Executive Voice
JULIEN UHLIG- SENSES OR HOW TO BUILD THE HOTTEST NIGHTLIFE BRAND IN BALI
SENSES- has become the hottest nightlife brand in Bali. Created as a community concert series during the Covid Pandemic, It is now hosted at the W Hotel in Seminyak and is powered by Peavey, one of the most prominent great manufacturers in the world. How do you build a successful business without capital investment during times where you are not even able to advertise. SENSES is a great inspiring case study for every Entrepreneur.
SENSES BEHIND THE SCENES DOCUMENTARY
The story of SENSES is proving, that directly targeting your perfect audience and creating exceptional value is still the most effective and rewarding way to grow a business from nothing.
Julien Uhlig and Loraynne Peri Hosting the Event
You know that we love events, Building communities, connecting people. Making an impact through the power of connections is what EX Venture night is all about- we are empowering visionary companies by introducing them to top investors and government funding sources. Should I spend my limited time building a night-life brand? Probably not, but it’s a lot of fun, and these are the memories you talk about for years, not the extra few hundred bucks made from another hour of consulting.
We as EX Venture genuinely enjoy working in deep, complicated technology fields drawing from our decade of experience managing high-tech government projects and companies. Sometimes being super local and feeling the direct impact of your creative process is super rewarding as well. Being surrounded by Entrepreneurs, we see many intelligent people launching their products or services for months and years. Sometimes it’s fun to try it out with the least financial risk possible and then double down if you have a winning concept.
How do you build a brand without investing any money? How can you create something memorable and meaningful without the help of investors? Create something that truly resonates with an audience that shares your passion.
But sometimes we all get lonely and bored. Covid is a personal test for every workaholic in the world. I have been traveling since I was 17 years old, always restless for the opportunity, personal growth, and memorable experiences. With the outbreak of covid, this restlessness had to come to a screeching halt. We had the option back to Singapore and be stuck in an overpriced miniature living space in quarantine or stay in Bali (Indonesia), a beautiful place but not necessarily leading to healthcare. Having a toddler makes you think twice.
We decided to wait out the pandemic on this easily isolatable Island. Like a miracle after the airport, ports, and bridges were shut down, there has not been a single covid severe case in our super-fit, extremely young, Expat community of maybe 6- 8.000 areas in the world’s most popular digital nomad spot.
Things in Bali changed from one day to the next with the disappearance of the Millions of tourists who usually come to the Island, which might be the most popular holiday destination in Asia. Generally, the population has been highly transient, meaning that you don’t know anyone anymore after four weeks if you don’t keep making new friends daily. Now we had to be a community from scratch, bringing together people from literally every corner of the earth, with the largest group being Russian.
Bringing all of these people together was to become a remarkable social experiment. We started a nomad community from scratch.
Most restaurants had to shut down; we have about 500, so about 0.5 per person right now, which is not sustainable.
EARLY LOUNGE WITH JAZZ AT WOOBAR
While Bali offers a lot to Eat, Pray, Love, some necessities like Rock&Roll were now wholly absent.
With constantly changing regulations and a financially strapped nomad community, there was nowhere left to go. Born was SENSES- an underground live music experience, based on the old school downstairs Rock and Jazz Bars of New York and London. The first location became a shut down Japanese restaurant names One-Eyed Jack”, the red brick walls made it super easy to convert the space into a Rock Bar for one night only. We set up the entrance through the kitchen in order not to alarm authorities. Since there was no way to advertise, we invited some friends via WhatsApp; no location disclosed, be ready and glamorous whenever you get the message.
On our first Thursday at 6.45 PM, we opened the door, and the place filled up within 15 minutes. It turns out many of us are craving a community and brings us closer than live music. We started the evening with live jazz and then slowly escalated to some old-school Rock&Roll. SENSES was Born! Investment for creating a night-life brand under 500 USD.
The following four parties became always more successful. The Team worked on a different concept, from long table garden dinners, back to club feeling. We even through the ultimately Villa Party of 300 plus people actively rocking our living room.
BALI PARTY CROWD
We had just built a successful business during a global crisis without investment while having a great time.
Simply by putting in some effort and getting all of our friends involved. The marketing strategy is ultra simple and combines real live and Instagram. If I go out and meet someone, Ill invite them. Following on Instagram, I can see their stories, and if you have cool friends, we will ask them as well, and so on. Super Low cost and highly effective. But most important, do something you genuinely love, and others will love it as well. As a trained musician myself, I miss performing, making music together, getting a crowd excited.
Running a Venture Fund, working for the German Government, and bringing Sustainable Technology products to markets, you generally don’t get this immediate feedback.
Also, I care about what we do. This understanding seems to be automatic, but that is not my experience in Bali. Maybe it has been too easy for too long; throw up a DJ, and people will come. Losing 99% of your audience brings us back to the fundamentals of doing business. We all want to belong somewhere; we all crave a genuinely personal experience, not always the same commercialized cookie-cutter events. A private message is what motivates people more than any other marketing method especially in the days of endless automation and sales funnels! I hope to see you on Thursday at SENSES.
THE FIRST BIG POST-COVID PARTY IN SEMINYAK
SENSES is now partnering with the W Hotel in Seminyak. SENSES has become the largest, most successful Party on the Island.
For the most recent event, the location, still under covid regulation, had to close the doors at 700 enthusiastic fans. Many more were waiting or trying to get in. The event was so successful that both partners agreed to a long-term collaboration. We will organize beautiful events in this incredible location together on a quarterly basis. In the end, everything is about people. Don’t assume you know if your concept will be successful or not. You will not know until you try. The more we automate our world- this fundamental truth will not only remain true but ultimately will make the difference in growing your business.
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