The Stanza

The Stanza
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The Stanza

An investor's perspective on hospitality & fashion. Subscribe to the weekly journal at https://thestanza.beehiiv.com/upgrade

  1. 25 JUL

    023: Building iconic hospitality brands: Soho House, The Birley Clubs, Caprice Holdings

    **This interview was made publicly available thanks to the support of Peoplevine, the CRM software trusted by the best hospitality brands. Book your free demo here. Today's guest is Jamie Caring, founder of Sevengage Consultancy, through which he advises hospitality entrepreneurs and real estate owners on brand creation and community building. Prior to his consulting career, Jamie was the CMO of Soho House, the Commercial Director at Caprice Holdings, the holding company behind restaurant brands such as The Ivy, Le Caprice, and Sexy Fish, and the Commercial Director at The Birley Clubs, which owns club brands such as Annabel's and Mark's. Prior to hospitality, Jamie had a 15-year career in music and entertainment at MTV and VH1. Jamie started at Soho House in 2008 when there wasn't a marketing team, and during his tenure, helped shape it into the global category-defining lifestyle brand that it is today. This was my longest interview to date, and I definitely could have continued the interview. We went in-depth on Jamie's knowledge and insights coming from both of his lives in entertainment and hospitality, and especially focused on strategy for launching and scaling hospitality businesses, as well as the psychology of members clubs. He truly understands how to build an enduring hospitality brand that is a reference for other emerging brands, and I know anyone listening to this episode will learn a lot from Jamie's experience. Connect with Jamie here. Interview Highlights: Applying insights from entertainment to hospitality Meeting Nick Jones and starting at Soho House Marketing-led vs transaction-led hospitality Jamie's philosophy on member programming & events Can people buy into "community"? What is a true community in the context of a business? Lessons from Soho House's banker purge in 2010 Top drivers for both membership renewals and cancellations Expanding from members clubs into a lifestyle brand The art & science of advertising exclusivity Thoughts on Soho House's recent negative press and its IPO Balancing creative vision and needs of investors Jamie's experience at Annabel's & how legacy clubs can stay relevant Thoughts on the proliferation of members clubs Trends in the club industry Advice for hospitality entrepreneurs Audience Q&A If you enjoyed this episode, please share with a friend or colleague :)

    1h 21m

  2. 14 MAR

    022: Building a contrarian members club in NYC

    Subscribe to The Stanza, a newsletter discussing fashion & hospitality from an investor's perspective. Today's guest is David Litwak, co-founder of Maxwell Social. I'm excited to share the founding story of Maxwell because they're one of the very few emerging members clubs that are bold enough to take a contrarian approach to the business model. They have an open kitchen instead of a restaurant, they're not open during the weekday daytime, they don't have reciprocal clubs, and they ask their members to contribute to the community. The way Maxwell is structured is to re-align business incentives with the interests of the members, and to create an environment that facilitates deep relationships between members. It's completely different from the traditional "aspirational exclusivity" we've seen across most of the popular members club brands without sacrificing sophistication and style. David isn't afraid to share his opinions and if you want a behind the scenes view on the members club business, you'll enjoy this episode. Thanks for tuning in. Interview Highlights Gated restaurants with a community tagline Naming the club after 1920's socialite Elsa Maxwell as part of their core brand Why Maxwell is opting out of providing amenities such as a restaurant, gym, co-working space, etc. Programming that facilitates deep relationships & community contribution How they sourced their location in Tribeca & maximizing the real estate Raising capital as a new members club operator Attributes of a Maxwell member David's hot takes on why certain clubs have become cultural institutions The vision for Maxwell's future More about Maxwell Social Connect with Maxwell on IG: @maxwellsocial Connect with David on LinkedIn here.

    59 min

  3. 25 JAN

    021 Exclusivity sells: structuring an effective membership program

    Subscribe to ⁠The Stanza⁠, a newsletter at the intersection of investing, hospitality, & fashion. Today's guest is Annabel Schwartz, founder of hospitality consultancy House of Talana. Annabel was the former west coast memberships manager at Soho House and most recently the director of member relations & culture at San Vicente Bungalows. We did a deep dive on all the fun topics within hospitality - curating and designing a members club, the consumer psychology of exclusivity, the meaning of great hospitality, and trend predictions on the future of the industry. Annabel has so much unique experience and insight into the business from a behind the scenes angle and I know you're all going to love this episode. On another note - this interview is the final guest episode of the season. The podcast will come back later this year, but for now definitely be sure to subscribe to the newsletter and follow along on Instagram and TikTok (@thestanzamedia). Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the show.   Episode Highlights Annabel's background at Soho House and SVB Structuring of an effective membership program Why exclusivity is an essential component Paying for access vs earning access Privacy in LA vs spontaneity in NYC 3 trend predictions for hospitality Advice for members clubs operators   Thank you to Peoplevine for sponsoring this episode. Peoplevine is the CRM loved by the best members clubs in the industry. Check out which clubs use Peoplevine and book your free demo here.

    1h 1m

  4. 18 JAN

    020 A good members club has a great CRM

    Subscribe to The Stanza, a newsletter at the intersection of investing, hospitality, & fashion. Today's guest is Jordan Gilman, founder of Peoplevine. This episode is for all the hospitality operators who subscribe to The Stanza. Peoplevine is the hospitality CRM used by San Vicente Bungalows, Zero Bond, ZZ's, Casa Cipriani, Faena, and many more brands you already know and love. I've partnered with Peoplevine over the last 3 months and I wanted to have Jordan on the podcast to chat about his experience pitching to luxury hospitality brands, why their CRM is loved by the best operators, and how a great CRM is needed to deliver a consistently great guest experience. Thank you to the team at Peoplevine for being early supporters of The Stanza newsletter and podcast. Episode highlights: Pitching to high end hospitality clients Building a network of luxury hospitality operators Expanding into the UK market How Peoplevine designed its CRM based on their personal guest experience Executing an effective loyalty program Views on private dining clubs such as ZZ's Jordan's thoughts on the future of members clubs Read about how your favorite clubs use Peoplevine: https://www.peoplevine.com/clients Follow The Stanza on IG / TikTok: @thestanzamedia

    30 min

  5. 11 JAN

    019 From finance to fashion tech entrepreneurship

    Subscribe to ⁠The Stanza⁠, a newsletter at the intersection of investing, hospitality, & fashion. Today's guest is Bianca Rangecroft, founder of Whering. Whering is a digital wardrobe and styling app that allows you to catalogue your clothes, create outfits, and get styling suggestions. As of today, the app has 1.5M users. Think of it as the modern app version of Cher's wardrobe from Clueless. Prior to Whering, Bianca worked at Goldman Sachs in asset management.   We chatted about fundraising as a first time founder, how she financially supported her transition from Goldman to entrepreneurship, and her view on the future of sustainable fashion. I appreciated Bianca's honesty throughout the conversation and I know any early stage entrepreneur will benefit from this interview. Episode highlights: How Bianca's experience at GS prepared her for Whering Funding start up and living costs in the early days Bianca's key fundraising insights Growing Whering's user base How she built a tech company as a non technical founder Vision for Whering and the future of circular fashion   *Apologies in advance for the slight background noise! Download Whering: https://whering.co.uk/ Connect with Bianca on IG: @biancarangecroft or LinkedIn Follow The Stanza on IG / TikTok: @thestanzamedia

    32 min

  6. 4 JAN

    018 Building cash flow solutions for CPG brands

    Subscribe to The Stanza, a newsletter at the intersection of investing, hospitality, & fashion. Today's guest is Alek Koenig, founder and CEO of Settle. Settle is a cash flow management platform for CPG start ups. Brands you love, like Ghia, Soft Services, Ceremonia, Lalo, Italic, and Starface, are users of Settle, and it's easy to see why. From streamlining your AP, managing bills and vendor payments, to getting working capital loans with transparent terms, Settle provides solutions to problems specific to CPG brands, all within a modern and simple interface.   Settle is also backed by institutional venture investors such as Kleiner Perkins and Ribbit Capital. And even if this episode isn't a typical consumer brand founder story, I asked Alek to come on as a guest to share insights from transitioning from the corporate world to entrepreneurship, fundraising advice, and managing a company in uncertain times.   I've also partnered with Settle to give you guys $250 in transaction fee credits if you use the code (THESTANZA) to sign up for free - that means transaction-fee payments for you. Click here Settle's Working Capital calculator so you can see how much financing power your business is eligible for. Episode highlights The consumerization of business software Transitioning from corporate to entrepreneurship Preparing financially for that transition Managing a company in times of economic uncertainty Fundraising from institutional investors How to understand your customers' pain points Advice for networking with investors as an introvert *Thank you Settle for partnering with The Stanza*

    21 min

  7. 14/12/2023

    017 Building contrarian brands

    Subscribe to The Stanza, a newsletter at the intersection of investing, hospitality & fashion. This episode is sponsored by Peoplevine - the best hospitality CRM software. Check out why Peoplevine is used and loved by the best private members clubs and book your free demo here. "Everything he touches turns to gold" - this is what a brutally honest friend said to me about today's guest, Raphael Farasat. Raphael is the founder of award-winning Truffl Agency and co-founder of Last Crumb Cookies, the viral luxury cookie brand. He's worked with the likes of Tesla, LinkedIn, and Heineken, and as the creative director behind really cool upcoming consumer brands such as Better Bagel, Barcode Drinks, Boba Ice Cream, Jean Dousset, and more. We chatted about the power of metaphor when it comes to building a world for a brand, his creative process, and taking a contrarian approach when it comes to marketing and storytelling. Every founder building a consumer facing business - whether that's a cpg brand, hospitality group, or marketplace - can benefit from this interview. Episode highlights Raphael's creative process A networking strategy that brings aligned opportunities Applying the scarcity model from streetwear to cookies How to create a contrarian brand that people love Metaphors and consumer psychology How to create a membership program that fosters customer loyalty Connect with Raphael on IG: @raph_ More on Truffl Agency: https://truffl.com/ Try Last Crumb cookies: https://lastcrumb.com/

    30 min

  8. 07/12/2023

    016 Building a wine brand as an American in Spain

    Subscribe to The Stanza, a newsletter for investors & entrepreneurs in hospitality & fashion sent every Friday Welcome to The Stanza (thestanzamedia.com) Today's guest is Layla-Joy Williams, founder of IYLIA wines. Layla-Joy is an American entrepreneur living in Spain, where she produces IYLIA to distribute in the US. Prior to IYLIA, Layla-Joy was a womens shoe designer for Stuart Weitzman and Michael Kors in NYC, and has a background in technical product design. We chatted about her experience working in NYC fashion for over two decades, entrepreneurship as an American living in Europe, and how her design career prepped her for the wine business.   A personal side note from me: I've mentioned IYLIA's moscatel wine on the gift guide this year because it's such a beautiful and crisp wine. I also wanted to compliment Layla-Joy on her rose wine. It's probably the best rose I've ever tried (and I'm not exaggerating). It smells fruity and it just goes down very easily. It's the perfect aperitivo wine and I just think it's so cool to hear Layla-Joy's story especially as another American living in Europe. Enjoy the episode. Episode Highlights: Layla-Joy's experience working as a fashion designer in NYC Why Layla-Joy decided to focus on womens shoe design Pivoting from shoes to wine during the pandemic Starting a business as an American in Spain How Layla-Joy's technical experience as a shoe designer prepared her the wine business Perspective as a female entrepreneur Sales tips for early stage founders Advice for brand builders Check out Iylia Wine: https://iylia.com Connect with Layla-Joy on IG: @laylajoy Follow The Stanza on IG/TikTok: @thestanzamedia

    29 min
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About

An investor's perspective on hospitality & fashion. Subscribe to the weekly journal at https://thestanza.beehiiv.com/upgrade

Information

  • Creator
    The Stanza
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Stanza
  • Show Website
    The Stanza

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