2021 Ones to Watch: Ege Ozcan, Jafri Capital, LLC

Name: Ege Ozcan

Title: Senior Associate

Company Name: Jafri Capital, LLC

Real estate associations or organizations that you are currently a member of: REDNYC, YREPNY

What recent project, transaction or accomplishment are you most proud of?
At Jafri Capital, we recently initiated the development phase of JafCap which is our brand new PropTech platform. Through this platform, we will be able to match selective investors from our Rolodex with CRE sponsors without the need for a full underwriting team which will allow us to save a lot of time and money. Our sponsors will reach out to us without preparing a full proforma as our platform both automatically underwrites and projects the income and provides return metrics until their desired sale date. I have been a key part of the team for this upgrade both on the real estate and product side which allows me to leverage all of my abilities as I have a background in product management as well.

Who was/is your mentor and how did s/he influence/help you in your career?
My mentor is my father, (Hulki Ozcan). From him, I learned to treat people the way I want to be treated, to put myself in other people’s shoes (and mindsets), how to engage courageously regardless of fear or anxiety, and how to remain my authentic self despite any changing tides around me. These are some of his greatest qualities, and I work every day to embody them.

How do you keep your team motivated despite conflicts and obstacles?
To me, it’s important to monitor and make sure that my team is on the same page with regards to what our short-term and long-term goals are and what specific things we need to do in order to get to each one. As things can get complicated at times, making sure that your expectations are clear will help minimize any and all conflict or disagreement that might arise within your team. Of course, issues will always arise, but being the most prepared possible for them by keeping everyone up-to-date objectives-wise makes for effective leadership.

How do you contribute to your community or your profession?
Community-wise, I like to advise my younger family members as well as other young people I know back in Turkey. I participate in a local Turkish organization where I advise students who want to make a career in commercial real estate finance and/or data science. I also try to attend networking events through the groups I am a member of as well as my alma mater’s events.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was growing up I wanted to be a basketball player and play in the NBA. This was the original reason why I moved to the U.S. when I was in high school. After playing college basketball and dealing with some tough injuries, I decided to hang it up and not attempt to play pro basketball as I would have had to move back overseas. Instead, I wanted to give this career a shot as I saw a lot of opportunities here in the U.S.

What led you to your current profession?
I got started in this business managing a family office’s U.S. operations. The family was based in the Middle East, and they reached me through my Turkish family’s connections. As a 25-year-old, creating investment portfolios for real estate properties and piloting business plans was a humbling experience. After having successfully provided actionable intelligence to the family, I knew commercial real estate was the right path for me to grow in, which led to me taking my current job at Jafri Capital 2 years ago.

Top three things on your bucket list: 
1. Create a product/brand that has a long-term effect on society,
2. Travel to all the continents,
3. Be able to actively play sports in my 80s.

Favorite quote:
“The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.” -Walter Bagehot