From student rooms to brand strategy and relationship building.

Twenty years ago, Nils Vanhauwaert applied for a junior sales position at what he thought would be a townhouse, only to find himself in a ground-floor student room with no doorbell. Today we talk with him about that journey from start-up mentality to a fully developed brand strategy with Upkot, Upliving and Upoffiz. Why does Upgrade Estate call itself not a property developer but a "connection builder"? What does stress research have to do with hexagonal office architecture? And why do they organise events through Upgrade Academy where investors, students and construction partners inspire one another? A look inside real estate that goes beyond stacking bricks.