DC Black NYC 2024 Event Recap
Our final DC Black event of the year took place December 4-6 in the Big Apple. This was probably the best DC Black exclusive event we’ve had since this group started in summer 2023.
The goal of every DC Black event is to get members together in person for meaningful conversations, business brainstorming, and deeper connections. We’re building a close-knit community in DC Black, and events like the one in NYC are one of the best ways to do that.
Some Event Highlights
Conversations about happiness and its relationship with financial success
Our special guest speaker, Michael Romei — head concierge at the Waldorf Astoria for 25 years
DC-branded beanies and hand warmers to combat the cold
More protein and veggies at meals
Electric shuffleboard was more fun than we expected and turned into a serious competition
Let’s recap the event!
The Venue
The Ace Hotel in Manhattan was our main hub for the weekend, with a great bar where we met up every night. Other than that, we didn’t spend a ton of time at the hotel because we were too busy exploring the city and taking in the best of NYC culture and cuisine.
The Ace is centrally located, so getting to each spot for the event’s activities was only 5-10 minutes walking distance. There’s so much to see in NYC and we all had a great time getting around on foot — no buses or public transportation were needed.
Day 1: Icebreakers and Sightseeing
Tour guides took us for a walking excursion through the city, sharing historical facts while we weaved in getting-to-know-you conversations and enjoyed classic NYC food. We also gave out beanie hats and hand warmers, a welcome surprise to help combat the cold.
That night, we continued connecting over great food and drink at the Good Behavior restaurant. We also did a mixer activity to get the conversations going.
Day 2: Workshopping with Peers and Shuffleboard Party
Time to get down to business! Our theme for the weekend was “Make 2025 a Breakout Year.” We met up at the Blender Workspace for a day of coworking. After fuelling up with a light breakfast, we got started.
Similar to a mastermind, attendees shared a problem or challenge with a group and received feedback. Attendees got to do this twice with two different groups to get a wider range of feedback and the opportunity to present more than one challenge.
“I picked up some really good advice around reducing instruction hours needed on our courses and also team management (leadership).” - Anthony Fasano
“We've been debating whether or not to add a booking engine to our offerings. We got a lot of feedback on the trip and the answer was a resounding yes. Very helpful validation.”
“The prompting to get people to open up about challenges and stuff was a nice way to let things get deeper in a way that didn't make it socially awkward.” - Taylor Pearson
“[Two attendees] were really motivating to me as success stories trying to figure out what to do next. We’re all in similar spots and knew very much what each was going through. Great accountability partners.”
- Greg Berlin
After lunch, we had a talk from our special guest speaker: Michael Romei, the head concierge at the Waldorf Astoria for the last 25 years.
He’s a member of Les Clefs d’Or USA, the group for top concierges in the country. He shared about his experience working with high-end clients (celebrities and government officials), how to maximize client experience, and luxury travel.
“Loved the idea to have something out of left field and have Michael from Waldorf come. I actually found it to be the most interesting and unexpected part of the trip. I want to implement a concierge-like experience [for] our customers.” - Dustin Overbeck
To cool off after a day of brainstorming and masterminding, we had a rousing electric shuffleboard party, another surprising hit among attendees.
Congratulation to Frankie, the shuffleboard champion of the night!
Day 3: Brunch Breakthroughs and Box Seats at the Rangers Game
We closed out the weekend in style: a delicious brunch at Sarabeth’s, famous for its omelettes and strawberry jam, where we wrapped up our conversations from the previous day’s coworking session.
Then, we headed out to Madison Square Garden (truly breathtaking in the holiday season) to watch the Rangers hockey game from our very own DC Black private box. It was epic.
Overall, it was an awesome event with lots of memorable moments. The team worked hard to implement attendee feedback from past events, and we were happy to make changes like more protein at meals. We can’t wait to make our next event in Phuket (March 1-3, 2025) even better!
“Someone in the world has solved the same problem you're struggling with and has figured it out… more often than not, someone in DC Black has already solved the problem, and only by putting yourself out there you can learn who and how. This weekend I was both on the "X has solved my problem, we should talk more" and "I have solved Y's problem, we should talk more.”
“Being surrounded by very talented and aggressive entrepreneurs and meeting them face to face is invaluable. It creates relationships that I know will make me crazy money in the future but also keep my daily life a lot more interesting as we stay in constant contact now we are friends.” - Jimmy Ichane
Hope to see you at the next event,
