City Pudding is an online magazine gaining a ton of hype and quickly building its brand. The magazine, which is led by a passionate and driven leader, Jason Holzberg, is collaborating with top websites, hosting large events, and definitely making its mark as an online presence. We wanted to sit down with Jason and learn more about him and City Pudding. In this interview we also learn about the City Pudding business model and why people fail according to Jason. Check out the interview and don’t forget to visit New York Pudding and become a fan on facebook .
Tell us about yourself, your background?
I come from a sales & finance background, but my passion has always been in nightlife promotions and event production. I was highly involved in event coordination for greek life and private events when I was in college at Towson University. My partner Sean Fetcho also comes from an extensive sales background.
Tell us about the City Pudding project?
City Pudding is an evolving hybrid of online magazine, video production and event production company. Our mission is to supply each city with an evolving source of upscale lifestyle and entertainment. New York Pudding is the first city we had up and running and since then we have built up a team in Miami and we are currently working on Philadelphia and Los Angeles as our next two sites.
What were you doing before this venture? Why did you stop?
Before this venture I was working in private equity & capital leasing projects. It was a very lucrative industry for a while until the recession hit us and then I was forced with a choice…Another position within the finance community or take the bull by the horns and grab hold of my own destiny. And that destiny lies within the Pudding.
What are your goals for City Pudding?
To be in at least 10 major markets within the next 5 years. I believe in the famous adage here that “if it works in NY…it will work anywhere.
If I wanted to start a City Pudding, what are the steps I need to take?
Have a great idea that is unique and don’t stop pushing towards your goals. If you are going to stay online with your business model, you need a talented web programming team that’s creative. Additionally, you need start-up capital, content producers, and a growing network of people that believe in what you are doing and can provide you with constructive yet vital feedback.
What is your business model? How do you monetize what you’re doing?
The business model tree we have has a few different branches. The first one is traditional digital advertising. Display advertising has been a major advertising component for some time, but with the growth of video online, it has opened the revenue possibilities to the pre-roll or video advertisements. Another way we monetize is through our video & event productions. We offer venue reviews that are at superb quality and the ability to market them out across the web. We also produce and host events that are different from our competition. One of which we have coming up is a charity flag football tournament where we raise money for children’s cancer research. The majority of the money goes to beating cancer, but we churn a profit as well to help keep us swimming in pudding.
How have you gotten people interested in City Pudding and grown it?
When we started New York Pudding we were very in touch with our readers as we still are now. We want readers to feel like they can communicate with the people behind the content so that way we know what the people want to see and read. The aspect of the Pudding that has got people hooked in is the videos and the events. People look forward to events we produce which have a track record of being wildly fun, different and economical. Besides the charity flag football we have had a yacht party, numerous nightclub parties, fashion shows and we are currently planning our first annual Pudding Wrestling tournament which will also raise money for children’s cancer.
Why do people fail?
They give up when things get difficult. In the first year or two of a new business things are just really tough. Let me repeat this. The first 12-24 months really are difficult and beyond taxing on your stress levels. But you need to think long term and take on the mentality in the beginning that there is no level of difficulty that is going to set me back. The ancient Greek warriors understood this idea. When Grecian armies landed on their enemy’s shore, the first order the commanders gave was “burn the boats.” And it is just that mentality you have to take on with something like this…no turning back – there will be no surrendering.
What does success mean to you?
To me success means the self-utilization of the most priceless asset in the world…time. To be able to make your own schedule and have that type of career flexibility is priceless. How many people really get to say that? Success means being able to provide your loved ones with timeless moments. I am one of those people that will always have a chip on their shoulder to work harder, be smarter and to overall just get better as a person. My partner Sean who is a close friend along with my business partner is the exact same way, so in that regard there is a strong mutual respect. It’s like Michael Douglas says in the original “Wallstreet”, Greed for life, love, money and success is good.
What advice can you offer to someone stuck in an office hating their job?
Quit tomorrow. No I am just kidding. Everyone needs to make a living and grow their financial security to open up options for themselves in the future, but if you don’t ever take a stab at living your passion…well than you will definitely be full of regret one day in my opinion. You can always find yourself back in that 9-5 office, in a cubicle, taking shit from your manager and breathing the same day-in day-out later on in life if you have too, but why not roll the dice and take a shot at living the dream? Your dream…and that dream is different for everyone. For me and Sean, that dream lies within the growth of the City Pudding empire.
