and your work.

[Chetan Hayer]
Sure. Let’s go ahead. Thank you.

[Anna]
Yeah. So here’s my first question to you. I would love it if you could share with us your journey. How did you come to choose this path of career for yourself and be where you are today?

[Chetan Hayer]
As you are aware, I am a real estate developer. I think the journey must have started very early on when my father was a developer and we pretty much grew up next to his construction site. So we always used to see the way the construction would happen.

And that, I think, left a certain mark in my mind about this business. And then after that, you know, we went on, like I became a civil engineer, post that I went for my master’s to Boston at Bentley University. And then I, my career went in a direction which was very different from real estate.

But then I think when, I guess it was home calling, you know, I always felt a strong urge to be in this space. And then unfortunately, you know, there was an unfortunate event when my father had passed on and I had to take responsibility of my household at the time, my mother, my brother. So I had to kind of come back to India.

That’s where I am originally from. And so I came back and I then started my first real estate company and the first real estate project. Since then, I guess, you know, I continued, I continued doing more efforts in the real estate space, real estate development space.

Another very interesting and a lovely thing happened. My wife and I got married, we were planning for our honeymoon and yeah, and then we came to Nairobi, which is, you know, quite different from what people from India think about a destination for honeymoon. You know, they go to Mauritius, they go to all of those areas.

So, yeah, we came to Nairobi and that was because my sister had already moved to Nairobi with her husband. So that was my connection. So I came here to Nairobi and at that time, I think I was looking for better opportunities.

Let’s just say opportunities where I felt I could grow my company faster. So when I came to Nairobi, we could do some really good stuff here. And that was 2009 when I first visited and 2011, I actually just moved here.

And since then, we’ve been here, yeah, we’ve been here, we’ve done several projects and every time we’ve done a project, it has been quite bigger than the previous one. And we’ve continued to grow. And now, I mean, we’re a pretty significant player in this space and we’re here.

And it’s quite amazing to follow the passion of building high quality real estate so that our customers can get the value that they pay for. And so we are here and we’re very excited to continue to push the boundaries of real estate development within Nairobi.

[Anna]
Wow, that’s truly inspiring. I appreciate you sharing that insight with us. So building on that, I’d love to hear your thoughts on your strategic vision for HairOne Group.

How do you ensure that each project remains innovative while also meeting the evolving demands of the market nowadays?

[Chetan Hayer]
That’s a very good question. So the nature of any real estate project that we pick, obviously, the nature of it is that, you know, it spans out over the next three to four years. So because the projects now that we are handling are of a certain size and a certain scale.

So to the minimum, it’s a cycle of three to four years. So obviously, you have to try and be current with your planning. You have to think about how this market space is going to be four years, five years from now and how relevant will your product be when it’s actually complete.

So we have a whole team that does this work. They look at the market trends in other parts of the world, which are, you know, which are much more developed than Nairobi. And there are a lot of things to be learned from those areas, which can be learned and then put into practice in our projects here in Nairobi.

So it’s a whole team, right from the design stage, from the design to the planning and then the execution. We have different technical teams, different business teams who do their research. And then we, like I mentioned, we deploy new trends into our projects today that are going to be handed over, say, three, four, five years from today.

So, for example, things like, you know, our company has a very clear mandate to make our future designs sustainable. So it’s very important that our next projects, our forthcoming projects are high on the sustainability chart, high on, you know, self-reliance. So if it means that we have to try and produce renewable energy for our projects, try to decrease the energy consumption, make it more optimal.

Also, obviously, also design certain elements and components of the building, which can be a great value add for the residents, for the tenants. So, for example, right now we are about to hand over a project within this month. It is probably the third largest residential project in Nairobi.

It’s called the Marquis. And in that, one of the things that we’ve done is we started a trend of putting fantastic amenities so that the tenants and residents can enjoy these amenities at their doorsteps, right from a cafeteria to a mini theater, to a mini golf and basic things like swimming pool, gym, yoga center, exactly. So, you know, meeting rooms, all those and so many more dry cleaners, you know, the pharmacy and everything.

So these kind of things brings a lot of value to the residents at their doorsteps. And as a result, you know, as a result, their desire to stay there goes up and thereby driving the demand and the value. So, yes, there are some, you know, current trends happening in the developing nations of sustainability that we are putting in our design for the future project.

And at the same time, the amenities and the quality of what we are building continues to improve so that we can continue to be relevant and need for our residents and our tenants.

[Anna]
Wow. So that essence of your plan and idea sounds incredibly valuable. So with your diverse international experience, so how has, you know, how have these different cultural perspectives that you’ve gained while working here since you’ve been working there for since 2009?

Right. So how has this influenced your approach in real estate development when you are working with other countries as well, in case, you know, you have clients? So how do you incorporate these global insights into your projects in Kenya?

[Chetan Hayer]
I think I think first, it probably starts with the will to do it. Right. So so these, I mean, because of the because of the current times we live in, we pretty much know, you know, we pretty much I would say not know, but we’re pretty much aware of what’s happening, you know, around the world, you know, with social media, you know, the world is more connected than ever before.

And I think that’s just happening more and more at a pace which is unreal. So so I guess I guess I guess it’s it’s like today, whether the way the way we think about it is that whether you’re making a. Yeah, I mean, I’ll tell you, like it all starts with, you know, the desire to do it.

So if you today, I truly think that if you think about it, whether you’re doing a real estate development project in Nairobi or Mumbai or Dubai or New York or anywhere in somewhere, you know, you you you have to build it by keeping in mind that, you know, your customers are now world travelers. They know they’re aware, you know, they know what’s aware, what they’re aware of what’s happening in the world. And you need to be able to build you need to be able to design and plan your buildings for those customers that are discerning.

They understand what’s what’s good. They understand what’s bad. They understand the value.

They understand what they want. And I think it starts with that thought. And then, of course, as you move towards the planning and execution, you have to understand the local, you know, your your your markets, your local markets, you know, strengths and weaknesses, what is available, what is not available, what kind of what kind of supply chain are you able to effectively deploy for your project, which ends up obviously determining, you know, the kind of tile you’ll probably put in a in a bathroom, the kind of fittings you will put and whether you can put it, whether you have a contractor who can build a mini theater, you know, things like those.

So, yes, definitely. I think it starts with the thought that let’s accept the fact that today’s customers is more aware than ever before and of what’s happening in different parts of the world. So please plan the projects accordingly.

And thereafter, be very practical about that in your local market, what kind of supply chain can can assist in in making those kind of plannings actually possible and executable. So, yeah, that’s pretty much straightforward approach.

[Anna]
Yeah, so great. I believe our listeners will find that both relatable and motivating as well. So now I am curious to know what would be your future endeavors and where do you see yourself in near future?

[Chetan Hayer]
Thank you for the question, Anna. I think that is obviously a determinant of from where we are coming and where we see the industry trend is heading. True.

So where we are coming from is, you know, we have we are we are like like like you’re aware of, we are real estate developers within Nairobi. Within Nairobi, we have we have done successful projects in two specific spaces, which is high rise residential and high rise commercial. In high rise commercial, we built a class A office project called The Address.

And that is extremely popular amongst one of the top buildings in the location that was built. And within the high rise commercial, the latest project that we are handing over, like I mentioned this month, is called The Marquee. It is probably the third largest residential project in Nairobi.

We’re about to hand over the project. And these have been very successful. Yeah.

And I mean, these have been very successful projects for us. And as a result of the success that the company has received from these two projects and these two spaces, we wish to continue to be in these spaces and make projects which are going to be continued to push the envelope for quality and amenities and the overall sustainability aspect of the projects so that our our customers can continue to get the value and our tenants can continue to get value from being living in these spaces and operating from these spaces. So we are as a result of what we have done and where we are, we feel that we will continue to be in this space with better and bigger projects within Nairobi, within these spaces of high rise residential and high rise commercial.

[Anna]
Wow, sounds really promising. It’s clear that your experiences, you know, have shaped your approach, the way you take on projects and plan out things. So for the young and aspiring individuals looking to make their mark in the real estate industry, what crucial piece of advice would you give them based on your own journey and experiences?

[Chetan Hayer]
That’s a very good question. I don’t think I’m that qualified to give advice, but I think I would love to share, you know, what I feel, you know, I probably have done in order to be where our company is and maybe, you know, your listeners can gather some knowledge from that. I think we have always in this real estate development industry, we’ve always had a thought of being a long term player.

So rather than, you know, like rather than having a thought of let’s get into a project, you know, finish it, complete it and make our money and move on, I think it’s been more how do we continue to provide value to our customers? There are going to be days where your customers may not be happy and then there are going to be days when they’re going to be extremely satisfied and they’ll keep coming to you. But I think our approach of having a long term view on being a long term player in real estate development has been, I think, quite crucial in determining where we are today and I’m guessing where we’re heading.

So that’s one, having a long term perspective and a long term view on your real estate development business. Two is obviously, you know, the probably most important ingredient in any business, not just real estate development, and that is relationship and trust. Developing long term and meaningful relationships are, I think, extremely critical.

The way the industry works in, I’m guessing, any part of the world, including here in Nairobi and other parts, is that people, you know, work with people and if you develop meaningful relationships, relationships that you can trust, then I think you would be, I think we realize that that’s probably one of the reasons why we are today. Because, you know, there are going to be good times, there are going to be not so good times. And during not so good times, the trust that has been instilled in the relationships that you’ve developed over the period of many years, through that look, through the view that you have, really comes to help you and assist you in moving on.

And I mean, I can tell you in my experience, you know, we’ve come to many situations where we are wondering, would we really be able to open our office the next day? Would we, you know, would we be in business the next week? And thanks to the relationship, I’m telling you, Anna, I mean, thanks to the relationships you’ve developed over the period of time that has been really helpful in bringing us to the level that we have today.

And the trust that has been instilled in those relationships. And yes, I do want to mention and I do want to mention that sometimes, you know, those trusts can be broken. Sometimes that happens, you know, these things happen in life.

But I think the benefits that you will end up having as a result of trusting your good relationships will far, far outweigh any kind of small losses as a result of breaking up the trust. I have been in those situations where my trust has been broken and I have had losses. But the benefits we’ve received as a result of trusting your relationships have been far greater.

So that would be the second thing that I feel really assisted us to be where we are. The third thing is probably, I think the third thing is probably the, you know, is what has led to a lot of businesses going through the tough times we’ve been through over the last few years and continue to. And that is having a very, you know, having resilience and grit.

Right. So I think you need to be very strong in this business. We’ve gone through Covid, gone through the Ukraine war, still going through it, I guess.

And I think presently probably the biggest inflation crisis the world may have seen and going through that, that those phases for a real estate development company, you need to be strong, you need to be able to maintain a high level of grit so that you’re able to complete the things that you’ve undertaken. I think completing the things that you’ve undertaken is what really determines your success for the next project. And I think that’s the third thing that I think has helped us to be where we are.

And the last one is obviously, you know, you need to be abreast and current with the trends, which I mentioned in my presentation earlier. You know, you have to be current with what you want to do, how your product is going to look like three, four, five years from now when it’s ready, or how relevant would it be 10 years from now? And I think those kind of thinking, that kind of a thought process is extremely important that has led us to where we are today.

Like I mentioned, we are about to hand over the Marquis, probably the third largest residential development in Nairobi. It has amenities that no other development has, and that was thought about almost five years ago. And it has now come to a point where they’re not just relevant, they’re beyond relevant.

And I think that kind of thinking has really made our projects, you know, the point that we have. So I hope your listeners can, you know, gather some good insights from them and hopefully it will guide and motivate them for their industry development businesses.

[Anna]
I believe that our listeners would find that extremely useful. That was extremely amazing. Thank you so much for taking us on a quick little tour of your professional life.

It was an enriching experience for me as well, talking with you today, Chetan.

[Chetan Hayer]
I really want to appreciate the time that you and your company has taken to get some insights through this interview. And I really appreciate the time that you have given me and my company, Hair One. We really appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

[Anna]
Yeah, thank you so much. All right. I hope you have a great day ahead.

[Chetan Hayer]
You too. Thank you, Anna.

[Anna]
And that wraps up our great conversation with Mr. Chetan Hair, the visionary force behind Hair One Group. I hope you found inspiration in his commitment to precision, innovation and creating spaces that truly enrich lives. Thank you so much for tuning in to the Passion Aid magazine podcast.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe for more compelling conversations with leaders shaping the future. Until next time.