Michael Dorf on Building City Winery Into a 15-Location Music and Wine Experience Across America

🎙️ From the Knitting Factory to City Winery: Michael Dorf's 40-Year Journey Scaling Intimacy in Live MusicMichael Dorf, Founder and CEO of City Winery, shares his journey from dropping out of law school in Wisconsin and sleeping on a futon under his desk at an East Village performance space in 1987, through the painful dilution and exit from the Knitting Factory after 15 years of building one of New York's most important music venues, to founding City Winery in 2008, accidentally inventing wine on tap during the financial crisis, and surviving COVID by laying off 1,490 people in a single day before eventually clawing back to profitability and planning an institutional raise to fund locations in Columbus, Detroit, and Scottsdale.✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:Started the Knitting Factory with no money at 23 by renting an Avon office on Houston Street, sleeping under his desk, showering at a nearby gym for $29.99 a month, and offering a 75-25 door deal that spread by word of mouth through the New York art communityDefined success without financials by pointing out that the Knitting Factory was famous worldwide and transformative to thousands of artists and fans despite never making him a dollarLeft the Knitting Factory after diluting himself out through five consecutive investor rounds in the dot-com era, eventually losing control to investors who created a wedge that ended his tenureFounded City Winery by mashing together three 2004 experiences: making a barrel of wine at Ridge Winery, starting a Hebrew school in Tribeca, and producing a Carnegie Hall benefit concertLaunched City Winery the same week Lehman Brothers collapsed, watched the barrel-sharing revenue model evaporate overnight, and responded by putting wine in stainless steel kegs on tap to generate cash flowWine on tap reduced cost of goods from 25% to 15%, eliminated sulfite additions, generated better glass preservation, and accidentally became a signature differentiator that now drives 70% of salesLaid off 1,490 people in a single day in March 2020 with less than two weeks of payroll in the bank, later selling air rights, historic tax credits, and a building through a sale-leaseback to surviveSurvived COVID partly through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant secured by the National Independent Venue Association, a coalition of 3,000 independent venues that had never organized beforeBelieves live music, live taste, and live human connection represent the final sensory frontier that AI cannot replicate🌟 Michael's Key Mentors:George Wien (Newport Jazz and Folk Festival Founder): Taught Michael what it means to be the decision maker, how to absorb public criticism, and why being talked about negatively is often the first sign you have real powerDavid Lecompte (Founding Winemaker): Suggested putting wine in kegs when bottling was months away, accidentally creating the signature differentiator that now drives most of City Winery's revenueShlomo (Programming Director)The Knitting Factory Team and Community👉 Don't miss this conversation about building two iconic music businesses from nothing, why sleeping under your desk is sometimes the right move, and how a financial crisis accidentally created the innovation that defines City Winery today.🔗 Connect with Michael Dorf:Email: [email protected] Company: City Winery Website: citywinery.com Substack: Michael Dorf Uncorked Book: Indulge Your Senses: Scaling Intimacy in a Digital World📄 Transcript Available: Michael Dorf on Building City Winery Into a 15-Location Music and Wine Experience Across America📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com