Nick Jones: How I Founded Soho House; Brand Marketing Tips; Hiring Advice | 20VC #898

Nick Jones is the Founder & CEO @ Soho House, it all started in 1995 when Nick opened the first location above his restaurant, Cafe Boheme, a members’ club for the local artists and actors of London. Today, Soho House is a global brand, a private members club that includes 33 Houses in 14 countries, with more openings in Europe, Asia, and North America on the horizon. In 2021, Nick took Soho House public on the NASDAQ, 25 years since opening the first location. If that was not enough, Nick is also the owner of Babbington House and Cecconi’s, one of my favorite restaurants in London.

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Timestamps:

00:00 How did you get into catering?
01:45 Did you always know you’d be successful?
02:42 When did you know the business was working?
04:38 How do you motivate yourself through failure?
05:43 What consumers want - 1992 vs today
07:01 How has the experiential consumer changed?
08:07 How do you think about brand?
09:38 How do you retain exclusivity with scale?
11:08 What was the hardest stage of expansion?
12:02 How do you choose cities?
13:15 What makes great storytelling?
14:25 Do you have insecurities?
15:33 How would you describe your leadership style?
16:57 What does high performance mean to you?
17:45 Advice on hiring
19:06 How do you bring in external talent?
20:02 How do you have hard conversations?
20:30 Lessons from hiring mistakes
21:30 Are you challenging on yourself?
22:55 How do you create a sense of safety within your leadership team?
23:56 What does great fatherhood means to you?
25:22 How do you balance work and family?
27:10 Do people have misconceptions about you?
27:51 How do you deal with tough feedback?
29:05 Hardest element of your role
29:21 What changes when you go public?
29:44 What would you like to change about hospitality industry?
30:44 Billboard anywhere in the world, what does it say?
31:42 Where do you see Soho House in 10 years?

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In Today’s Episode with Nick Jones You Will Learn:

1.) The Start of Soho House:

What was the founding moment for Nick with Soho House?
What were his biggest lessons from his 3 prior restaurants not working? How did that experience change his approach with Soho House?
Why does Nick believe resilience is the most important skill of any entrepreneur? When something is not working? What does Nick tell himself?
With the rise of Instagram, how have the demands of the consumer changed over time in terms of what they expect from hospitality?

2.) The Art of Storytelling:

What does Nick believe is the essence of truly great storytelling?
What do all great stories contain? How do the best storytellers tell those stories?
Where does Nick believe many founders make mistakes when it comes to storytelling today?

3.) The Art of Leadership:

How does Nick define his style of leadership today? How has it changed over time?
What does high performance mean to Nick?
How does Nick think through retaining high performance while also having a family?
How does Nick approach hiring? Why does Nick find interviewing so tough?
How does Nick think through when to hire someone external vs promote internal talent?

4.) The Scale of Soho House:

What was the single most challenging time in the scaling journey of Soho House?
What changes when you go public? What are the good? What are the bad?
What does Nick know now that he wishes he had known in the beginning?

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#NickJones #SohoHouse #HarryStebbings #businessadvice #founder #leadership #20vc #businesshistory #london

[LylMyssTalented]

This is my first visit to your channel and content, and I have to commend you in your interviewing skills. Seeing you fully engaged and anticipating his answers and following up with great questions was top tier!

[letherebrelight]

What an amazing interview so happy to have stumbled upon this as an aspiring entrepreneur! Thank you for this Harry!