When Craig Carracher first met his business partner, Stephen Gaitanos, he was somewhat reluctant to team up.

“He was only a young fellow. He's 15 years younger than me, and he put his hand up and said, ‘I'd like to come across as your junior,'" Carracher recalls. “And I said, ‘Look, I'm not going to pay you for five years. I'm not sure I like you... I owe you nothing.'" 

But Gaitanos was all in. 

Twelve years since starting their joint venture, Scape – now part of the broader housing enterprise, The Living Company – the duo has dominated the student accommodation sector.

On this week’s episode of How I Made It, host Lauren Sams finds out how this co-founder spotted a gap in the housing market to build a $20 billion empire.

This podcast was sponsored by Sinch Engage.

Further reading:

Alex Vynokur bet the house on ETFs. He won

The aspiring entrepreneur knew the odds were stacked against his start-up, Betashares. 

How this 26-year-old built a $100m robotics company

Andromeda founder Grace Brown reveals how her hi-tech companion, Abi, has disrupted an industry.