It’s Thursday, January 23, 2020, and it feels great to be back at the ‘helm’ of the ESC, that’s Entrepreneur Social Club’s [tm] massive meeting table. It’s big. I’m settling in, getting ready for the randomness of meeting new humans, fellow Entrepreneurs, business owners, creators and dreamers. Watching them stroll in, solo or with friends. Of course we’re here at our HQ, my historic venue, NOVA 535, in beautiful Downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. USA. Each week from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm, we gather for business development, drinks, mentoring, networking, laughter, plus sharing successes, failures and honest feedback. Then we go downtown for dinner and more drinks. Let’s see who’s Back for More! (more…)
oyster bar
Double Bubble
We all (should) know that a recession is coming. Not if, when, and just how deep and nasty will it be? We are looking forward, doing our best to grow sustainably, to be ready willing and able to weather this next economic downtown. Tonight, Thursday, May 23, 2019, we spend some quality time during our weekly Entrepreneur Social Club [tm] discussing the Double Bubble. The Double Bubble we refer to is not from the infamous bubblelicious gum that I chewed the hell out of when I was a teen, in fact, no more gum for me at all. Mostly because it’s plastic and poison, a definite lose-lose. That Double Bubbe was that rare moment when you blew a larger outer bubble then a smaller bubble inside of your first bubble. Hence the Doube Bubble. As Roger Curlin III, our resident restaurant guru describes, the Double Bubbe of the overbuilt local restaurant industry and the impact of the forthcoming recession will be providing a much much less friendly version. I hope we are all ready, though I know we are for tonight’s fun and productive time spent together. So let’s get things rolling! (more…)
Offsite at The Queens Head DTSP
Entrepreneur Social Club is Offsite at The Queens Head DTSP
Tonight is Thursday, November 9, 2017, and we gather at one of our favorite DTSP locations, the Queens Head DTSP. Our Entrepreneur Social Club HQ, historic venue NOVA 535, is booked for a private dinner party. I’m at NOVA 535, getting things up and running, then my 5-Star brother Chris Novilla takes over, so I can join my fellow visionaries, founders, start-ups, dreamers, business owners and Entrepreneurs at our fav Euro bar and restaurant, The Queens Head. I arrived a bit late, and some of our visionaries were in route to becoming double-visionaries.
Follow the Shiny Fork
Follow the Shiny Fork to the Entrepreneur Social Club
Tonight is Thursday, November 9, 2017, and we gather at our Entrepreneur Social Club headquarters, the DTSP historic venue, NOVA 535. We all get sidetracked, in business, in love, and especially after some drinks while we’re being silly. Speaking for my fellow Entrepreneurs, we are ALL overworked, mostly underpaid and certainly ALL need to lower our stress levels. Healthier is Happier, that’s Better, correct? Tonight we discussed how we can, and should be, healthier. And laughter is always on the prescribed medications list. We have so many laughs and good times during our meetings, and especially afterwards at dinner. Even more so during our !!AfterParty!! …though rarely are there any digital documentation and evidence of our !!AfterParties!! Club rules and all that. Just ask Jzon.
Oyster Dinner Provides Pearls of Wisdom
Oyster Dinner Provides Pearls of Wisdom for the Entrepreneur Social Club, on this lovely Thursday night, October 12, 2017. We return to our HQ, the historic DTSP venue NOVA 535, located in beautiful downtown St. Pete, Florida. Another lively and packed house, fellow business owners and Entrepreneurs eagerly gathering to connect, to share and mentor, to enjoy blowing off some steam. And don’t forget another delicious dinner, plenty of drinks and lots of laughter. Let’s see what tomfoolery we got ourselves into this week, and what Pearls of Wisdom we can recall the next morning!
Entrepreneurial Magic
It’s another beautiful Thursday night, March 16, 2017, here in lovely downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, what we locals call DTSP. We’re gathering at our gorgeous, historic HQ, St. Pete’s 5-Star wedding and event venue NOVA 535. Where our weekly ritual has taken place since 2009, when the Entrepreneur Social Club, aka ESC, was founded. And Trademarked. So if you are considering creating a social club for Entrepreneurs, be original and find your own name. Dorks!! (Side rant.) Anywho, here we gather to laugh and cry, to share our successes and failures. Plus we enjoy some cocktails from our lovely master bartender Vanessa, and get in some good ol’ fashion networking. When the timing is just right, we enjoy some Entrepreneurial Magic.
Where Science meets Science Fiction
Tonight June 3, 2016, here in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida at the award-winning, historic venue, NOVA 535 Unique Event Space, we gather once again to enjoy, celebrate, network, schmooze, teach, learn, and blow off steam. Who are we? We are the Entrepreneur Social Club, aka the ESC. We are the risk takers, the dreamers, the inventors, and the doers. Where is the place where science meets Science Fiction? Read on and find out!
A Delightfully Unexpected ESC Reunion then Oyster Bar and Ruby’s Elixir
It’s Thursday night again, which means the Entrepreneur Social Club, which meets most always here at historic venue NOVA 535 in beautiful downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. Occasionally we’re offsite when NOVA is booked for a private event. we had a packed house. I LOVE seeing the entire table full, tonight was a delightfully unexpected ESC reunion, so many faces returning from their busy lives. Tonight was unusual as several, independent clumps of friends and Entrepreneurs randomly show up for this Thursday’s Entrepreneur Social Club. Plus there was around ten newbies. I asked all the newcomers how they heard of ESC, and EVERYONE said from a friend or business associate. I then asked who spent time today on social media and EVERYONE raised their hands. I wanted to drive home the point that Word of Mouth is still the most powerful way to gain new business.
Our 2015 Favorite Restaurants in Downtown St. Pete for Dinner After the ESC
After our weekly Entrepreneur, Social Club meeting ends, we head further into downtown St. Petersburg to one of our favorite, delicious restaurants, where we eat, drink (more!) and continue to be merry! The ESC is a purely social club infused with strong, real-world business wisdom, mentoring, networking and problem-solving. And all of that work’s up our appetites, so I’ll get right down to the sharing of our 2015 Favorite Downtown St. Pete Restaurants for Dinner after the ESC. They are in alphabetical order for ease and fairness, I’ll note the ones that are member-owned and / or exceptionally great! Keep in mind that we only go to restaurants with adult beverages, though some here only serve beer and wine. Also, a key factor is lighting, ambiance and being able to sit 12-20+ of us all together. No sitting apart, this is a group event, the Entrepreneur Social Club. And yes, it’s ok to buy me, Michael S. Novilla, the founder, dinner. =D