Hmlet CEO on his return, lessons learned, and path to profit

Five years after stepping down as the CEO of Hmlet, co-founder Yoan Kamalski has returned to lead the co-living operator. This time, the company is backed by Japanese real estate developer Mitsubishi Estate rather than venture capital.

“I had unfinished desires to build something really cool,” he tells The Business Times. His return comes as Hmlet’s Asia-Pacific operations were recently reacquired from European co-living operator Habyt.

Returning five years after his departure from Hmlet, Yoan Kamalski wants to do things differently. / Photo credit: Yen Meng Jiin / The Business Times

Founded in Singapore in 2016, Hmlet began as a co-living master-lease operator. It would sign long-term leases on entire properties, renovate them, and sublet rooms to young professionals and expats.

In 2019, the firm raised US$40 million in a series B funding round led by Burda Principal Investments.

Two years later, Burda Principal Investments stepped in to run the company amid the Covid pandemic, which ravaged the co-living sector. It was around this time that a slew of executive departures unfolded, Kamalski’s among them.

Hmlet’s business model meant it signed multiyear leases on properties across four markets – Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, and Tokyo – but its customer base evaporated almost overnight when Covid-19 shut borders. Rent to lessors still had to be paid, and the company bled cash fast.

“I wanted to save the company, save the staff, save the spaces. Should I keep fighting or step down to make sure the company survives?” Kamalski says, reflecting on his decision to step aside.

By April 2022, Hmlet’s investors secured a deal to merge the company with European co-living operator Habyt to act as the latter’s Asia-Pacific operations.

See also: Co-living firms rise above Singapore’s rent hike

After leaving Hmlet in March 2021, Kamalski launched ZenAdmin, a platform for managing IT devices and systems for businesses dealing with remote teams. He will continue to serve as CEO of that company.

He also remained involved in Hmlet’s Japan joint venture and kept close ties with Kenichi Sasaki, CEO of Mitsubishi Estate unit FL Japan. About a year ago, Sasaki spoke to Kamalski about possibly buying the Hmlet name back from Habyt and asked if he could return to the company as a director.

Hmlet co-founder Zenos Schmickrath did not return with Kamalski. Their relationship soured after the latter had asked him to step down.

Kamalski admits this was a mistake, saying that it was “like a break-up.”

Lessons learned

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