Photo by: Wali Uqdah
The Best Business Partner Either Could Ask For
1/26/2022 10:22:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Student Athlete, Support, Features
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
Former collegiate track stars Khalil Uqdah and Kyara Gray are an unlikely couple – Uqdah from Lehigh, Gray from Lafayette.
Don't they say opposites attract?
Today, Uqdah and Gray are not only husband and wife, but also co-founders of a seven-figure real estate empire called Charm City Buyers.
"Making a positive impact in people's lives is our passion," said Uqdah, a 2010 Lehigh graduate who still holds the program record for the pole vault. "That's the core of what we're doing, it's what helps us get up in the morning and what motivates us when times are hard. With development, we want to make a positive impact on the macro level as well as the micro level."
What is Charm City Buyers exactly?
"We're real estate developers and educators," said Uqdah. "We buy, fix and either hold-to-rent or sell properties. And on the other side, we help folks understand that landscape. They learn it, navigate it and we provide the tools and knowledge to help others be proficient in real estate development, specifically in Baltimore (which is where Uqdah grew up)."
On the property side, Charm City Buyers does a few different things.
"We sell market-rate homes," said Uqdah. "We sell affordable homes as well through nonprofits. We help position buyers to benefit from grants, tax credits and other dollars that can help them afford a home. It's another way to give back and gives buyers the chance to use their income for a higher quality of life."
Today, Uqdah and Gray are in a strong position as a highly-successful company, but it didn't happen overnight.
Let's flash back to the beginning of their story – when the two met in 2008.
"I'm a year behind Khalil," said Gray, a 2011 Lafayette graduate. "I saw him before he saw me. Of course, I watched him pole vaulting. Everyone knew who he was. At that time, he had the long locks and was really killing it in the pole vault.
"We have some mutual friends that brought him to Lafayette one night and we hung out," she continued. "That's when we officially met."
Uqdah graduated Lehigh as a business management and economics major while Gray majored in economics and finance at Lafayette. Gray was interested in real estate from a young age.
"I grew up in a town where farmland would be sold and houses built on top of it, so I watched that transformation really young and fell in love with what that looked and felt like… and how communities grew," she said. "I had a family history of community building. After college, when we were transitioning into adulthood and the real world, real estate was something we were both interested in and saw ourselves doing long term. It hit our goals individually, and what we could do together."
Married in 2013, the two worked full time and started Charm City Buyers on the side (in 2012) before taking on Charm City Buyers full-time beginning in 2016.
"Beforehand, as a program director for a nonprofit in Baltimore, I was focused on helping students afford and navigate independent, private schools," said Uqdah.
Uqdah's business management degree and background could be applied to just about anywhere.
"I knew I was entrepreneurial," he said. "I knew that climbing the corporate ladder wasn't going to be my long-term goal, so I was interested in – and passionate about – something where I'd have the freedom and flexibility to grow a business and provide a healthy lifestyle for myself, build wealth and make a positive impact on communities and the world."
Gray's post-graduate path initially brought her to a Fortune 500 (ranked in the top 100) insurance company before transitioning to lead operations for a software development company.
"I was helping build, grow and scale a tech firm in Baltimore," she said.
Undoubtedly, Uqdah and Gray would have been successful if they continued down their original paths, but they've developed and grown something better. It's better not just because of the financial success, but most importantly, the impact on people's lives.
"When you think about Baltimore, you may think about the blocks of houses that have been blighted (vacated, abandoned) for decades," said Gray. "For us, it's about turning those vacant houses into homes and showing the folks in the communities, or those who may have judged the communities, that there is opportunity here. There's opportunity, there's life, there's beauty. We're able to help breathe more life into communities and give the community an opportunity to bring what they see and love to fruition."
That transformation is the most fun part for Uqdah and Gray.
"It's about coming in and doing it the right way, being very intentional about what we're doing and how we're doing it so everyone benefits," said Gray. "So we're able to help build wealth with the existing community, help give those who are moving into these spaces the opportunity to grow as the community continues to grow and be able to show what's possible.
"We can go into these neighborhoods and do amazing things without needing some big huge developer to come in, cash out and move on," Gray continued.
Uqdah and Gray help others in multiple ways. When they first started Charm City Buyers, they focused more on themselves and developing their business, which at its core turns houses into homes. Another important piece is educating and empowering other aspiring real estate developers.
"The Next Gen Acceleration program is the program where we're teaching, showing and providing the resources, guidance and tools to participants who are interested in investing in real estate in Baltimore – whether it's starting their portfolio or growing it," said Gray. "That program is our family, that's our baby, that's the extension of who we are and who we've become. It's empowering these hundreds of people to be able to do the same things for themselves and grow their portfolios, transform their families and generations after them, while also helping us positively impact Baltimore.
"That's really what it's all about."
Uqdah and Gray's journey, focusing on mastering things themselves before leading others, is much like their journey as student-athletes.
"Lift as you climb, very similar to our maturation as athletes," said Gray.
"It takes a full team, including investors", said Uqdah. "Housing is a foundational need that we're providing. It comes down to safety and security. A home is where memories are made and families grow, thrive and build wealth."
Uqdah couldn't be more appreciative of his Lehigh family that has helped get him to where he is today.
"I'm super proud to represent Lehigh in everything I do," he said. "I've taken the lessons I learned over the four years, and applying them makes me super proud of where I came from."
What are some of those lessons you ask?
One is the creativity and entrepreneurial mindset from being a Division I student-athlete.
"Being creative allows us to position ourselves and our brand in a way that makes it stand out," said Uqdah. "We feel like thought leaders in this space, which helps us innovate and provide new and fresh ideas to communities that want and need it.
"By being a student-athlete you learn to juggle priorities," Uqdah continued. "With track and field specifically, for us, it's very much an individual competition. You're internally competing with yourself to raise the mark, run faster, throw it farther or jump higher/longer. Couple that with GPA and social life, you quickly learn to be efficient with time and commitments."
As an athlete, you also learn how to fight through adversity and setbacks.
"You may have an off day or may get injured, but the goal is the same," said Uqdah. "Being an athlete helps with mental toughness and resiliency to be successful."
To say Uqdah and Gray have been successful would be an understatement.
"Without being at Lehigh, I would have never met my wife and all of this wouldn't be possible," said Uqdah. "So I'm happy that I accepted Lehigh and Lehigh accepted me.
"It was mutual."
Mutual, much like Uqdah and Gray, husband and wife, and the best business partner either could ask for.
Former collegiate track stars Khalil Uqdah and Kyara Gray are an unlikely couple – Uqdah from Lehigh, Gray from Lafayette.
Don't they say opposites attract?
Today, Uqdah and Gray are not only husband and wife, but also co-founders of a seven-figure real estate empire called Charm City Buyers.
"Making a positive impact in people's lives is our passion," said Uqdah, a 2010 Lehigh graduate who still holds the program record for the pole vault. "That's the core of what we're doing, it's what helps us get up in the morning and what motivates us when times are hard. With development, we want to make a positive impact on the macro level as well as the micro level."
What is Charm City Buyers exactly?
"We're real estate developers and educators," said Uqdah. "We buy, fix and either hold-to-rent or sell properties. And on the other side, we help folks understand that landscape. They learn it, navigate it and we provide the tools and knowledge to help others be proficient in real estate development, specifically in Baltimore (which is where Uqdah grew up)."
On the property side, Charm City Buyers does a few different things.
"We sell market-rate homes," said Uqdah. "We sell affordable homes as well through nonprofits. We help position buyers to benefit from grants, tax credits and other dollars that can help them afford a home. It's another way to give back and gives buyers the chance to use their income for a higher quality of life."
Today, Uqdah and Gray are in a strong position as a highly-successful company, but it didn't happen overnight.
Let's flash back to the beginning of their story – when the two met in 2008.
"I'm a year behind Khalil," said Gray, a 2011 Lafayette graduate. "I saw him before he saw me. Of course, I watched him pole vaulting. Everyone knew who he was. At that time, he had the long locks and was really killing it in the pole vault.
"We have some mutual friends that brought him to Lafayette one night and we hung out," she continued. "That's when we officially met."
Uqdah graduated Lehigh as a business management and economics major while Gray majored in economics and finance at Lafayette. Gray was interested in real estate from a young age.
"I grew up in a town where farmland would be sold and houses built on top of it, so I watched that transformation really young and fell in love with what that looked and felt like… and how communities grew," she said. "I had a family history of community building. After college, when we were transitioning into adulthood and the real world, real estate was something we were both interested in and saw ourselves doing long term. It hit our goals individually, and what we could do together."
Married in 2013, the two worked full time and started Charm City Buyers on the side (in 2012) before taking on Charm City Buyers full-time beginning in 2016.
"Beforehand, as a program director for a nonprofit in Baltimore, I was focused on helping students afford and navigate independent, private schools," said Uqdah.
Uqdah's business management degree and background could be applied to just about anywhere.
"I knew I was entrepreneurial," he said. "I knew that climbing the corporate ladder wasn't going to be my long-term goal, so I was interested in – and passionate about – something where I'd have the freedom and flexibility to grow a business and provide a healthy lifestyle for myself, build wealth and make a positive impact on communities and the world."
Gray's post-graduate path initially brought her to a Fortune 500 (ranked in the top 100) insurance company before transitioning to lead operations for a software development company.
"I was helping build, grow and scale a tech firm in Baltimore," she said.
Undoubtedly, Uqdah and Gray would have been successful if they continued down their original paths, but they've developed and grown something better. It's better not just because of the financial success, but most importantly, the impact on people's lives.
"When you think about Baltimore, you may think about the blocks of houses that have been blighted (vacated, abandoned) for decades," said Gray. "For us, it's about turning those vacant houses into homes and showing the folks in the communities, or those who may have judged the communities, that there is opportunity here. There's opportunity, there's life, there's beauty. We're able to help breathe more life into communities and give the community an opportunity to bring what they see and love to fruition."
That transformation is the most fun part for Uqdah and Gray.
"It's about coming in and doing it the right way, being very intentional about what we're doing and how we're doing it so everyone benefits," said Gray. "So we're able to help build wealth with the existing community, help give those who are moving into these spaces the opportunity to grow as the community continues to grow and be able to show what's possible.
"We can go into these neighborhoods and do amazing things without needing some big huge developer to come in, cash out and move on," Gray continued.
Uqdah and Gray help others in multiple ways. When they first started Charm City Buyers, they focused more on themselves and developing their business, which at its core turns houses into homes. Another important piece is educating and empowering other aspiring real estate developers.
"The Next Gen Acceleration program is the program where we're teaching, showing and providing the resources, guidance and tools to participants who are interested in investing in real estate in Baltimore – whether it's starting their portfolio or growing it," said Gray. "That program is our family, that's our baby, that's the extension of who we are and who we've become. It's empowering these hundreds of people to be able to do the same things for themselves and grow their portfolios, transform their families and generations after them, while also helping us positively impact Baltimore.
"That's really what it's all about."
Uqdah and Gray's journey, focusing on mastering things themselves before leading others, is much like their journey as student-athletes.
"Lift as you climb, very similar to our maturation as athletes," said Gray.
"It takes a full team, including investors", said Uqdah. "Housing is a foundational need that we're providing. It comes down to safety and security. A home is where memories are made and families grow, thrive and build wealth."
Uqdah couldn't be more appreciative of his Lehigh family that has helped get him to where he is today.
"I'm super proud to represent Lehigh in everything I do," he said. "I've taken the lessons I learned over the four years, and applying them makes me super proud of where I came from."
What are some of those lessons you ask?
One is the creativity and entrepreneurial mindset from being a Division I student-athlete.
"Being creative allows us to position ourselves and our brand in a way that makes it stand out," said Uqdah. "We feel like thought leaders in this space, which helps us innovate and provide new and fresh ideas to communities that want and need it.
"By being a student-athlete you learn to juggle priorities," Uqdah continued. "With track and field specifically, for us, it's very much an individual competition. You're internally competing with yourself to raise the mark, run faster, throw it farther or jump higher/longer. Couple that with GPA and social life, you quickly learn to be efficient with time and commitments."
As an athlete, you also learn how to fight through adversity and setbacks.
"You may have an off day or may get injured, but the goal is the same," said Uqdah. "Being an athlete helps with mental toughness and resiliency to be successful."
To say Uqdah and Gray have been successful would be an understatement.
"Without being at Lehigh, I would have never met my wife and all of this wouldn't be possible," said Uqdah. "So I'm happy that I accepted Lehigh and Lehigh accepted me.
"It was mutual."
Mutual, much like Uqdah and Gray, husband and wife, and the best business partner either could ask for.
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