Meet Jacob Yi of Nextar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Yi.

Hi Jacob, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Our story really begins with our parents, who started out as flooring importers before eventually expanding into cabinets. Growing up around that business gave us a strong foundation, but my sister and I initially took different paths in New York City—her in the corporate world, and me working in an art gallery setting.

When we eventually looked at the family industry through those lenses, we saw an incredible opportunity. There was a huge gap in the market for a demographic exactly like us: people who craved highly curated, modern aesthetics, but needed them to be accessible. We knew that to truly deliver that, we had to evolve from importing to controlling the process ourselves. By establishing our own manufacturing operations in Korea and Vietnam, we were able to solve the industry’s biggest problems: long waits and high costs.

And that is what drives us today. At Nextar, where we manufacture high-quality, design-forward cabinets at an economic price and without a lead time. Our vision is simple: make modern, aspirational, lasting cabinets accessible to everyday families. Whether you are a multifamily builder, retail store, or contractor, we strive to create partners with us in bringing this vision to life.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Our biggest struggle is definitely navigating a highly competitive market where a lot of companies are racing to the bottom on price. Right now, modern European-style cabinets are incredibly popular, and we see a lot of competitors trying to mimic that look. But to get their costs down, they cut corners—and the final product just isn’t quite there.

For us, the challenge is that we refuse to compromise. We will not minimize costs when it comes to investing in top-tier machinery, carefully selecting our raw materials, or how we operate our business day-to-day. Because we stick to a truly authentic, high-quality European style, our biggest daily hurdle is education. We spend a lot of time educating our customers on exactly why our products are superior, what goes into our manufacturing process, and why those cheaper imitations won’t hold up in the long run. It takes more effort to sell on value rather than just being the cheapest option, but it’s the only way we want to do business.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Nextar is the evolution of a family legacy in the building materials industry. Our parents started out as flooring and cabinet importers, which gave us a deep, foundational understanding of the market from a young age. Today, Nextar is a wholesale manufacturing company specializing in high-quality, truly modern, European-style cabinets. By operating our own manufacturing facilities in Korea and Vietnam, we are able to produce premium cabinetry at an economic price while completely eliminating the standard industry lead times.

What truly sets us apart is our refusal to cut corners in a highly competitive, price-driven market. Right now, there is a massive influx of companies trying to mimic the modern European cabinet aesthetic, but they do it by minimizing costs and using inferior materials. We take the exact opposite approach. We never compromise on investing in top-tier machinery, carefully selecting our raw materials, or maintaining rigorous operational standards. A huge part of our day-to-day business is actually customer education—taking the time to show our clients the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of cabinet making so they understand exactly why our products perform and look better than the cheaper look-alikes.

Brand-wise, I am most proud of the unique perspective we bring to this industry. When my sister and I stepped into the business, we merged our distinct professional backgrounds—her experience in the New York City corporate world and my time working in the NYC art gallery scene. We wanted to build a brand for a demographic exactly like us: people who value the highly curated, aspirational design of expensive homes but need it to be attainable for their own homes. We successfully bridged the gap between high-end design and highly efficient logistics.

Ultimately, I want your readers to know that beautiful, lasting design shouldn’t require impossible price tags or endless waiting. Welcome to Nextar, where we manufacture high-quality, design-forward cabinets at an economic price and without a lead time. Our vision is simple: make modern, aspirational, lasting cabinets accessible to everyday families. Whether you are a multifamily builder, a retail store, or a contractor, we are ready to partner with you to bring this vision to life.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think about risk as a necessary tool for problem-solving. If you see a broken system and you want to fix it, you have to put yourself on the line.

For me, the biggest risk I’ve taken was leaving my career in the New York art world, partnering with my sister who left her corporate NYC job, and transforming our parents’ import business into a full-scale manufacturing operation. We saw that the cabinet industry was flooded with cheap imitations of modern European styles, plagued by long lead times and high costs. We wanted to cater to a demographic like us—people who want highly curated, beautiful spaces without the impossible price tags.

To do that, we risked everything to set up our own manufacturing in Korea and Vietnam. We refused to minimize costs on our machinery or raw materials, which is a scary position to take in a highly competitive, price-driven market. But that risk gave us complete control over our quality and our supply chain. Today, because we took that leap, Nextar is able to deliver a truly authentic, design-forward product at an economic price with zero lead time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nextarcabinets.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nextarcabinets/