Jade Shenker – Disrupting Commercial Real Estate and Making it Sexy

• You've been described as someone who is disrupting the commercial real estate industry. Why commercial real estate and what strategies have you introduced that set you apart?

Commercial real estate is a 21 Trillion dollar industry that is still operating as if we we’re in the 90’s. It’s the most lucrative and interesting part of real estate to me, so as I began my career, I saw what was missing (marketing, strategy, storytelling, and specification) when owners weren’t able to transact their properties.

It was because they weren’t able to articulate the vision on how the building could be of value to an investor in a captivating way, it lacked the storytelling aspect of it, and the ability to capture the attention of the target buyer when going to market.  

Growing up in a real estate family, add-value strategy was what was taught to be along with my alphabets. It’s in my blood, so it’s only natural that I express those talents into my career.

• Jade, in a traditionally male-dominated world like commercial real estate, how does embracing your own sense of sexiness empower you and help shape your powerful presence in the industry?

Sexiness is confidence to me, and I find it empowering to be able to throw your passion into the way that you carry yourself and conduct business. Everyone has sexiness, it’s just finding your strut.

Rather than letting people tell me to fit into a box to be taken seriously, it made me learn to work 10x harder (and smarter.) I’ve learned to utilize it by inspiring people, by story telling, and by offering a new perspective on how to sell commercial real estate.   

• As a trailblazer, you're inspiring women worldwide. How do you see your role in paving the way for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?

I hope to inspire woman to never let anyone dim their fire. Do the things that fuel it, everyday. People will doubt you. Let them. Then use it to light a fire to burn even brighter.

I strive to be the business woman that I wanted to look up to when I was younger. A business mogul that could be multifaceted – one that would embrace being sexy, being intelligent, being passionate, being astronomically strategic + savy… and even sometimes being (dare I say it), human. 

• Being a notable prominent figure in both NYC real estate and fashion, how do you balance these two dynamic industries in your daily life?

Fashion is a way of saying something when you walk into a room without speaking, and I’ve used that method to tell the story of my properties to help us hit major milestones. 

Real estate buildings are the fashion to the New York city streets. Commercial real estate is what builds cities and economies. As an Aknvas dress is to my body, I see real estate as artwork. You just need to know what story to tell, and who that story can be sold to. 

Photographer:  James ‘JD’ Barnes 

Fashion Stylist & Creative Director:  Mickey Freeman 

Makeup artist:  Anthony Merante 

  Hair stylist: Christina Rendall 

 Videographer:  Matt Motyl

Stylist assistant: Carla Martinez 

Talent: Jade Shenker