Mint House CEO on Engaging Early With Landlords

Christian Lee joined Mint House as CEO in March, and 100 days into the role and a year after the company’s $35 million fundraise, Lee has his work cut out for him. But the former WeWork CFO isn’t a stranger to a volatile industry. 

I caught up with Lee yesterday to learn more about the direction New York-based Mint House will take under his helm. Following are the highlights from the conversation.

The company continues to focus on acquiring Class A properties — managing apartments in multifamily buildings. Lee noted that the focus is not only on expanding to more markets in the U.S. (global expansion isn’t a priority for now) but also bringing more units within its fold as well as managing entire buildings. Mint House’s major challenge right now is the lack of brand awareness. This is especially hard to overcome with a small marketing budget. “We are relatively small compared to hotel chains, and we don’t have the budget to do Super Bowl ads, so raising awareness among both landlords and customers continues to be a challenge,” Lee said. The company manages the units under revenue-share agreements with building owners. Lee noted that Mint House has started working with landlords earlier in the process, getting involved in redevelopme