‘No more WeWork-style growth’: Hmlet CEO Yoan Kamalski on his comeback and lessons learnt

[SINGAPORE] About five years after stepping down as the chief executive officer of co-living operator Hmlet, co-founder Yoan Kamalski has returned to the helm, this time backed by real estate developer Mitsubishi Estate rather than venture capital (VC).

“I had unfinished desires to build something really cool,” he told The Business Times. His return comes as Hmlet’s Asia-Pacific operations were recently reacquired by European co-living operator Habyt.

In 2021, Burda Principal Investments – Hmlet’s former investor, which in 2019 led the startup’s US$40 million Series B funding round – stepped in to run the company amid the Covid pandemic, which had hit the co-living sector hard.