This founder's mission is to help build friendships IRL and combat loneliness IRL | Camp Social founder, Liv Schreiber

0:00Liv Schreiber:Coming up in this episode of Professional Jealousy. I started out as an awful boss. I had no clue what I was doing. I had no clue how to manage people. We're so tired of Vogue-like perfection on Instagram. It's like saying you don't have jealousy. It's just not who we are. We're emotional creatures. We're animals. We're humans. He looked at me, I'll never forget this, and he said, you have the same strategy that I do. I said, oh yeah, what's that? He goes, you follow the FIO strategy. You say yes, then you figure it out later.

0:40Liv Schreiber:Hello, I'm Natasha Jakubowski and this is my podcast, Professional Jealousy, where I talk to people that I'm impressed by and yes, just a little bit envious of. I'm hoping that you too will enjoy hearing about all their enviable achievements that we can all learn from and be inspired by. Today I am talking to Liv Schreiber, founder of Camp Social, described as summer sleepaway camp for adults. It's really hard not to be impressed by Liv, who has just done so much before even hitting 30. It makes me feel like an underachiever. Not only does she start Cam Social, but she also founded a startup called Hot and Social, a social community that hosts meetup events where people in their 20s and 30s can make new friends.

1:28Liv Schreiber:She's also had her own marketing and social media agency. She's a businesswoman, an influencer and fabulous. Hello, Liv. Natasha, can you just say that every time I walk into a room? Every time. Amazing. Thank you for joining me. You're lovely. Thank you so much. I'm so excited to hear more about you as well and to talk all things business. I know. So for anyone that doesn't know your brand, can you give us the elevator pitch for Camp Social? Absolutely. Imagine you're an adult and one in three adults are lonely and you're resonating with that statistic and you feel like time's up. You haven't met a new friend in forever.

2:12You haven't reconnected to who you were as a child in forever. You're feeling stuck in the mundane. You want to get out of your daily routine. You need something fresh. And it's not a new boyfriend or a husband. It's a girlfriend. But you don't know how to make friends in adulthood because you're in your 60s or 70s or 50s or 20s or 30s or 40s. And all of a sudden you come across something that says Camp Social. So you click on it. You open it. And you sign up for three days and two nights in the Poconos. It is a sleepaway camp weekend retreat where we take care of everything for you, from the planning to the activities to who you're rooming with.

2:51You will leave the weekend with tons of new friends and feeling like yourself again. And that's my mission. My gosh.

3:00Liv Schreiber:I mean, it's just I mean, yes, so amazing. I have so many questions. um you're definitely you know there's the whole trend of loneliness and people needing friendships irl um is so of the moment and i have to say when i saw it i was like i want to go on that but then then i saw you can't go with friends you have to go solo is that right yeah so our tagline is 99 percent arrive solo and 100 leave as friends and natasha i created that for myself because I never thought any of this would turn into what it has. I was just a girl who owned a marketing agency, influencer, and I just wanted to go back to camp.

3:46So in order to make friends at a baseline level, I believe that you have to show up as your best self. And what does that look like? It means showing up solo because you don't have that wall up that you have when a friend is with you and you're both going out socially where you're babysitting her, she's babysitting you. So yes, the rule is 99 % arrive solo. Although I will tell you, I won't kick you out if you come with a mom or a best friend or a sister or cousin, which many have.

4:19Liv Schreiber:Okay, but it works better. It's just such an amazing idea. What was the trigger? Like, when did you think, actually, I'm going to make this a business? In May of 2023. And I had my first camp in August. So tell me about your woman. I was surprised when you started out with like the 60s and 70s, like who, who, or do you have a few different, like who is your consumer? Like, do you use personas? Who is she? It is mind boggling when I tell people this, but women of every age, 21 plus is our consumer. We have every single age range represented. Every single age feels comfortable. And the women who are coming in their 20s who want to hang out with women of all ages, they are emotional and mature.

5:08They're doing something solo that's scary and on their own. So these aren't just your average 20 to 40 to 60-year-olds. These are women who want to connect with other people. It's not as much about age as it is about having youthfulness in your heart and a mature old spirit.

5:27Liv Schreiber:Yeah. I feel like so many women feel like they, you know, lose friendships, especially as they get older. What are the sorts of things that you do to encourage friendships or you find that they just happen? Like what kind of activities are you doing? Like how are you setting this up? You know, I'm constantly tinkerbelling around the room so that I can see two people next to each other and immediately say, hey, you know, you guys should be friends as well as my team. But aside from that, what my responsibility is, is creating these activities that foster that connection. I don't want it to feel like the first grade on the first day of school.

6:12I want it to feel elevated. So the challenge, Natasha, is how do you do that with grown women? And it's pretty simple. You let them choose. You let them flock to each other. You let them navigate their friendships based off the activities they choose. So if you're choosing rock climbing, you're going to inherently meet amazing women who also love rock climbing. If you're choosing arts and crafts or tie-dye, you're going to meet the type of women who love to do those things, regardless of age, background, ethnicity, where they're from. you're just grouping together based off your shared interests and that's what camp social does

6:54Liv Schreiber:interesting um are you would you say you're an extrovert i'd say i'm a level above extrovert um so so i mean it's interesting so i i would say that i am probably an introvert uh that plays social so like i think most people think that i like hanging out and you know i'm a social person but really I'm not that's why I do things like this because it can control it one-on-one what are your what are your um yeah how do you help people who aren't naturally extrovert people that are a little more inward focus like what are your ways of bringing people out because I feel like there are loads of people not just in you know their personal life but at work thinking about how how do we how do how do we fake it so we make it and and be more kind of confident social etc So I think the answer is you really don't have to fake it.

7:51We have so many women with social anxiety. I mean, who are you if you don't have anxiety after COVID going out socially? You're crazy. If you don't have social anxiety, you're crazy. It's like saying you don't have jealousy. It's just it's it's just not who we are. We're emotional creatures. We're animals. We're humans. And and to feel those feelings and anxiety. Thank goodness. It means we're alive. So I'm really grateful for social anxiety because what we do is we're able to create these intimate spaces where women can go to book club. They can go read a book on the lake. They can go take a stroll.

8:30Nothing is forced. Nothing is a stressed activity that everyone has to do. Even our most fun camp social games, the Olympics, are optional. And by giving people an option, it's really just saying to them, hey, listen, we see you. And you may not like the things that the person next to you likes. And that's cool. What's been the hardest thing creating this business?

8:53Liv Schreiber:Like, how did you fund it? How did you actually get it up and running? One more thing I want to touch on for the introvert part is we provide private rooms and bathrooms, which I think is just important to note. Yeah. So women, if you want to be in a bunk with eight other women from around the world your age, you can. But if you'd like to be a part and have your own space at Camp Social, you can reserve a private room, which is also an introvert's dream. Yeah, I feel like then they're never going to come out. No, they do. No one wants to be in their rooms. And Camp Social is funded by me. After we were featured in the Wall Street Journal and on Fox News, I got a lot of VC emails and meetings and questions.

9:40And honestly, I don't need it. I will work as hard as I can to fund my business. And I don't have interest in giving up a percentage at this time.

9:53Liv Schreiber:Yeah, that's amazing. I'm in an amazing position to be in. Take me back. Like you leave college and then what, I mean, like you've done so much stuff. Tell me, give me a quick overview of like your journey. Or did it start before college? your red lip and your black shirt are very good contrast i think i might have smeared it slightly over my lips but yeah thank you making me want a red lip uh in college i tried everything natasha and this is what i recommend to anyone going to college is like don't leave being curious about anything. I, I DJed. I took a DJing course. I had my own radio show. I learned how to scuba dive.

10:41I was in a sorority. I got kicked out of a sorority. I went abroad. You know, I did fashion club. I did a run-wish. Like there's just so much that you can possibly, um, try and do and so many people to meet. So I went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I studied journalism, but I really, I graduated early. And the only things I remembered were my Holocaust class, which is so incredible, by a teacher named Rachel Brenner and my journalism class, where they would give us a pop quiz every morning on world events, news, and headlines. And the whole class had to race against each other to get the answers right to these quizzes.

11:29And it taught me how to pay attention to headlines and how to consume a three-page article into a headliner. So those are two things I'll never forget. But my recommendation too is try things outside of the classroom. I was throwing parties because I realized that I liked throwing events. And so that was my first foray into what I do now.

11:54Liv Schreiber:And then you really have kind of, I feel like you're, you're kind of of an era. I definitely, you know, it's interesting when starting the podcast, trying to figure out social and stuff. Um, like you are in it, you are a proper influencer, social savvy, socially native. Um, like how did you kind of find your way and start, you know, of moving into that space or you just tell you something you know I used to listen to podcasts where everyone pretended they had it all together and they're all perfect let me tell you no one knows what they're doing Natasha absolutely no one and I get on social media every day and the only reason I've grown is because I'm just genuinely who I am like I'm not pretending to be perfect And I think that's what people resonate with.

12:47And I love connecting with real humans. And that's why I started my businesses, because social media and the influencer world can be very topical and very fake. um so I've used it as an outlet for positivity and for sharing my family and my dad and my friends who then you know if you come to camp social you meet my mom my dad anyone else who's a workout instructor who I fly into camp who I've tested out and posted about so it all just feels like family

13:23Liv Schreiber:okay um but for any so i work with lots of big brands who are desperately trying to you know do well in social like what what advice do you have for for brands that are trying to connect and create community and you know engage people is it because it's hard to be like be yourself you know authenticity right but like any other any other thoughts on how yes and you know you're going to laugh because this is very much camp social, but, you know, Duncan was our caffeine sponsor. Soothees was our cough drop sponsor. Tampon Tribe were our organic tampons. When I bring that up, I'm talking about brands that are investing in community, brands that are willing to put themselves out there to put product in goodie bags, to pay for custom activations where we can have a Dunkin' X Camp social truck giving coffee to the consumers.

14:25The way that Dunkin' and brands can pay attention is simply by investing in the people who invest in them and not just investing in influencers. And you're in my influencer closet. Influencers get sent a lot of stuff every single day, but they are not the consumer. Sure, their audiences but they are not the ones buying so I think the real progress and the real success comes from brands investing in experiences like camp social to reach a broader audience yeah

15:02Liv Schreiber:yeah I feel like in-person events I definitely feel like they're coming back as people are you know reacting to the AI slop and just the disconnection and how do you market it all on social media all on tiktok so tiktok tiktok instagram and then i have a weekly newsletter that i send out um but for our tiktok social media teams what we really emphasize at hot and social and camp social is showcasing our customer so we do hot and single of the week I own the trademark Hot and Single, which is our Hot and Single series where we show singles in New York City of all ages. And then we connect them.

15:52I have three marriages under my belt. One of them being my best friend, which we just got back from her wedding. So I'm very proud of that. But I think the answer is showing real people and showing real emotion. We're so tired of Vogue-like perfection on Instagram. and you'll notice as you scroll through your explore pages the videos that do the best are those genuine moments um that are happening across the world so we're just looking to foster that

16:22Liv Schreiber:yeah interesting because you so with your different brands so hot and social camp social it's almost like an entertainment and events and media slash relationship it's it's a super interesting model who do you who is who are your competitors because you kind of have dating apps versus events and hospitality like what who do you who do you compete with i don't really compete with anyone yeah i uh i'm sure there will be people who come up and that good for them i wish them well um but i uh i'm not looking to sell a dating app i don't i've been approached to partner with dating apps but this is about in-person connection yeah and then we've been approached by all the ai you know things but this is about in person honestly natasha it's just about being in person and and having meaningful conversations and looking up from our phones and somehow this is revolutionary in 2025 but i promise you it's really simple yeah that's amazing and where where Where do you see the brand going?

17:39Liv Schreiber:Like, is it going into more locations, global, you know, experiential holidays? So while the concept is simple, the business is a business. And, you know, we had over 100 staff on grounds at Camp Social. So that operational aspect is something that has grown over time. I mean, we've tripled in size year after year. This is the first year I had two camp socials with complete separate brand partners, complete separate attendees. So now we're really looking at expanding to more camps next year as well as retreats, international retreats, and more intimate travel as well. Um, I'd like to look into a space that, you know, offers travel to 50 campers instead of hundreds of campers so that I can really foster an experience that's different and stands out.

18:45We also have a crazy retention rate. We have over 400 people in a group chat who talk every day in a group chat where we offer different discounts. And we're soon looking to offer a camp social club. So we're really excited about the expansion and how we're fostering these connections throughout the year so that the girls can continue to meet each other in their cities, even if they haven't met at camp. Yeah. It's almost like a membership with potential chapters.

19:20Liv Schreiber:Yes. Amazing. Stay tuned. I'm a brand strategist. I'm just always curious, how do you articulate? Do you have like a brand strategy? Yes. Yeah. What's your brand strategy? for for the participant sorry this sounds so silly but is my are you asking about my brand strategy for cam social or for the brands that we work with uh for cam social so the strategy is really simple i think it's just to make people feel less alone yeah and when you come from a a true authentic place staying up until 2 30 a.m last night doesn't feel like work and if anyone is listening who wants to start a business I really recommend doing something that you would do even if you weren't getting paid because that true passion is what's going to get you through uh my brand strategy is connected to my own personal moral compass yeah and I love people.

20:31And I just know that my purpose on this earth is to connect people. And that hopefully when I die, thousands and thousands and thousands of women can say that they met a best friend or someone really important to them through me. And that to me is a winning life.

20:51Liv Schreiber:yeah amazing i mean you've figured this out you've figured out your purpose pretty early uh which is amazing i definitely feel like i'm still like what am i meant to be doing but you know what natasha every day it's just about like being more you and i love getting older every year like i don't we put so much stress on ourselves to find our one purpose like Like, yes, connecting people is my purpose, but there's also a million other little things that I love to do. So I would just let yourself feel free in exploring what that is and just have fun. Like you just reverted to stress, not to call you out on your own podcast, but you just went to go stressed.

21:42You went to go stress about not finding your purpose. But look where we are. Look what we're recording. look at what you're achieving what you're doing what you're editing what you're setting out to do

21:53Liv Schreiber:that's purpose yeah amazing how do you um like okay next no no no yeah i'm very english and repressed so i'm like yeah okay i'll shut that down i have a lot of english friends i know we're doing i definitely should think about this at some point um call me later i know um i mean honestly I should go on I mean I definitely I I feel like I would definitely I would be oh you would drive but it would be interesting I spend a lot of time thinking about friends actually um it's something that I've consciously I think actually I only started really thinking about I have to really work on relationships like in my 40s like late I feel like I didn't need friends when I was younger because I'm working so hard and so now I'm kind of course correcting um i was gonna ask as someone that is older um how do you inspire and manage and keep your staff um engaged and on on vision and you know you seem like an amazing leader like i'm interested especially you know as someone older like how do you keep younger like gen z employees, you know, feeling like they're doing something good, like they want to carry on, like they're inspired.

23:25Liv Schreiber:Like, talk to me about your kind of leadership style, because I can see it, but I'm just wondering how you articulate it. Thank you. I, you know, I started out as an awful boss. I had no clue what I was doing. I had no clue how to manage people. And anyone who doesn't start a sentence off just by saying that is crazy or really admirable because I had to learn how to manage people. It did not come easily, especially when you're so emotionally invested in something. And as women running companies, it's different than men running companies. It just is. And we're held at a different standard. I'm not complaining.

24:07I'm just stating the obvious. You know, you don't want to be seen as a B-I-T-C-H. You don't want to be seen as a pushover. You want there to be a fine balance. So how do you do that? I have really taken on leading my team as if they're all individual entrepreneurs. And that's actually how I look at them. Every single person has their own specialty. The most pivotal lesson I've learned is when I hire people, I treat them like they are the boss of whatever I hired them to do. So we set personal goals and rewards. If you're hitting 200 ,000 followers on Instagram, you get X. You're my boss. You tell me what to do because I hired you because you're the expert and I trust you.

25:01And in an age where we're rewarded for going off on our own, especially Gen Z, seeing how every single person has made their living on social media or TikTok by being themselves, you need to implement a system where they are proud of themselves. They feel like they're working for themselves. You're rewarding them and you're treating them as equals. I also make sure to never say they work for me. It's always we work together. They're on my team. So it's the way that you even reference your team behind their back or in person or in front of them. It's really important because we are a team and we do work together.

25:44And trust me, they would be laughing at me if I tried to do half of what they do. So I really appreciate their expertise and their enthusiasm is incredible.

25:56Liv Schreiber:Yeah, so interesting. Making them feel like they are an entrepreneur with you. A couple of things. What are some mistakes? What are the things that actually don't do well, that actually, you know, demotivate teams that you've learned not to do? Are there any like big options? Oh, yeah. Oh, my goodness. So many things. I think too many meetings is an absolute no. I also do like quick 15 minute meetings where they can FaceTime me at any time or always texting if that's a vehicle that they prefer to communicate on. if not respecting boundaries is very important. We're in a day and age where texting people during the workday, communicating about work.

26:50You know how Apple, they all text each other. They text each other about meetings and progress and they're FaceTiming. That's kind of how my business runs as well. Like we don't use Slack that often. And so it's really about making sure you're respecting boundaries and you're also making work easy for them. Do they really want to hop on an hour long meeting when it could have been an email? No. And I don't want to hop on that either.

27:16Liv Schreiber:Yeah. You mentioned someone working for you getting to 200K in terms of followers. Is that part, like describe to me your team, like is part of it about kind of sales or followings to grow your community? Well, our social media is an incredibly important vehicle, and we rarely do paid advertising. I like for everything to be organic because Facebook and Meta, if you're a business owner listening, is your best friend. They will help you target whoever you're looking to target organically based on the words and the keywords that you're posting. So if I'm writing single woman dating New York City, it's most likely going to appear on single women in New York City's pages, whether or not I pay for that to happen.