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Overview
Launching something new takes a lot of gumption — not to mention legwork. Everyone's got ideas — you've probably got a few scribbled down on a napkin somewhere. But it takes a particular kind of drive and perseverance (and a bunch of cash) to turn lofty concepts into an actual, physical Thing.
For this year's REMIX Sydney conference (June 2-3), Concrete Playground will be digging into the idea of launching something new, focusing on the businesses we couldn't write fast enough about — with a special curated session on 'How Long Does It Take to Become an Overnight Success?' We'll be digging into Australian success stories, brave folks who started something new. What's it like to open a soda factory in Sydney? How do you launch a brand new wine festival — on an island?
We took five with three leading Sydney innovators, who'll be sitting on our REMIX panel: Kristen Francis, festival founder and director of the insanely popular Wine Island (winner of CP's Best New Event of 2015), Michael Chiem, co-founder of Sydney soda company PS Soda and its just-opened CBD factory/bar PS40 (Sydney's first of its kind), and Georgia van Tiel and Carla McMillan, co-founders of citywide gym class pass Bodypass (winner of CP's Best New Product of 2015). How did they come up with something new in this day and age? How did they get it off the ground?
Take notes.
Wine Island.
Why/how did you come up with the idea for your business?
Kristen: I'd been producing events for about ten years for clients, as well as my own music festival Legs 11, but as I get older I want to concentrate more on my own productions and not die wondering. The concept for Wine Island simply came about during my morning walks around Rushcutters Bay. I always noticed the pretty little island of Clark and wondered why nothing ever happened there so I started my research and two years later, it became a reality. Logistically, it's the worst idea ever, but being a bit of a dreamer… It's the best.
Michael: The idea for our business actually stemmed from past experiences Thor (my business partner) had experienced in New York. He had consulted for a soda brand to be launched in Europe developing flavours and had such good feedback he decided to further expand the concept and move to Sydney to launch it here, as Sydney has such amazingly diverse produce and native ingredients. We both met in Sydney at Bulletin Place and worked so well together the relationship grew organically from there, Thor wanted to make a soda factory, I wanted to open a bar and forming them together would allow us to work sustainably reducing waste by working nose to tail across bar and soda and maximising productivity and exposure.
Georgia: I was living in NYC at the time (18 months ago) and Carla reached out to me to tell me about a genius idea she had. Carla has always been a yogi and didn't really find that she liked spending all her time in one studio. Carla was often at three to four different studios in a week and often spending hundreds of dollars each week. I also, as an avid fitness fan, felt like I was one of those people that loved trying out different studios and different classes. We both love the idea of people having more fun and variety in they workouts and making sure they keep the boredom at bay (the number one killer of all fitness regimes!).
At the time, there were about ten different models, similar to Bodypass, setting up in the US and I thought it would be a good idea for Carla to head over to NYC, do some research with me and see if there was a market for this sort of thing in Australia. After about two months, we thought there was a space and we felt like we had a model that would work really well in Australia. I headed back from NYC in November 2014 and we literally have not stopped since. I think we just surpassed our 2000th class!
The PS Crew (Michael's on the left).
What made your idea different from everything else out there? How did you make it stand out?
Michael: The concept of a tradesman making his own tools is no new concept. For many years baristas have been roasting coffee, sommeliers making wine and beer guys making beer. It's all been done before, except for bartenders making soda (well at least to the extent we are making it). The idea stands out more as the soda factory side of our business is integrated into our little cocktail bar and we are very transparent about it all. We also take a culinary approach, not using any essences or artificial flavours. Everything is done in house, by hand, using natural and local produce.
Georgia: We are not a studio, we are not instructors, we are a membership that gives ultimate flexibility, huge amounts of variety and a great opportunity to meet new people and socialise. Having a workout buddy really helps to keep your fitness goals in check and keep you going back for more, even when the sun isn't up yet or the rain is pelting down.
One of our other big standouts, I believe, is that we have given Bodypass a personality. Carla and I are both fit gals but at the same time we love to enjoy life and all it has to offer. We both believe in balance and doing something because it's fun, not because you have to or you should. Bodypass is a lifestyle that Carla and I are all about and we wanted to share that with other people.
Kristen: Firstly, it hadn't been done before (I guess no one else wanted to give themselves a heart attack) and secondly, we treat our festival like a mini-holiday on your doorstep with very limited numbers per session — which everyone appreciated. It's like you're experiencing the full holiday package which includes transport and welcome drinks, then a relaxing and luxurious island escape full of wine and food. We know there are quite a few wine festivals around Sydney nowadays so we also wanted to promote unique wines in a unique setting.
Bodypass (Carla on the left, Georgia on the right).
What problems did you run into while planning/building, if any? How'd you manage them?
Georgia: Growing. Like any startup, funding played a huge role. Our business is a tech business and building anything like this was always going to cost a lot of money. Starting Bodypass was a balancing act between meeting new studios and signing them up and trying to get Bodypass in front of possible investors. Carla and I had a good partnership as she was more client/studio facing and I was able to work on the business set-up. This enabled us to grow and also catch the eye of Fairfax Media.
Michael: So many! We should write a book on all our mistakes as a guide on what not to do when opening a business haha! Always staying positive even at the hardest moments is necessary. You can't let it get you down for too long. We were lucky enough to have a really good team behind us who were very supportive, from our designer, Thor's wife Livia from Ultra Violet, to our planner, certifier, handyman Seamus from Sea Studios, who built all the furniture. It was difficult but the end result we are thrilled by.
Kristen: Well firstly, it was no, no, no from the National Parks. However, I've never been so persistent with an idea so I kept on calling until I finally got through to the person who said yes, yes, yes — it paid!
Producing an event on an island is a logistical and eye-wateringly expensive exercise, so it was extremely important to be organised and try not to leave much room for error. But you know, Mother Nature has her own plans, and whilst the first festival session on Friday morning was a sparkling paradise of an image, the evening session was anything but. We pulled all the bars in so people could get under the huts and others were tucked away in caves sipping their Savs. Luckily everyone got into the spirit and there were a lot of dancing ponchos making the most of it.
Wine Island.
What was opening day/launch day like and how did you celebrate?
Kristen: As mentioned above, the first day was both sides of the coin. As the second session of the first day was so wet, we sat on the ferry soaking, exhausted and celebration was a hot shower. Boring, but true.
Georgia: Carla bought an amazing bottle of champagne around February, when Fairfax starting talking to us and it finally looked like we would have some financial investment. We planned on drinking that when we signed with Farifax but when you have sometimes four classes a day, having a hangover was not an option. We did however have a lot of fun when we launched to the public in June 2015. Let's just say a few classes were cancelled the following day.
Michael: Opening day was a small mole hill (goal). Opening the door is great but it only begins our long journey of constantly trying to provide the best drinks we possibly can, whilst having shit tonnes of fun. We have so many goals now to tick off including bottling our final product and future collaborations and events to focus on — we're always looking forward.
You can catch Kristen Francis, Michael Chiem, Georgia van Tiel and Carla McMillan speaking at REMIX Sydney from June 2-3 at Sydney Town Hall, at Concrete Playground's special curated session on 'How Long Does It Take to Become an Overnight Success?'. More info right here.