Founder, Mgr. Elena Jakubovic MBA
My life story could form the screenplay for a movie I hope to write one day. Yet before I get to that, here’s the short version.
Y&T Luxury Property was founded on 26 March 2010. I wanted to build a company differentiated from the stereotype of real estate agencies in the Czech Republic, one that would offer customers better services and an empathetic approach.
I had never worked in the real estate business before, my previous career being in the telecoms business. As a key account manager for a phone manufacturer and distributor, I was in charge of listing new portfolios, creating marketing campaigns, and sales to national mobile operators and international wholesale companies. How did I get from mobile-phone hardware sales to the world of luxury real estate? Here is the full story if you are interested in learning more…
I was born in Kyiv to a Czech family that had moved to Ukraine at the end of the 19th century and lived close to a Czech town in Ukraine called “Vyšehrad” (Kyiv region). My great-grandmother and great-grandfather were jailed as political prisoners in the Urals during World War II, paying dearly for their entrepreneurial success in agriculture. Their three children (including my grandmother) managed to escape from a concentration camp, and that’s partly why I’m here today.
My arrival in the Czech Republic was not driven by my personal life or any brilliant plan to start a new business. I gained a scholarship for ethnic Czechs from the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic for my active participation in the work of the Czech community in Kyiv. I left for my new life in the Czech Republic with a master’s degree and 70 dollars in my pocket. My scholarship was 6,000 crowns, which seemed like a fortune at the time. Yet the reality was tougher than I had expected, and I can now honestly admit that most of my savings were spent, quite unpoetically, on food.
I had never worked in real estate before starting Y&T Luxury Property, although I came quite close once with an interview for a job at a real estate agency. The result? They said I was not suited for the job at all. So I put my real estate career to one side, and headed in a different direction. Until one day, perhaps a fateful day, an acquaintance asked me to help sell his house.
I didn’t sell the villa for 30 million, which would have been perfect for this story, but the clients liked the way I presented the property and how I thought about the sale during the tours. So they began offering me their own properties to sell.
That was a long time ago, but it inspired me to create a company that is fair to talented brokers and gives everyone an equal chance to succeed.
Even after many years in the business, I believe in the business spirit, in tenacity, and a passion for real estate, and I want my work to be a joy. It’s my dream job that combines history, architecture, business and marketing. I love every minute.
I chose a women’s team because it appeals to both women and men. I also wanted, to the best of my ability, to correct the global imbalance in business, still dominated by men.
I think that external and internal beauty are not in conflict, which is why I choose exceptional personalities for my team. Each of them has their own unique style, but together we form a single company - Y&T Luxury Property.
I am grateful to everyone who is growing together with our company. Even after years in the real estate business, I still see huge potential here. It’s a combination of the genius loci of beautiful places and the opportunity to create a dream home, but also a smart investment. When all these parameters are met, we know that our work brings true value to our clients and joy and satisfaction to us.
We have advertising campaigns that are very uncommon for our industry and in which we are not afraid to dance and sing. We can afford to do so because we are experts and have a successful record behind us. Our brokers receive an average satisfaction rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars.
Will this be the end of the story? Not at all! The world around us is full of opportunities. We are looking forward to transforming them into shared success and great deals for our clients.