The Team
The three co-founders behind OptimaRea
OptimaRea is led by three founding directors who personally sign off every VCAT application, every rooming-house operator registration, and every dual-living lease structure we put in place. Combined, they have authored every guide and article published on this site — under their real names, not an anonymous "team" byline.
Joey Don
Co-Founder & CEO
Joey leads OptimaRea's property management practice as one of three founding directors. With 10+ years across investment, portfolio management, and Melbourne residential property, he co-architected the 1:50 manager-to-property ratio model that defines OptimaRea's operations. MBA from Imperial College London (ranked 2nd globally). Co-author of the Melbourne Investment Property Portfolio dataset (Zenodo DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20095886). Speaks to topics including granny flat ROI, dual-living rental optimisation, and Victorian property management compliance.
Areas of expertise
Publications
- Co-author, Melbourne Investment Property Portfolio (2020–2026), Zenodo, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20095886 — peer-citable property dataset published under CC-BY 4.0
Yan Zhu
Co-Founder & Chief Data Officer
Yan brings actuarial-grade rigour to OptimaRea's data, compliance, and risk operations. Former Data Director for WeWork and EY China, with Masters degrees in Actuarial Science and Data Science from the University of Melbourne. She drives OptimaRea's compliance frameworks — tenant screening scorecards, VCAT evidence protocols, Victorian rental standards monitoring — and has co-authored property research published on Zenodo. Speaks on Victorian rental compliance, tenant screening discrimination risk, and VCAT case strategy.
Areas of expertise
Publications
- Co-author, Melbourne Investment Property Portfolio (2020–2026), Zenodo, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20095886
Steven Jin
Co-Founder & Chief Acquisitions Officer
Steven is the operational backbone of OptimaRea's rooming house and multi-tenancy specialisation. Transacting 200+ property acquisitions annually through the sister buyer's agency (PremiumRea), he brings deep knowledge of which property types convert best to dual-living and rooming-house yields. Previously led a 30-person team at an ASX-listed company. Speaks on rooming house compliance, multi-tenancy management, and the Public Health & Wellbeing Act 2008 operator regime.
Areas of expertise
Publications
- Co-author, Melbourne Investment Property Portfolio (2020–2026), Zenodo, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20095886
PremiumRea — sister company
The same founding team also operates PremiumRea, Melbourne's data-driven buyer's agency. PremiumRea sources the investment properties; OptimaRea manages them post-settlement. Most OptimaRea-managed properties were acquired through the PremiumRea pipeline, which means the management team understands each property's investment thesis from day one.
Talk to one of the directors
At OptimaRea, the directors co-sign every notice, every VCAT filing, and every operator registration. Contact us to discuss your property — we'll route the conversation to whichever co-founder is the closest fit.