In 2008, Kam Zainabadi grew interested in real estate, just as he completed his residency and started practicing as a general surgeon.
When he was 11 years old, Kam Zainabadi and his family moved to the United States. It was living in the United States that made him discover the value of hard work and education.
Kam Zainabadi and his family were immigrants of modest means. So, he knew he had to work extra hard to fulfill his dreams and leave something behind for his own family. He went to UCLA for college and then continued on to study medicine.
However, Kam Zainabadi also knew he had to do something more. This is how the seeds for Park Place were planted. He started investing in real estate, and then in tech startups, which grew his network.
With a large network behind him, Kam Zainabadi started Park Place. The company is an “online marketplace for commercial real estate deals.”
Kam Zainabadi and Park Place lets investors join “the large developers as partners in multi-million dollar deals as passive partners without needing to deal with the day to day management of these properties.”
For Kam Zainabadi, inspiration comes from the American Dream, which he saw in the successful people around him. He believes that hard work and the right attitude will lead to success in the US.
Check out more interviews with real estate founders here.
My drive is always internal. Kam Zainabadi, Park Place
Jerome Knyszewski: None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Kam Zainabadi: This is definitely true as there have been several people during different phases of my life that have helped me out on my journey.
My parents, my 6th-grade teacher who taught me English and American way of life, my surgical attending who mentored me, and currently my partners at Park Place who work so hard at making my dream come true.
Jerome Knyszewski: Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Kam Zainabadi: My drive is always internal. It is to succeed in whatever I am doing. Not sure exactly where this drive comes from.
It is partly due to immigrant mentality, and perhaps partly genetics?
We believe every person should have more of their investments in real estate.
Jerome Knyszewski: What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Kam Zainabadi: Park Place is all about making it easier for investors to invest in large commercial real estate deals. We believe every person should have more of their investments in real estate.
We all have seen how the stock market can be volatile and if you are close to your retirement and the market takes a dip, then there is not enough time for you to recuperate all your losses.
That’s why real estate is such a great investment. We also are growing very organically without accepting any venture capital money.
We want to focus on our goals and succeed in our mission without outside influence which makes us unique.
Many of the real estate investors and developers have really embraced our mission and have led to the tremendous growth of our platform.
I was very nervous in my first meeting I had with a developer and was afraid that he would dismiss the entire idea.
However, he thought it was such a great idea. That made me think, Ok I am not crazy. Let’s push forward.
Jerome Knyszewski: Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Kam Zainabadi: Be resilient, don’t give up on your idea, learn to deal with people and be a team player, be a lifetime learner, always grow, always listen and try to understand another person’s perspective, especially when it comes to your company.
Jerome Knyszewski: How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Kam Zainabadi: I have mentored many people and have donated to charity.
I don’t try to micromanage everything.
Jerome Knyszewski: Now that you have gained this experience and knowledge, has it affected or changed your personal leadership philosophy and style? How have these changes affected your company?
Kam Zainabadi: I definitely listen more to other’s perspectives. I am a better delegator of tasks and rely on others to do the task correctly. I don’t try to micromanage everything.
There just isn’t enough time. I let others lead, as leadership requires trial and error and everyone has their own style of leadership.
Jerome Knyszewski: This series is called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me”. This has the implicit assumption that had you known something, you might have acted differently.
But from your current vantage point, do you feel that knowing alone would have been enough, or do you feel that ultimately you can only learn from experience?
I think that learning from mistakes is the best way, perhaps the only way, to truly absorb and integrate abstract information. What do you think about this idea? Can you explain?
Kam Zainabadi: I think learning involves several steps 1) book learning 2) taking action and acting upon what you have learned 3) analyzing what went right and wrong and seeing how you can improve on it.
It can be that you may need more book learning, or you need more experience, etc.. 4) acting upon what you learned with the new gained insight.
I don’t agree that you should keep on failing. Failure needs to be an educational process. Unfortunately, some people just don’t have the ability or humility to learn from their failures.
They just continue to retrace the same failed paths over and over again. Avoidable mistakes shouldn’t happen as they usually result from a failure in following the above steps.
I let others lead, as leadership requires trial and error and everyone has their own style of leadership. Kam Zainabadi
Jerome Knyszewski: You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Kam Zainabadi: We need to create a greater sense of community — from micro-scale to macro — it starts with getting to really know your family — your kids, spouse, parents, and the 2nd degree.
Really spend time with them and get to know them. Then expand this to your neighbors and their town and keep on expanding.
One of the biggest problems in our current society is that we have replaced our communities with social media.
Jerome Knyszewski: How can our readers further follow your work online?
Kam Zainabadi: I am on Linkedin and Facebook. My email is: drzainabadi@gmail.com Also they can visit Park Place here.
Jerome Knyszewski: This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
