His name is Enzo Langer Fuentes, he is Chilean, and at 38 years old he owns two leading real estate companies in his country: Casas Chile SpA and Inmobiliaria Alto El Manzano. In total, he has a turnover of more than US$550 million per year.
Taken from Forbes Colombia
Enzo Langer Fuentes is a man who has always known how to rise above adversity. This happened, for example, when his father was left with nothing after the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997. At just 17 years old and the eldest of five siblings, he thought the best way to get ahead was by starting a business.
With little capital, he improvised a factory for pastries, cakes, and cuchuflies (a typical Chilean sweet) in the back of his house, which quickly allowed him to save enough money to buy a car, which he would later rent out to generate more profit. In addition to these businesses, his creativity motivated him to organize large events in the southern city of Puerto Varas.
All of this led him to have a rather unusual business card, where he changed his name to attract more attention. It read: “Enzo Forlanger, cakes, cuchuflies, events and car rental.”.
“Many people laughed at me for this credit card, but I ignored them and kept working to get ahead,” says the 38-year-old businessman who has now become the owner of two leading companies in the Chilean real estate market: Casas Chile SpA and Inmobiliaria Alto El Manzano. But how did a man who started out selling sweets end up heading two companies that together generate more than US$50 million in revenue annually?
From having everything to having nothing
At 22, after leaving his life in Puerto Varas, Enzo Langer settled in Santiago to dedicate himself to his new business: selling seafood and fish, which he brought to the Chilean capital from the city of Puerto Montt. The work was hard, as he had to go out and sell his products himself on Saturdays and Sundays, one day visiting different hair salons, and the next, setting up outside churches to attract customers.
However, all that effort paid off, and in just a few years, his customers went from being ordinary people to major restaurant chains that he supplied with his seafood. By 2014, Patagonia Chile, the name he gave his company, had become a business with a monthly revenue of over US$400,000.
“Things were going very well for me. With the money I earned, I bought my house, several plots of land, and I could easily support my family. The company grew enormously, to the point that I had a factory with 42 employees at my disposal. However, after that came a very hard blow,” explains Enzo Langer.
As is often the case with rapidly growing companies, in 2014 a prominent Chilean businessman offered a substantial sum to acquire Patagonia Chile, an offer Enzo accepted. The purchase included the plant and the company's contracts with restaurant chains.
After two months of work, during which Langer completed all the necessary paperwork to transfer the company, the buyer failed to pay him the promised sum. After suing and enduring a lengthy trial, Enzo clung to the hope that justice would prevail and he would be paid. Ultimately, that never happened.
All of this meant he was left with nothing, burdened by debts from his previous company, a house he hadn't finished paying off, and a family to support. But like a phoenix, Enzo Langer rose from the ashes, creating two successful companies.
The Renaissance: The Empire of Casas Chile
“After that blow, it took me four years to recover, during which time I created several businesses that barely allowed me to pay off debts and support my family. But it wasn't until 2017 that I began to see the light with Alto El Manzano,” Enzo explains.
After selling two plots of land for US$190,000, which he had previously purchased for US$76,000, he discovered that year how profitable buying and selling rural land could be. His business model is simple and is based primarily on buying a large plot of land and then subdividing it into 5,000-square-meter parcels ready for construction.
However, in 2018, Enzo found his dream business: prefabricated homes. “I realized that the ultimate goal for Chileans was to fulfill the dream of owning their own home, something very difficult to achieve due to the high prices in the real estate market. That's why I decided to venture into this, changing the paradigm of prefabricated homes, moving from offering the typical, unattractive wooden structures to providing modern and dignified housing at a fair price,” he says.
That distinctive style of its properties has led Casas Chile to become the leading name in this type of structure in that country in just three years, with sales exceeding US$50 million annually and one house every 30 minutes.
A business looking to expand
With that level of sales, his flagship company, which already employs 250 people, is ready to expand its reach. The first confirmed destination will be Peru, but Enzo isn't ruling out trying his luck in other countries: “Before the pandemic, in 2019, we had everything ready to launch Casas Perú. Obviously, due to the health situation, we had to postpone everything, but we'll begin operations there soon. Other countries? Of course! But all in due time,” he says.
Langer's plan for next year is to maintain Casas Chile's leading position in the market, establish Alto el Manzano among the top companies in the land parcel sector, and make Casas Perú a successful company in Peru. Outside of the real estate business, he is currently investing in a vineyard in central Chile, with which he intends to export Carmenere wines to China and other international markets.
However, Enzo Langer's ultimate plan differs from that of other entrepreneurs. In five years, he envisions a life further removed from business: “In the future, I would like to expand my business to the point where a larger company offers to buy it. What will I do with the money I receive? Live peacefully and dedicate more time to my family. I have three beautiful daughters and a wife with whom I would like to spend more time, but work makes it difficult,” he explains.
From his early days selling sweets in Puerto Varas to his current status as a prolific businessman, Enzo has worked tirelessly seven days a week. This dedication, which he considers key to his success, has now become his motivation for achieving peace of mind. Isn't it too early to retire at 43? When asked this, he responds emphatically: "True success isn't about having the biggest house or the most luxurious car, but about spending a whole day with your family," he concludes.
