The Beginning

Everyone knows the old adage, it’s not about the destination, it is about the journey. Well, when you are face to face with those first steps in your journey knowing how high that hill is you need to climb, man that can make even the strongest men in the world sick to their stomach. This blog is about that journey and the ups and downs, the doubts, the elation, the losses and the victories. The Duer Urakami Group is composed of 2 men taking the leap of faith on a daily basis entering the unknown world of business and taking one step at a time towards their goals. Will they make it? Will they fold under pressure? Will they embrace the journey ahead and keep moving forward no matter what? You are going to find out.

Let me take you back to August of 2013 in Seaside California at the Cal State University Monterey Bay baseball stadium where Matt and Hayden first met. Matt was a veteran redshirt sophomore, coming off of a solid season where the Otter’s won the league championship. Matt had put in his time, earned the respect of his teammates and was ready to be a starter on the team.

I (Hayden) was a freshman, young, eager to make a name for myself and excited to play baseball in college. I had a lot of growing up to do and realized very quickly, this was going to be no walk in the park, especially being at the bottom of the totem pole. What I mean when I say that is, the upperclassmen were at the top, the underclassmen were at the bottom, there was 50 feet of dirt then there was me. 

When you talk about a journey, this sets the stage for a meteoric rise for our partnership as well as success in the business world. 

To sum up the next 10 years to today. Matt was not a fan of me and my goofy personality. He went from walking away from me any time I was near him to us having dinner with our families by his senior year. After college Matt went to work for an accounting firm for a short period of time, then became an entrepreneur starting a few businesses with his brother. After college, I worked my way up in property management from a Maintenance Technician to a Property Manager.

During this time, Matt and I stayed in touch and started discussing our futures and the common theme we noticed was we wanted to eventually buy apartment buildings, but didn’t know how, when, with who, why, or anything… So, we got to work.

As I stated before, this blog is a weekly journal about the journey of an entrepreneur and apartment investor and all we have learned along the way. Enjoy!