IWG Strategic Partner: The Jacob Brothers, from Music Production and Banking to Real Estate Investments

Coury Jacob was born in Texas and spent his 20s in Northern California, where he earned a degree in finance and international business. After graduating, he joined Wells Fargo and moved to Palo Alto, working in middle market banking. Coury was nominated for a management program and eventually pivoted to the real estate group at Wells Fargo, specializing in high-risk balance sheet loans secured by commercial real estate.

Raymond Jacob, Coury's younger brother, grew up around real estate but initially pursued a career as a music producer. He moved from Texas to California and began cutting records in LA. In 2014, Ray started volunteering for Notes for Notes, a non-profit organization that teaches kids how to produce music. Within two years, he became the COO, overseeing six studios across the country. Today, his role at Notes for Notes involves handling hiring, training, setting up new partnerships, and overseeing the construction and fit-out of music studios. 

Despite his success in banking, Coury always knew he wanted to pursue a career in real estate. "I enjoyed real estate, and my dad has worked in the real estate industry as a broker," he said. "I saw the benefits and enjoyed the work. I tried to cater my professional career to complement what I eventually wanted to do: syndicate real estate deals and build a commercial portfolio."

With this mission, Coury eventually moved to Texas to partner with his father and start to build a real estate portfolio. When a director of partnership growth from IWG reached out with a potential opportunity, Coury was intrigued by what he saw. 

"I've seen first-hand the trends of the office sector, especially large footprint spaces like our building, and I believed in the smaller format, office coworking trend," Coury said. "IWG specifically was the market leader. Partnering with them, you are really benefiting from their expertise, their back end as far as I.T. and sales, and that is what you are paying for."

Coury reached out to Ray, who has a background in coordinating partnerships and facilitating construction, to help manage the project. "My whole business model has been built on collaboration and partnership,” Ray said. “After we did our due diligence on the IWG partnership program, we had a lot of faith in them because we knew we’d be partnering with the industry standard.” 

The Jacobs took about 10 months to finalize the deal and 90 days to outfit the space — a 15,000-square-foot full floor at 8918 Tesoro Dr Suite 200, San Antonio, TX, 78217 — which opened in April. The HQ center quickly reached 50% occupancy within three months, surpassing their original projection of 85% occupancy in 18 months.

“All signs show that the center is set to do very well,” said Ray. “It has been very smooth and enjoyable. As far as running the center goes, it is pretty hands off. IWG has people there who are able to fulfill all those needs, so it allows Coury and I to focus on future growth.”

Speaking of growth, the Jacobs brothers have already identified another potential location for an IWG center and are optimistic about the future. "In a perfect world, we would build out a number of these centers," Coury said. "We are excited to see what the future holds."

The IWG Advantage

IWG has been operating for over three decades, with a footprint that includes 1,200 open locations in North America across four brands — professional workplace brand Regus, creative workplace brand Spaces, hassle-free workplace brand HQ or luxurious workspace brand Signature. As organizations increasingly adopt a hybrid approach to working, IWG offers a unique opportunity for commercial and institutional investors to take advantage of this trend.

“Flexible working isn’t working from home — it is working closer to home, eliminating the commute,” said Berger. “That is forcing organizations to look at their real estate portfolio differently. We are moving away from the 10 to 15-year lease, and building owners need to look and determine their plan for their space moving forward.”

By partnering with IWG, business investors can cater to the demand for flexible workspaces and shorter leases. IWG provides a solution for business investors, offering a partnership agreement in which they invest the capital in converting the space into a flexible workspace. IWG then presells the location, staffs the team, deploys the resources and places it on the world's largest network of flexible workspace sites.

IWG is currently seeking business partners in key markets across North America as it aims to add 1,000 locations per year on its way to 10,000 total units. The brand is targeting business investors that own either a single building or a small portfolio of buildings, have an entrepreneurial spirit and share IWG’s belief that remote work is here to stay and understand that flexibility truly is the future.

Watch the full interview with Coury and Raymond Jacob, here. 

For more information, visit iwgplc.com/develop-a-location.

Check out the IWG webinar series to discover the full potential of your property and hear from our partners how IWG helps you grow your business: https://events.iwgplc.com/webinars