Love for work is key to Chris Schell’s success

Inside the Schell Brothers building is a Steve Jobs quote that says, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” According to Chris Schell, that is what led him to leave his first career, which he didn’t love, and pursue the work he currently does with Schell Brothers.

Chris grew up in the San Francisco suburbs and had goals to pursue a job in finance and focus on making money. After graduating from MIT, he went to work for a futures trader and wrote software that automated the office’s trading systems. Not feeling fulfilled, Chris thought pursuing an MBA was a way to give himself more options, so he enrolled at Harvard Business School. After graduation, Chris moved to Severna Park, Md., and continued running his hedge fund using short-term computerized trading systems in futures markets around the world. Although doing well both professionally and financially with his hedge fund, Chris was becoming increasingly unhappy and knew he had to make a major change in his life. So, he gave his share of the futures trading business to his business partner and moved to the Delaware beaches, where he had extensive family connections and spent his summers growing up.

After exploring different options, he decided to form Schell Brothers with his twin brother Preston. Chris liked the idea of building homes for families, as he knew moving into a new home was an exciting and happy time in people’s lives. But besides focusing on the customer, Chris also felt it was essential to have happy employees. Chris envisioned a culture for his company that emphasized teamwork, having fun at work and an environment of mutual respect. 

Taking care of employees has always been a priority at Schell Brothers. Chris believes Schell Brothers belongs to everyone who helped build it and, therefore, the company exists for the benefit of all its employees, not just the owners. For example, during the COVID lockdown, home sales plummeted to almost nothing and many builders started laying off employees. Rather than follow suit and cut staff, Chris emailed his team members and assured them that nobody would be laid off no matter how long it took for the market to recover.    

When asked about his greatest challenge, Chris hesitated and said recently that he’s had trouble shrugging off the Schell haters and trolls that have surfaced regarding the Coral Lakes community. Chris explained that the exposure Schell Brothers receives from their community involvement, branding and marketing has both positive and negative effects. “While it’s positive to be top-of-mind when someone is looking to buy a home, being top-of-mind is not beneficial when someone is upset about traffic or development in Sussex County,” he said. What’s ironic, Chris explains, is that Schell Brothers isn’t and has never been the largest builder in Sussex County. What bothers him most is the picture that is painted of his company and its people by those opposed to development couldn’t be further from who they are, what they believe in and what they stand for. Happiness is the founding purpose of Schell Brothers, and they are truly committed to that.

As Chris looks into his crystal ball over the next five to 10 years, Schell Brothers will continue to be based in southern Delaware, but more of the homebuilding growth will occur in Richmond, Va., and Nashville, Tenn. Chris also believes that climate change is an important issue for coastal Delaware. Because he knows home energy consumption is a significant contributor to the carbon footprint, Schell Brothers started its own solar energy company to make it more affordable for homebuyers to make their homes energy efficient.

When asked what gives Chris the most satisfaction, he said it is the idea of giving back and helping others. Most people are not aware of what the Schell family does to support the many causes and needs in our community. Education has always been a priority for the Schells. Including money they donated to Sussex Academy, their contributions to educational initiatives have totaled close to $10 million. In addition, the Schell family has supported land preservation by raising millions of dollars, and supported Beebe Healthcare with close to $1 million in donations. The list of sponsorships every year is too long to list, but it exceeds $300,000 annually. All in all, the Schell brothers and their family have donated more than $20 million to support the community.

But nothing gives Chris as much as pleasure as Schellville. Christmas was Chris’ favorite holiday growing up, and Schellville was his way of bringing a little bit of the Christmas spirit to children who get to experience Schellville. Chris believes that true happiness in life comes not from doing things for yourself but doing what you can to help others.