Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Warnken and Nathan Bauer.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
We came up with the idea after seeing an influx of post-graduates and young adults take remote jobs. We also noticed a yearning for community-based memberships coming out of the pandemic. So we decided to create a living experience that allows remote workers and digital nomads to have their apartments be as flexible as their jobs.
Beginning in June 2022, we completely bootstrapped the business and started with a concierge service to create brand recognition and engage potential members. After a few months, we received funding and are currently bringing apartments to four different metropolitan cities this summer.
While the apartments are currently being built out, we have a waitlist where potential members can put down a $100 deposit and receive first access to our residencies. To keep our members engaged before our launch, we offer a concierge service that gives access to the most sought-after restaurant and private dining experiences in our four cities.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No way. Like most startups, we have had to pivot our business plan multiple times. After speaking to potential members, investors, and mentors, we found our north star for the business.
Planning and coordinating potential member reservations and activities could be a logistical nightmare, so we turned to a back-end management system that has been extremely helpful throughout our growth. It allows us to stress test and solve all previous issues.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Ryan and Nathan took risks by not taking traditional career paths out of school. Instead, Ryan chose to drop out of college after the success of his other businesses and pursue an entrepreneurial route. Nathan, after graduating from USC from a respected real estate development program, decided to manage short-term rental properties to get more insight into the industry as he dove into TALA full-time.
Ryan: An entrepreneur since he was 17, has created over four companies, all in the real estate sector. He also has assisted in over 500 transactions in the Los Angeles market. In addition, Ryan owns and manages a brokerage which gives him insight into the real estate market, as well as managing a high-volume sales team. He firmly understands what it takes to run a successful business as his four companies have a combined $500,000+ in sales per year.
Nathan: Nathan brings expertise in hospitality, marketing, and asset management. Graduating from USC with a bachelor’s degree in Real Estate Development has given him the foundation to handle multiple ventures.
He has managed over 12 million dollars in real estate assets through his short-term rental management group, worked with 200+ agents and developers providing advertisement collateral, and has created content for over 200 million dollars worth of real estate in Los Angeles.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
There are a bunch of people who have supported us to get to where we are thus far in the business. A great mentor for us throughout our journey has been Derek Norton from Watertower Ventures, who has given us great advice, pointed us in the right direction, and helped us meet the right people.
Our internal team includes Jonathan Kirk (CFO), John King (CMO), and Timothy Kirk (CPO), who have been with us since the beginning in developing strategy and scale for the business. We could only have gotten to where we are with them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.travelandliveanywhere.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelandliveanywhere/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090014379848
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/travelandliveanywhere/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Travelandliveanywhere
