2019 Ones to Watch: Britt Zaffir, Kin

Name: Britt Zaffir

Title: CEO

Company Name: Kin

Address: 335 Madison Ave #6A, New York, NY 10017

What do you consider to be your greatest success in the past 12 months?
Launching Kin, a first-of-its-kind housing brand for families living in cities. Families want to stay in the cities they love, but city living is not designed for them. With Kin, we are solving this problem, revolutionizing city living for families through community, technology, and tailor-made multifamily developments that address the stresses of raising children in cities. Kin delivers a superior living experience, enabling families to sign up for on-site programming, coordinate shared childcare, and ultimately live better. The first Kin home in Long Island City is up and running and we’ll be in three new cities in the next year.

How have your life experiences impacted who you are professionally?
I grew up in a family where my mother worked in the hospitality industry and my father worked in the real estate industry. I loved learning about each of their professions and always knew that I would follow their footsteps. I started my career working as a management consultant focused on the hospitality and gaming sectors, followed by professional experiences in commercial real estate, Airbnb and then multifamily real estate. With Kin, I now have the opportunity to combine my passion for both hospitality and real estate in delivering tailor-made living experiences directly to urban families. 

Who or what do you attribute to your success?
Much of my success with Kin comes from what I learned in my three years as a senior real estate acquisitions lead at Common, the nation’s largest coliving operator. I drove some of the company’s biggest market expansions in a period of rapid growth, including in Boston and Washington, D.C. I also worked with the city of New Orleans and a developer on the first affordable coliving project. Growing the Common portfolio gave me the skills and resources I needed to take on the role of CEO at Kin to develop purpose-built family housing and streamline city living for families. 

What was your favorite thing to do when you were a kid?
Go on airplanes! I loved the experience of looking at cities from a birds eye view and seeing how everything connected–streets, parks, buildings and homes. Also, my parents used to only let me drink soda on planes, so that was an extra bonus!