How David Grutman Built LIV, Komodo, & Papi Steak Into a Global Empire

0:00You have for decades now had some of the most like successful and talked about establishments. It's business, don't take it personally. No, no, no. When someone says that, that's crazy. It hurts me so badly that I kind of don't want to be friends with you anymore. You used to manage a DJ. We won't say any, Mark Ronson. But do you feel like you ever take it too personal? No. I hope they die. They're like, I don't care. I want to win at all costs. Like, I want to win. Why don't you tell the audience when you do stuff at other places that aren't mine, what's that call like, Rich? Mark Wahlberg, Serena Williams, Tom Brady, David Beckham, and me, five of the greatest athletes of this generation.

0:46Author, entrepreneur, hospitality mogul. Wow. What would you say is a lesson that you wish you had at 25 years old? What's up, everybody? And welcome to a very special boardroom cover story. Wow. Welcome, David Grubman, please. Dave, thank you, my friend. Thanks for having me, Rich. Of course. Take it personal. It was interesting when I heard the title and then saw you interviewed about it. I guess you could take that in a few different ways, but I understood exactly what it meant. You know what it meant. With you. And honestly, it's good to hear you say that because I think that at times I felt like that may have been a crutch for me.

1:27you know how you react to things in business or how you react to things in life at times you you you start to feel like you are taking it personal and a lot of people then say to you the cliche line it's business don't take it personal no no and someone says that that's crazy I mean it's why I think we're both so successful is we do take it personal if I don't take it to heart that you're not you're not getting this deal done or you're not eating in my places you're not coming to one of my spots, it hurts me so badly that I kind of don't want to be friends with you anymore. As you know, why don't you tell the audience, like when you do stuff at other places that aren't mine, what's that call like, Rich?

2:06Yeah, early in my career. Not early in your career. Not that early in your career. Pretty early. Just to be clear, maybe a few years ago when I saw boardroom popping up at other places in Miami that wasn't mine. Very true, but this dates back to my DJ manager days. We're going back then? Yeah, you used to get very mad if I booked a DJ at another club. Not only that, you used to manage a DJ, we won't say anything, Mark Ronson, that had a stepbrother that owned other nightclubs in Miami. And you'd be like, David, his brother owns another nightclub. And I'm like, I really don't care. I go, he needs to be, listen, don't you care about your client's career?

2:46Don't you care about the best thing for your client? Forget about the family for a second. I would go in and somehow, some way, that DJ would pop up at one of my spots. I knew you were different then because I clearly remember saying, it's his family, bro. And you were like, I don't give a s***. I hope they die. Like, I don't care. It's about him playing with us. But do you feel like you ever take it too personal? No. Never. Do you feel as if I do? I don't think you do. I wouldn't know though. Like, do you ever regret a reaction that you've had to somebody? Oh, no, no. I've had some very, very bad reactions and probably some that weren't justified, but I think that's why I win.

3:31Yeah. I want to win at all costs. Like, I want to win. Part of wanting to win, and I interviewed somebody recently who said any entrepreneur can't help it, but they're just a narcissist in some way. Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure. I don't recommend that people go into being an entrepreneur. You know, I don't think it's, there's a lot of downside. You become a narcissist by default. Do you think about your business and your career and yourself all the time? Well, that ties back to take it personal, doesn't it? I mean, at the end of the day, all that stuff we just mentioned is about taking it personal.

4:04Yeah. I wrote the foreword for Dave Gretman's new book. I have known Dave for over 20 years and I know all of his secrets. You talked about relationships, which is like a through line in this book. And it's clear the impact you've had on people from, you know, the forward that Kim Kardashian wrote, from the incredible quotes at the back of the book and the honor, the honor that you gave me to be listed with Mark Wahlberg, Serena Williams, Tom Brady. David Beckham. David Beckham and me, five of the greatest athletes of this generation. I thought it was important to have you, Rich, since you've been there from from pretty much day one.

4:47and I think you kind of really know me and I'm so proud of your success to watch how much you've grown. I think it's important to have your name on the back of my book. Well, it means a lot to me and I think obviously when people talk about relationships and networking, again, you interview any entrepreneur and they talk about like the need to network and build relationships. Hate that. It's not necessarily a recipe that you could give to someone else but you, I imagine, and learned in being a professor to these kids, that there was an actual lesson that could be given to someone else. Yeah, I mean, listen, it started, like, let's say even in college, David Guetta's agent is my friend.

5:28Tiesto's manager is my friend. Pa is a big agent, his agent I knew in college. So it's never too soon to start building relationships. And that's what people don't, they're like, oh, I'll start doing this and doing that when I reach a certain level. And I just always thought I am that level. You do do a good job. And I've watched this. And I think this is one of your gifts. You tell me if I'm wrong. You never zero in the celebrity. And you understand the importance of not just the people in the room, the people around, let's say, the talent. Of course. And I would imagine earlier in your career, the emphasis may have been on the people around the talent, right?

6:08But still to this day, Rich, as you try to move talent around or try to get them to do different things, it's the voices in the ears that makes everything happen. And also knowing their stories, too, because they usually control a lot of other people as well. There's a part, I think, in the book when you talked about a deal you were doing for Kim Kardashian. Right. And then the founder of the company wanted to offer you shares. Right after the deal was done the the owner of the company came to me said hey as a thank-you gift I want to give you this and it's happened a few times now with a few different people and I think it's so important to be transparent with people because for that little bit of whatever for them to find that out and not from me first that would be that would be really bad so I don't even accept it until I talk to them first and say are you okay with it your deals done You want to give me a thank you.

7:08Never went into this to even try to get anything. I'm just here to add value and help you out, of course, as you know. And they've always, the same response has happened every time. Are you kidding? Of course, David. Thank you so much. We want you to win too. Yeah. And it feels like these relationships by nature are not transactional. At all. So in the beginning of your career, it was all about bringing people into your environment. You just so happened to have the hottest environment. So the fact that people wanted to be around you and they wanted to be in the clubs and restaurants that you built allowed these people just naturally to be in your world.

7:43But as you've evolved as a businessman and you've had to look at some of these relationships as transactional, right? Because you've built this equity, I imagine it's easier. It's great that I have such great relationships that people will show up for me when I ask them to. And I think people will do things for me that they won't do for other people. Did you learn more about yourself writing this book? Yeah, because again, just breaking everything down. And you know, I go through my day and I'm like, da, da, da, da, da. When you break it down to be able to show someone else how to do that, it takes a lot of time and energy.

8:17Yeah. And you did a really good job because what goes on in here must be moving at a billion miles per hour. So there's a lot of noise up there, Rich, as you could imagine. The wheels are just turning. and uh it's a lot of noise it's a lot it's a lot of noise up there so what did you learn about yourself trying to streamline that noise uh that how authentic it is for me how for me you know and i didn't realize how much i really do care about people more than i than i really think yeah like i really really care man i know you do

8:52I know you do my friend what would you say is a lesson that you wish you had at 25 years old that you've now given to people in this book something that like if you had known that at 25 god things could have been different or do you feel like everything that's happened in your career is just exactly the way it's supposed to have happened I mean you know people always like if I had a hot tub time machine, it wouldn't go back in time. What would I do differently? And for me, I think all the mistakes I made as part of that journey is what makes me who I am today. So no, I want to go through those mistakes.

9:32I want to go through those challenges and I want to go through those failures. Yeah. So nothing. Okay. That's interesting. Cause I would imagine that, you know, you're not, this isn't like you're writing a book at 80 years old, right? This isn't the end of your journey. And I know that you probably have some of your most successful years from a business standpoint in front of you. From your lifts to, you know. Well, I think that's a fact. I mean, I remember I was feeling some of that same angst at one point a few years ago, and I went to see Jimmy Iovine. Yeah. And I brought this up, and he broke it down so simply to me.

10:02He was just like, unless you're, you know, this guy, Mark Zuckerberg, or LeBron James, or Jay-Z, your best earning years are going to be from 45 to 60. Great. Right? I'm in that sweet spot. You're in that sweet spot. All right, let's talk about your business. Okay. You have, for decades now, had some of the most successful and talked about establishments. But over the last decade, you formed Groot Hospitality and turned it into more of an enterprise. Right. Where are you today? Tell me what makes that up. So, I mean, on the hospitality side, it's Live Miami, Live Las Vegas, Live Beach, Casa Sedona, Gecko, Poppy Steak, which is growing in many markets now.

10:50And of course, Komodo, which was my first restaurant, is now in three different markets and growing. Let's talk about Poppy Steak because it's like within the portfolio, you have these powerful brands. Obviously, Live is like a renowned brand, right? But the whole relationship between you guys and bringing Poppy Steak to life, it's almost like you built this whole other world. and him, and I didn't know him, but this character that's also bigger than life, which is hard in your shadow. So what Rich is referring to is David Poppy Einhorn, my partner, really the face of Poppy's take. Good morning, everybody.

11:27Hi, Poppy. It's great to see someone, for me to give somebody a platform and them just take it and run with it. I'd love to say that, you know, this is all my shtick. This is Poppy. Poppy's really, he's used the platform and really springboarded to really make it his own. And I'm so happy to be just along for the ride and back him up. And back him up differently than I would normally just back myself up. I back him up with our back of the house, our operations, and of course, some of my marketing as well and stuff. But at the end of the day, it's his shtick that's so on fire right now. It's just so great to see.

12:08And it feels like he had some of those same skills that you talk about in this course. I mean, listen, there's a reason why we're such great friends. There's a reason why we're partners, because we both add value in different ways. Yeah. And yeah, it's weird not to have my face as the front face. But Rich, what a blessing it is to have someone like that to be able to be part of his restaurant. And now, as my career gets longer, I'm investing in other founders and other people that their faces should be front. And I'm just adding value where I see I can. Yeah. You know, you talk about the relationships you formed and I would go on record by saying you may have one of the most elite networks in all of in business.

12:48And it's all happened in in this place in Miami, which has become like part of who you are and the DNA of like your brand. Right. So anybody that lands in Miami feels this like gravitational pull to see you or be around you. those relationships and how long I've known you. If you wanted me to do something in business with you, I would do it in two seconds, right? Which you have, by the way. Which I have. And we're going to get to that. How important is that part of these relationships, right? Like not doing the transaction or asking for something in the beginning of meeting somebody or understanding that the opportunity is more in the longevity of this relationship.

13:30Of course, because you never know what's going to come out of the relationship. People think it just has to be right there. they're so anxious to get it like well they're going to be here for two days and then if i don't get it okay man yeah like i'm so happy like years and years and years and then of course randomly you'll call me and so and so is going to be there oh dave what do you think about doing something together for f1 or what's going on in miami that we should do something great together uh and even here when i did a tennis event we were strategic with each other how do we help each other because you were doing a tennis event yep we were both doing tennis events We love tennis.

14:04Tennis, a big part of your life the last few years. Yes. Is that your release? It's not about a release. You know, I never had any hobbies. My only hobby was to dominate. And, you know, as I went on this fitness journey for myself, I wanted to find a sport that I just became so obsessed with. And by owning the Prince brand with ABG, I'm like, I have this iconic tennis brand. How could I not be able to play tennis? So during COVID, I started hitting and I just became so obsessed, guys. I play tennis every morning from 8 to 9. People are like, can't we play at 11, 12? No, no. 8 to 9 starts my day.

14:42It makes me so happy. And when it rains in Miami and I can't play tennis, I get very upset. At the end of every tennis session, you give these life lessons. No, no. I don't give it. I let other people give it. Okay, go ahead, guys. Life lesson. Go ahead. Life lesson. Run your own race. Regardless, it felt like almost a precursor to this book, right? Like you've been doing this for a while. I love every day, because I have guests that come and hit with me on a daily basis, and I love for them to be able to give what their inspirational quote of the day would be.

15:19Of all the things that we would be talking about in an interview, if someone asked me maybe two years ago, I probably wouldn't have guessed author. Is that true? Yeah, not that I didn't think you could and should and deserve to write a book. I just don't know if I saw it. You're saying the ADD is so intense. On this card right here, it says the word focus. Okay. So I was interested in how this came about, how you locked in and even got convinced at this point in your life to write a book. So as you know, at FIU, I've been teaching a college course for the last five years. And from that college course, it gave me a great outline.

16:01And I thought, why not go ahead and give someone the blueprint for how I live my life and to be able to put everything down now on paper? Because at the end of the day, you know, I'm trying to build legacy, Rich. And for me to have a book during my time of being in it is, I think, very important. What does that mean for you, build legacy? Listen, at this point in my life, I think I've kind of checked the box into a lot of boxes. And I'm at that point where I'm thinking, you know what? I really care about my legacy. How people regard you and what your impact was, I imagine, right? Of course. Of course.

16:35So this class that you taught, what did you get from it that you hadn't had kind of fulfilled for you in the past that ultimately put you in this path to writing a book? You know, for me, it was more about being able to take the time to break down what I do every day in a syllabus and having that syllabus be able to teach it. Like, you know, I have great relationships. People are like, how do you have such great relationships? Great question. To really sit there and break it down takes a lot of time and energy. Now, if I take the time and energy to put it into a book, hopefully it'll help the next generation.

17:10Right. Where do you want to evolve the hospitality side of your business now? Well, I like it to being a springboard to just as an ecosystem now for my production studio and for my consumer brand, Good Investments, to see how they all could work together. Well, I want to talk about those two things, but I also I read about this idea around membership that you're exploring. Oh, yeah. I definitely want to have a luxury membership program. What is that? I'm trying to build a member, a members club. And I feel like at this point in my life, yes, I have the fun, exciting restaurants. but i also want to be able to give our as we get older we want something a little bit different as well okay i think we want something different as well we want to be able to be around uh our like-minded friends and and people around us and have more of a luxury product and you talked in the book about that as part of like the future the idea of like hotels and what that means and And that, to your earlier point about legacy, is like the epitome of it, right?

18:11Like you always notice the building that someone built. Someone walks by and says, that's my hotel. That's my building. Right. So I've also, from this whole journey, I've learned what my people react well with and what they don't. Anytime I do something mid or low budget, they don't react well. They expect from me their experience, and I'm hoping they expect luxury from me. When I did a hotel with micro room hotels, 150 square feet, you're my friend and I know you love me, but you're not staying in 150 square foot hotel room. Food service. Has it been compromised, you think, for experience? No, I think you start with the product first and you could always plate it, do this, do that, however differently.

18:53But at the end of the day, you can't short people. You know, people I love that they come to me, they say, you know, poppy steak might have the best food I've ever had before my life. The Wagyu pastrami, the manat potato, the steaks, everything. They love it. Or they go to Casa Dona and they talk about how great that food is. To me, everyone, I mean, I know people expect something from a restaurant that's more festive and has great experience. And they expect the food to be, you know, like you just said, not great. I try to deliver on everything. All right. You talked about the production studio and you've had some cool announcements in the last few months.

19:29Yeah. And the consumer brands, which is where we've overlapped, where you've brought opportunities for me. Skinny Dipped. Yeah. Great opportunity. Great brand. And it feels like that was a natural fit. Right. Both of these things, storytelling, which you do, you know, on the daily and the idea of like helping other people's brands understand how to use their platform, how to create relationships that can help scale their product. Right, exactly. I mean, by bringing somebody like you in or some of our friends that are high profile, it helps magnify the message of that consumer brand. There's so many products out there.

20:02How do you cut through? Yeah. And on the venture side, do you see that as something that, you know, and you've done elements of this, but like, is there a part of you that wants to launch a brand that's yours? Yeah. Listen, I thought about incubating my own brands now and not just pushing other people's. Yeah, it's a big thought process of mine, just finding what that right one is. Yep. All right. Last question. Miami as a city. It's changed, I would imagine, drastically from. Incredible, right? Yeah, it's amazing. What would you say is like something that you're starting to see in South Florida, whether it's a neighborhood of something that hasn't existed because so many people now are converging on this city?

20:47Yeah, I think just like myself, Miami is evolving, evolving, evolving. And I think there's pockets in Miami that keep changing. And like I used to be obsessed with Wynwood. Like it was the coolest place to bring somebody when they came to town because it was so raw and stuff. And now it's just way more manicured than it used to be. Now they've taken down all the warehouses and built buildings. People want to be in these environments. Yeah. Did you enjoy writing the book? Did I enjoy it? I loved writing the book. You loved it. I loved it, man. I think you should do one, Rich. I've thought about it.

21:18Let's go. Well, you think you have another book in the future? Let's hope so. Let's hope the story keeps going. Well, I think this book is a must read. I think that there's this like nuance to certain entrepreneurs that is not textbook. And when someone like you can put it in a book for young people, I think is really important. Yeah, I think what's so great about this book is you don't have to be in the hospitality business. You don't have to be in the entertainment business. You could open a car wash and you could use this as your blueprint. Yes. Well, Dave, I appreciate you, brother. I love being here.

21:48Thank you for joining Boardroom as always. Thank you for supporting us as always. Tune in, subscribe, download. This is Dave Grutman, his new book, Take It Personal in stores now. Must read, it's a must read. I'll see you all soon, thank you. Is that good? Amazing, great, love that.