There is more to being successful in property development than paying the right price for a piece of land and building an impressive high-rise structure that comes in on budget.
For Melbourne-based property developer and founder of ICD Property, Michael Mai, success is about everything from creating "beautiful buildings for the people" through to ensuring his team have opportunities to grow and develop.
In 10 years, Mai has turned ICD Property into one of Melbourne's most successful property development companies with projects across Australia and New Zealand valued at more than NZ$2.4 billion including the 65-level Eq. Tower in Melbourne and its first high-rise tower project in central Auckland at 65 Federal Street.
"We have a young team with diverse expertise, but our common passion is giving back to the community. We want to create beautiful buildings and spaces that the whole community can experience and something that stands the test of time.
"We might be building a hotel for tourists to stay in, or apartments for city residents, but we always make sure the community is able to experience it – be it through green spaces, restaurants and eateries, a food market, or retail shops that everyone can enjoy."
In Auckland, Mai's collaborative and community driven focus, which is at the core of ICD Property's philosophy, was showcased last year when it conducted an international design competition to find a design for its Federal Street project.
The company asked five internationally renowned architects to take part with each submitting two designs – the first followed current city planning rules and the second showcased what could be built with generous planning regulations and a primary focus on design excellence.
"We like to work in places with good people and a strong and diverse cultural make up so New Zealand was always attractive to us. A large portion of our team have travelled to New Zealand as tourists and have always been excited by the prospect of working here.
"We chose Auckland as the home of our next development because we saw a liveable city with plenty of space to grow. There is potential to build a beautiful multi-use high-rise with great views of the harbour, the volcanic cones and the many other unique natural features Auckland has.
"I believe Federal Street is a chance for Auckland to set a new international benchmark for quality and liveability, he says."
Mai was born into a highly successful Chinese business family and moved to Melbourne when he was 16 to attend Scotch College in Melbourne.
His family and cultural heritage has played a major part in forming his approach to both business and construction. His father is a successful businessman with an entrepreneurial spirit and his mother is Buddhist so, he says, the two diverse ideologies work well together in a business sense.
"I am heavily influenced by my family and my culture. It's provided me with the skills to grow and manage an innovative business, keep a level head under pressure and to have the confidence to take risks.
"I think ICD captures the entrepreneurial spirit while creating a family-like culture and that idea of giving something back. We are focused on creating benchmark projects of the highest quality for residents.
"When we first started, I tried to build a team based on experience, but after two years in business it wasn't working. I was only 25, so not only was it challenging for me to manage a team of very experienced employees, we realised the culture wasn't right.
"We discovered we wanted to create a sense of family, to focus on innovation, and for that entrepreneurial spirit to come through. We hired a young and creative team, and then made the decision to outsource certain work to expert consultants and we now have a well-established group of trusted partners we work with across all of our projects.
"This approach allowed my team to grow internally. Being able to give them development opportunities that will benefit them in the future, and to pass on my knowledge to help them grow, is how I define my success."
Recently, Mai stepped up into the position of ICD chairman to make way for Matthew Khoo as managing director who will continue to drive ICD Property's current and existing projects.
"Cities are fascinating and understanding how people live in cities is hugely important," he says. "When you visit a new country, the first impression you get of that country is when you see the city. In Melbourne I saw there was an opportunity to create beautiful high-rise buildings and positively contribute to the aesthetic of cities in Australia, so we did."
"Giving back is important to me because not everyone is born into fortunate circumstances. We aren't all given the same start in life, so I think it is important to help and support people to reach their goals."
He established the Mai Foundation, a philanthropic venture, to support young people with training and seed funding to develop social enterprises. The Foundation also leads projects focussed on helping those in poverty such as FareShare, which takes surplus food and cooks free meals for people doing it tough.