Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Novilla.
Michael, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today? Born and raised in downtown St. Pete, Florida, I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world, 62 countries and counting!! Wow, such unimaginable adventures!! While exploring our planet, I’ve focused on visiting and connecting with the best run venues, hotels, bar, restaurants and markets, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. This wisdom has fueled my long-time dream and passion, to build a world-class event venue here in St. Pete. I believe that everyone deserves a 5-Star event, so I created “The NOVA Way”, a continuous improvement system the focuses on wowing and delighting our clients and their guests. Our system focuses on saying YES! We are “paranoid” about our performance, so we’re always trying to make our guests’ experience better, smoother, and more enjoyable. Why? We love watching our clients and their guests enjoying such unique, memorable events! Now over 1,000, 5-Star events later, we’re honored to be rated as the best event venue in the region. A big THANK YOU to team NOVA 535 and of course to all of our clients and fans!
So, who is this Michael Scott Novilla character? Born an April 1st, first born to Michael F. Novilla, an Attorney based in St. Pete, and Leslie Clark, an emergency room RN. Hard working, kind yet strict parents, they raised me to think and act for myself. We had friends of all religions, colors, and types, them all being comprised of one singular type – all good human beings. When I wanted an Atari 800 back in the summer of 1979 (you can sing the Bryan Adam’s summer of 69 tune in your head!) dad pointed to the family lawn mower and said “The first can of gas is on me, go knock on doors!” Mom was kind enough to provide “MOMber” transportation services, and well the rest is history as they say! Graduated with my MBA in 1993 from USF – Go Bulls! Started a real estate redevelopment company that lasted for 20 years, until the great crash – OUCH! Then in 1995 I purchased a run-down dog kennel, a once proud 5 and dime store called Slap Happie’s built 1920 and spent 3 years and $3MM renovating into NOVA 535. Currently I’m in Ubud, Bali trying this on my laptop doing what I recently coined as Travel Working. Where me arise, sits don’t affect the quality of my work, as long as there is power and internet. In fact, I’m just finishing my first book, “It’s 5 am Go HOME!!” which introduces you to a fun, behind the scenes event world and shows you exactly how to produce your own 5-star wedding or event. Its5amGoHome.com. Take a peek if you are tasked with producing a wedding or event and want to get it right! Thanks for your time, peace and love to us all!
Has it been a smooth road? The bank crash and great recession of 2008-2010 caused me to lose a 20-year real estate project – was terrible. Felt like losing a 20-year-old child. Uggg!!
We’d love to hear more about your business. We focus on our clients, allowing them tremendous flexibility, while using our ‘The NOVA Way” system to ensure each event is 5-Star fabulous!
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I live in downtown St. Pete
Contact Info:
- Address: 535 Dr. M. L. King Jr Street North
- Website: https://nova535.com
- Phone: 949-873-6682
- Email: michael@nova535.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/NOVA_535
- Facebook: facebook.com/NOVA535
- Twitter: twitter.com/NOVA_535
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nova-535-st-petersburg-2
- Other: https://entrepreneursocialclub.com
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
