The Stanza

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Latest Episodes:

Noah Tepperberg May 22, 2025

Today's guest is hospitality veteran Noah Tepperberg, co-founder of Tao Group Hospitality. Over the course of his 30+ year career in hospitality, Noah and his team have launched several iconic venues, under brands including Marquee, Lavo, Tao, Hakkasan, and many others. Tao Group currently has over 80 branded outlets globally in the broader portfolio. In 2017, Noah and his co-founder’s including his long time business partner and Co-CEO Jason Strauss sold a majority stake in Tao Group to the Madison Square Garden Company, and in 2021 the company acquired 100% of Hakkasan Group creating one of the world's largest premium hospitality platforms with outlets in over 20 cities. In 2023, the company was acquired by Mohari Hospitality. This conversation highlights Noah's laser focused and disciplined approach to building a highly successful hospitality business that stands the test of time.

Thank you Peoplevine for sponsoring this episode. Peoplevine is trusted by the best brands in the members club business. Book a free demo to see why at ⁠⁠⁠peoplevine.com.⁠

Interview Highlights:

The key component to a successful venue
Partnering with institutional groups
Hospitality is a people business
Noah's approach to real estate
Patterns of venues that have done well vs those that haven't
Expanding abroad
Advice for hospitality entrepreneurs ⁠

This episode was recorded at NeueHouse Madison Square. NeueHouse is the premier work space in NYC and LA for those in the creative industries. Use code ⁠THESTANZA⁠ for a special offer when applying for your membership.

Connect with Noah here.

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Gaetano Guarducci Apr 16, 2025

Today's guest is Gaetano Guarducci of Sant Ambroeus Hospitality Group. Gaetano grew up in the restaurant business that his father, Gherardo Guarducci, co-founded in 2003, and has been working for the family business since graduating from university. The New York-based group comprises 29 restaurants across 3 brands - Sant Ambroeus, Felice, and Casa Lever - and is opening 3 to 4 restaurants per year with the backing of Italian British private equity fund Three Hills Capital. Sant Ambroeus, in particular, is unique in the way they combine Milanese tradition while embracing fashion & culture trends. They've done creative collaborations with brands such as Saint Laurent, The Attico, Alaia, Le Labo, and several others. It's part of their approach to maintaining longevity and desire throughout several market cycles, along with prioritizing consistency in the customer experience and the food.

Thank you Peoplevine for sponsoring this episode. Peoplevine is trusted by the best brands in the members club business. Book a free demo to see why at ⁠peoplevine.com.⁠

This episode was recorded at NeueHouse Madison Square. NeueHouse is the premier work space in NYC and LA for those in the creative industries. Use code THESTANZA for a special offer when applying for your membership.

Learn more about Sant Ambroeus Hospitality Group here

Follow Sant Ambroeus on Instagram

Connect with ⁠The Stanza on Instagram⁠

⁠Subscribe to the newsletter⁠ for the full experience

Interview Highlights:

Longevity in the restaurant sector
Growing up in the hospitality business
Insights from the pandemic era
Why does Sant Ambroeus have a creative director?
Collaborating with fashion brands
The origin story of Sant Ambroeus as a Milanese pastry shop
"Selling pasta to Italians" & doing business in Europe as an American company
Key details considered in restaurant design & operations
Operating seasonal locations in Aspen & East Hampton
Raising capital from private equity
Balancing brand preservation and private equity expectations
Why haven't they expanded into members clubs?
Gaetano's vision for SAHG as the next gen leadership

David Rodolitz & Gary Vee Mar 18, 2025

Thank you Peoplevine for sponsoring this episode. Peoplevine is trusted by the best brands in the members club business. Book a free demo to see why at peoplevine.com.

Today's guests are David Rodolitz and Gary Vaynerchuk, co-founders of VCR Group, a hospitality company operating concepts such as Flyfish Club, Ito, and Little Maven in New York and Las Vegas. Flyfish Club, which opened in September 2024, is the world's first blockchain-based members club focused on fine dining. In this conversation, we dove into the details of what it's like to build a hospitality group in one of the most competitive markets in the world (NYC). What I enjoyed most about this conversation is their forward-thinking perspectives when it comes to hospitality, especially in the fine dining space. We also talked in depth about the private members club landscape in New York and entering the space as a young hospitality group.

Gary Vaynerchuk, AKA Gary Vee, is a serial entrepreneur and leads VaynerMedia, VaynerX, and VCR Group. In 2014, Gary co-founded Resy and sold it to American Express in 2019 and is also an early investor in notable companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Uber, Coinbase, Slack, and more.

David Rodolitz is a NYC hospitality veteran and a co-founder of VCR Group. Prior to founding VCR Group, David was a founding partner of Empellon, a group of restaurants in NYC.

To learn more about VCR Group's restaurants, click here

Connect with Gary and David on Instagram

Connect with The Stanza on Instagram

Subscribe to the newsletter for the full experience.

Interview Highlights:

The business of a fine dining members club in NYC
Restaurants as part of placemaking
Contrarian thinking in hospitality
The reality of running restaurants
Competing in the NYC restaurant & private club market as a young company
The future of private clubs in NYC & taking cues from London club culture
Longevity in the restaurant business
How to handle negative reviews
How would you invest in hospitality?
Advice for aspiring hospitality entrepreneurs

2025: Welcome to The Stanza Mar 18, 2025

It's a pleasure to welcome you to the 2025 season of The Stanza. Thank you for tuning in.

Submit your pitch deck to be featured in "Investment Committee", a new column in The Stanza newsletter here.

Subscribe to the newsletter here and follow on instagram.

Episode highlights

Overview of the new podcast season
The art of the cold email
Career advice for young people
Answering your Q&A:

Limiting beliefs & dreaming big
Best tips on growing a digital community
Private members clubs
Validation from billionaires
Luxury groups buying real estate
Fashion / hospitality brand pivots

Excited for this year's podcast season!!

Building iconic hospitality brands: Soho House, The Birley Clubs, Caprice Holdings Jul 25, 2024

**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 :)

Building a contrarian members club in NYC Mar 14, 2024

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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.

Exclusivity sells: structuring an effective membership program Jan 25, 2024

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.

A good members club has a great CRM Jan 18, 2024

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

Building contrarian brands Dec 14, 2023

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/

Investing in luxury beauty brands Nov 17, 2023

Subscribe to The Stanza, a weekly journal for investors & entrepreneurs in the creative industries: https://www.thestanzamedia.com

Today's guest is Julia Baldet, an investor at BC Partners, a large cap European private equity fund. Prior to BC Partners, Julia was an investor at Manzanita Capital, where she was the sole associate working on the $1B sale of Byredo to Puig in 2022. While at Manzanita Capital, Julia also managed some of their other investments, such as Diptyque, Space NK, and Susanne Kaufmann. In addition to investing at the institutional level, Julia is an angel investor in Konvi, The Edit LDN, and Kimai.

We chatted about how she created the career she desired, her insights from investing in consumer brands, and her advice for those wanting to break into consumer PE.

*Huge thanks to BC Partners' compliance team for giving us the green light to do this interview!

Episode Highlights:

How Julia carved her career path into luxury consumer investing
Byredo: deal process & dyamics
Why Puig was the right buyer of Byredo
Julia's insider perspective of the luxury beauty business
What makes a $billion beauty brand prime for acquisition?
What type of capital partner beauty & fashion entrepreneurs should seek
How Julia sources angel investment opportunities
Julia's investment criteria (company & founding team)
Advice for aspiring luxury consumer investors

Connect with Julia on LinkedIn

Check out her essay for the blog Data Driven Investor

Follow The Stanza on IG/TikTok: @thestanzamedia

Scaling a skincare brand through TikTok Nov 02, 2023

Subscribe to The Stanza, a newsletter for investors & entrepreneurs in the creative industries: https://www.thestanzamedia.com

Today's guests are Jade Beguelin and Sabrina Sade, the co-founders of 4AM skin, a NYC based skincare brand. Sabrina left med school and Jade quit her wall street career to pursue building 4AM skin and they've been absolutely crushing it as a young brand. Something I really admire about Jade and Sabrina is their willingness to roll up their sleeves, be resourceful, and get things done. We chatted about being public founders on social media, having products go viral and selling out on Tiktok, and thoughts about building a brand and community that cares about what you're selling. If you're building in the DTC space, you're going to learn a lot from this episode. Enjoy!

The Stanza listeners get 15% off 4AM Skin with code STANZA15 on https://4amskin.com

Episode Highlights: