David de Gea is an Alumni of the Bachelor’s Degree in International Business at Universidad Europea. Now, he is the director of HousinGo, his own real estate firm that achieved 450 per cent growth in 2021.
David de Gea is an Alumni of the Bachelor’s Degree in International Business at Universidad Europea. Now, he is the director of HousinGo, his own real estate firm that achieved 450 per cent growth in 2021.
Please tell us when you studied and which faculty and campus you were at. How was your journey after completing your studies at Universidad Europea until the creation of HousinGo?
I started studying the Bachelor’s Degree in International Business in 2014. During the first two years, I studied at the Villaviciosa de Odón Campus. In my third year I had the chance to do an international exchange at UC Berkeley in California, and in my fourth year, I was a student at LSE (London School of Economics).
Since the very beginning of my university studies, I had the intention of creating my own business. When I finished my degree, I decided to continue my education while at the same time conducting market research in different industries in order to design a business model that could become a reality.
That was how I identified that international students who came to Madrid had a need for a reliable guide for renting accommodation that was in tune with their living needs. As soon as I finished my studies, I started by myself to look for flats in the Salamanca neighbourhood, and to market them. And thus “HousinGo by David de Gea” was born, with a name that allowed for creativity in everything I could do later on.
Tell us a little more about your work. What do you enjoy the most? What challenges do you face on the daily? Do you have an anecdote you would like to share?
My business is real estate brokerage. I took the plunge and started self-employed work in August 2019. I am always very proud to say that HousinGo has grown organically. In October 2020, I took over strategic business premises at Calle Ayala 62 in Madrid. Eleven months later, we were opening our second office at Calle Serrano 81, just 150 metres away from the US Embassy.
From the beginning, I noticed that the real estate sector was rife with malpractice. When you make your way into Madrid’s “Golden Mile”, the only way to compete with the big boys is to be extremely competent and professional. The challenge we must always face is being capable of gaining owners’ trust. Handling other people’s assets 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 success has been the ability to delegate different tasks to different departments within the company.
What is your best memory from Universidad Europea?
My period abroad at Berkeley, California, has been key to the development of my business. Through Universidad Europea, I had the opportunity to study an IDP (International Diploma Program) at UC Berkeley, which opened the door for me to soak up the entrepreneurship environment.
There I learned that limits in the business world come from within yourself. In an environment where every business idea is listened to, and practically every idea that fills a gap in the market receives funding, being present and observing how others move is the best master class a person can have.
My best memory from Universidad Europea is not defined by a particular point in time, but by a constant process of evolution and change, which allowed me to grow and give shape to what HousinGo is today and who David de Gea is today.
What advice would you give to those who have just finished their studies and are now going out into the working world?
Work is dignifying. I was lucky to have grown up surrounded by a business culture since I was a little boy. The vision my family has contributed to “HousinGo by David de Gea” has been immensely useful. That said, that would have been useless had it not been supported by long working hours.
The only thing I can say is that what worked for me was working. In my early days, I was attracting properties, listing them on the internet, managing my diary, visiting properties with clients, processing offers, preparing contracts, and providing an after-sales service. While others were enjoying their free time, I was walking the streets looking for prospective properties, and while others slept, I was preparing listings.
At “HousinGo by David de Gea” we give the same treatment to a client who gives us the keys to rent their €900 flat as a client who hires us to sell their €1,500,000 penthouse with a terrace. And I personally see to ensuring my team continues to work along the same lines, because I know what HousinGo was when it started out. To anyone who is now entering the working world, I recommend that they work hard, be professional and stay committed to who and where they want to be.