When most youngsters had been ready in lengthy strains to experience curler coasters at Hershey Park, Ryan Stana discovered himself gravitating to one thing that gave him a a lot larger thrill: the park’s theater. “I might sit and watch the reveals — and I used to be captivated,” he advised Entrepreneur. “And after I was a senior in highschool, I used to be nonetheless watching these reveals, however I began to note this ‘unpolished’ high quality. Possibly my rose coloured glasses broke, however I noticed a possibility to deliver excellence and innovation to attraction and leisure leisure.”
Stana says he had two desires when he was a child: to grow to be a Broadway performer and to grow to be a trainer. And people two passions got here collectively when, shortly after faculty, he launched his personal dwell experiences firm RWS Global. “I’m very fortunate,” he says, “Each of my mother and father are entrepreneurs and are extraordinarily supportive — they taught me that with arduous work, something is feasible.”
Since its launch from the nook of a crowded New York Metropolis house (extra on that later), RWS has grow to be a powerhouse in dwell leisure, casting Broadway reveals like The Lion King, creating leisure and experiences for cruiselines like Disney Cruise Line, producing world occasions just like the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Video games, and way more.
Credit score: RWS International
Entrepreneur spoke with Stana to get the complete image of how he launched and grew his firm. Very like the reveals and occasions RWS Group produces, his story is filled with drama and motion.
Inform us in regards to the second you determined to begin your personal firm.
As quickly as I completed faculty, I moved to New York Metropolis and have become an affiliate producer for company and retail occasions. I used to be making $600 per week. The corporate I used to be working for had wonderful inventive, however they didn’t know how one can function and price range. I am unable to imagine I am even saying that as a result of after I was in highschool, I used to be horrible at math. However I spotted, “Hey, they’re making $200,000, however they’re spending $250,000.” I noticed that you want to have a stability between inventive and operational considering. So someday I known as my mother and father and mentioned, “I hate this job.” They usually had been like, “Ryan, why do not you go and open your personal enterprise?” And I mentioned, “OK.” So I stop.
In order that’s the choice — how did you truly begin the enterprise?
I went again to my house in New York Metropolis. I had two roommates on the time, Barry and Colby, and I mentioned, “I’ll open an workplace within the nook of our lounge. And when the telephone rings, I want you to reply it so it appears like individuals work right here. I will deduct cash from our utility invoice each month for those who do. I despatched out an e-mail that evening to all of the individuals I had labored with and mentioned, “I now work for RWS International. In the event you’re , please attain out.” I did not inform them that I owned it as a result of who was going to belief a 21-year-old?
And when do you know that this concept was going to work?
About three weeks in, Clear Channel known as me about an upfront presentation and requested me to pitch for a $150,000 occasion. I bear in mind stepping into and pitching, and as I used to be leaving the room, the consumer got here out and mentioned, “Ryan, we’re supplying you with this gig.” And I knew we had one thing particular in our key providing: turnkey operations. We deal with the creativity, the individuals and the operations, and have systemized the method.
Your organization does so many various kinds of occasions. Are you able to boil it down for individuals unfamiliar with the dwell occasions house?
We are the world chief in creating dwell moments throughout leisure and sports activities. We’re basically damaged down into six divisions: Design vacation spot, the place we are literally designing theme parks, zoos, aquariums, museums, customer facilities. Then we’ve got our land manufacturing division, the place we’re offering non permanent experiences and dwell reveals in theme parks, retail facilities, and seasonal programming. We do pop-up model experiences in inns and resorts. Then we’ve got our at-sea manufacturing division, the place we offer full-scale Broadway-type productions and immersive experiences on cruise ships. Then we’ve got a retail and merchandise division. And our sixth division is our casting division. We offer over 8,000 jobs internationally for technicians and performers. We create a trajectory for our expertise, so you can begin working for us at Six Flags, transfer to a cruise ship, and for those who do nicely, get positioned in a Broadway present or a business. That permits us to nook the market.
Credit score: Medora Musical
As a performer, might you simply say, “Hey, I’ll forged myself as Simba?”
I could not say that and nor would anybody need me to say that anymore. I nonetheless get numerous pleasure in seeing the success of our expertise. That is what drives me. And after I say expertise, it isn’t simply the individuals on the stage. It is seeing the individuals in our workplace have success as nicely.
Are you able to give us a way of your organization’s income progress?
We reached near about $50 million in income a 12 months after the pandemic. We’ve grown to 9 figures since then. We expanded largely by means of acquisitions. We acquired a casting firm in 2016 (Binder Casting), then we bought a vacation spot design enterprise in 2021 (JRA). We then purchased our largest competitor in Europe in 2022 (ted). After which we bought the sports activities division in 2024 (Nice Massive Occasions), and most not too long ago bought an app (Concord Helper) that helps performers be taught their music in a quicker approach, which permits our productions and our purchasers to economize. In 2023, we additionally took on a personal fairness agency, Bluestone Fairness Companions. I offered off a minority quantity of the enterprise to maneuver our firm into the long run.
Did theater college put together you for all of this?
I simply be taught as issues come. I really imagine that when you’ve got a ardour for what you do, you’ll determine it out. I advised a buddy not too long ago that you simply need not spend time getting an MBA. In case you have a ardour and you’re employed arduous, you are going to have success. However for those who assume being an entrepreneur isn’t 24/7? You are useless mistaken.
How do you develop in a manageable approach that does not unfold your self too skinny?
I’ve made it a degree since day one to not make our success primarily based on myself or any particular person. It is about having the techniques and processes for the corporate to develop. And having a timeline for motion. We are saying these are the issues we need to accomplish in 2025. And if a brand new thought comes up, nice, we bump it to 2026. So as soon as we have laid that basis, the combination of these companies could be very easy. Now I might be mendacity to you to say that it has not been bumpy once you’re shopping for six+ corporations, however you take heed to individuals and respect what they are saying, and transfer ahead.
How do you flip your mind off? Can you watch reveals and never have your work mind going?
I can’t chill out after I watch a present — that I can promise you. Individuals would in all probability snort after I say this, however it’s about discovering a work-life stability. And the one one who can change a work-life stability is you as a person. I all the time ensure that as soon as per week, I’ve someday that I shut off. That’s Ryan’s lazy day, the place I simply watch senseless tv and chill and spend time with my husband and my household to keep in mind that with out these individuals, I could not be doing what I do.
