Does the Internet have something in common with New York City?
Be findable. Be remarkable. How can you build an enduring brand like Katz's Delicatessen today?
New York City is fast and expensive. It requires a certain energy to thrive there. It lives and breathes the definition of hustle. Forget side hustles. Hustle's the main thing.
It's also got everything you need packed into a rather small area. It's New York after all. LA and San Francisco even with their dreadful traffic don't come close to the New York vibe. Cost, yes.
I was just in New York City this past week and am thinking the internet feels a lot like New York. It's got everything you need close and it rewards people who move fast.
Getting things delivered - or even going places in New York is hard. I can't imagine the stress delivery drivers endure. I once knew a beverage distribution company that budgeted something like $50K annually for parking tickets around Madison Square Garden.
I discovered it can take an hour to go 4 miles in a Taxi. I can walk faster than that!
Yet there's an unmistakable energy. People move with purpose (as long as they're not gawking at their phones). And you have to know what you want fast. There's little patience for deliberating the pizza choices at the counter.
The internet is kind of like this. To avoid wasting countless hours, you have to have a sense of purpose. You have to know what you're looking for. As a business, you have to know WHO you want to reach. And you can't rest because just when you've figured out a content platform like Instagram, they change it.
You may have developed a glossy 'magazine' with amazing photos and then built a storefront to sell your goods. Then they deprecate photos in favor of video because they're racing to keep up with TikTok. Now you have to become a video production studio. Fail to keep up with the platform and your business may go with it. They're currently getting skewered for their poor execution and forcing people to video.
Snapchat's in an even worse position.
Which makes me think of enduring businesses like Katz's Delicatessen and how you might create that today in a sea of faster, constant change (I postulate that at every 'present' day, people reacted to technology and change with similar concerns about how to keep up. What's fast to prior generations is slow for us). People go to Katz's because it was famous long before the internet was a thing. Their fame didn't happen overnight either.
"In the early part of the twentieth century, the Lower East Side was home to millions of newly immigrated families. This, along with the lack of public and private transportation, forged a solid community such that Katz’s became a focal point for congregating. On Fridays, the neighborhood turned out to enjoy franks and beans, a Katz tradition." - Katz's Delicatessen website.
They move fast there. You can see the hustle. They know what they stand for. And they don't mess with success.
But what if you're not a storefront but a technology business? Katz's Deli is obviously not a technology business. Meat doesn't change like a computer chip (obviously). Can technology companies execute like Katz? Can they do something really well for a long, long time? Or maybe a long, long time is much much shorter today? That's the puzzle. It depends on your purpose. Want to scale as fast as possible to get acquired and cash out? Then no. You have to WANT to build something enduring; something that maybe grows a little slower and doesn't scale as big. Which is what this newsletter is focused on.
Let's look at another cool business in an old industry: the cocktail bar.
Some years ago my daughter introduced me to Death & Company when she gave me their first book. Beautifully produced with rich imagery and stories to go with it, it elevated the art of the cocktail. I had the chance to visit the OG while in NYC and it didn't disappoint. It matched the experience in the book. Best cocktail I've ever had, I believe. Yet they're not just a cocktail bar. Since starting in 2006, there are several around the country, plus more books, consulting for other cocktail bars and barware too. Their parent company is aptly named Gin and Luck Hospitality Group; they've taken on venture capital through SeedInvest and are building an empire around the cocktail. If you look at their naming, branding and website design, everything ties together. Digital meets physical.
How far can they extend the brand without watering it down too much (pun intended)? Time will tell. But I'm impressed with their vision. And so far, everything I've seen, they've done very, very well. They KNOW what they stand for and they live and breathe it. Even if you're not into cocktails, it's a lesson in how to deliver an experience that you can draw from.
As you think about your work, what stands out from Katz's Deli and Death and Company is they know who they are and who they're for. They've got clarity. And built strong brands around that clarity. You can too.
To put another bow on this, we ate at two fabulous restaurants I found on Eater: Aldama and Ci Siamo.
The first is an intimate place in Williamsburg Brooklyn serving some of the most memorable food. The second is a very chic and grand Italian place in the West Village serving some of the best Italian food. But years from now, it's likely the food at Aldamo that will be most remembered just like the experience at Death & Co. The Ci Siamo experience was wonderful, but not as memorable.
If you're getting the impression that I'm a believer in the power of building a personal brand, you're right. Considering the dearth of places to eat and drink in New York it was the brands built by Death & Co. and Katz's Deli that made them worth going out of the way for. Eater NYC's reviews of Aldama and Ci Siamo made them findable and enticing.
You have to stand for something to be sought out. Your brand - and your reputation - makes you findable. Delivering on what you promise helps you endure.