Why Patek Philippe watches matter to Hong Kong’s Aaron Lee, CEO of Dash Living, which runs co-living spaces in the city and in Singapore
Millennials and Gen Z recognise the value of time, and Lee’s Aquanaut Chronograph and 175th Anniversary World Time luxury timepieces are a sign of his entrepreneurial drive to seize the moment – in business and in life
They are also less afraid than previous generations when it comes to owning up to their preferences. The desire to be selective about how they want to spend their time and to not feel bogged down are factors that gave rise to the popularity of the shared workspace and, more recently, co-living spaces.
Aaron Lee, founder and CEO of Dash Living, one of Hong Kong’s first co-living operators, understands what time means to his generation. “Unlike any other resource, time is something that all of us are given in a certain amount. Not more, not less. It is up to us to be physically and mentally in a position to seize opportunities at the right moments,” he says.
Lee took his own advice – and the opportunity – to build a serviced co-living space project in 2014 that has since expanded in Hong Kong and now overseas. Expansion to Singapore, he says, happened despite the global lockdown, and Dash now offers more than 1,000 living spaces between the two cities.
While 2020 took an unexpectedly traumatic turn, Lee says the first half of the year saw over 90 per cent occupancy. It’s evident that being grounded has done little to dampen his keenness to move forward and think ahead. “More projects are being discussed in Hong Kong, Singapore, and more tier-1 cities in APAC,” he says.
The pandemic may have kept us indoors more than ever before, but that doesn’t mean solitude for this entrepreneur. Instead, he is taking time to give back to the community. It’s something, says Lee, that brings satisfaction and has a positive impact on those looking to kick-start ventures.
“I have integrated volunteering as part of my lifestyle,” he explains. “Since 2016, I’ve been the board director and a regular mentor at Time Auction, a charity that advocates volunteerism. I volunteer my time in private sharing sessions with the next generation, giving young people a chance at entrepreneurship by mentoring them through my experiences as a serial entrepreneur in different industries.”