I was sitting on the stairs of a packed house in the middle of downtown Austin. The room filled with people, many of them the brightest minds at South by Southwest (SXSW). Brand marketers and influencers mingled with investors, founders, artists and everyone in between. Yet everyone’s attention was fixed on the front of the room, where entrepreneur and a good friend to Loeb NYC, Bonin Bough was moderating a fireside chat, between Gary Vaynerchuk (of Vayner Media) and my boss, Michael Loeb.

The discourse ricocheted between topics like the state of entrepreneurship, the blessing of “micro failures”, parenting techniques, and tombstone carvings. Prominently marked on banners throughout the room was the unmistakable logo of “Loeb NYC”, proudly displayed our brand to the world. Michael was captivating the audience,

“I want to prove Keats wrong. Keats said, our ‘names are writ on water’…The legacy I want to have is going to be enduring. I want somebody to point to me and say I learned something from that guy, or he built something for me, or he changed something, or he made things better.”

Select founders and operators of Loeb NYC investment portfolio companies were dotted throughout the room, as were members of the Loeb NYC team itself. Given the size of the crowd, the room was remarkably silent. There was a palpable, powerful energy and excitement that manifested in an unmistakable buzz. It was at this very moment—when the nucleus of SXSW seemed to have converged within the “Loeb House”—that I realized I was witnessing a defining moment in the life-cycle of Loeb NYC. At this moment it became undeniably clear that we, Loeb NYC, had planted a flag and boldly announced to the world, “We are here. We’re here to play. And we’re here to stay.”

Loeb Enterprises has been operating for roughly ten years, and in that span has produced results many accelerators and incubators only dream of. Three companies, most notably, sit perched within the “trophy case”: Synapse Group, Priceline, and Script Relief, each of which have achieved storied status within its industry. Additionally, as of today, upwards of 15 companies operate within the greater Loeb NYC portfolio. So why did SXSW feel like a watershed moment for Loeb NYC? What had changed? Why did this moment, in the illustrious history of the company, feel different?

To answer those questions, let’s consider that simply put, the dynamics of media and consumer attention are going through tectonic shifts in style and technique. Past operating styles and methodologies will not cut it for firms that want to survive and thrive in 2018 and beyond. Those who want to be in the game and, more importantly, win are required to take a new tack, if prominence and reputation are at all important to them. For Loeb NYC, these things matter, not only for legacy, but for efficacy.

We believe that what we do day in and day out is special. There’s a magic inside the walls of Loeb HQ that allows us to view the world with optimism and the future with possibility. In the words of Katie Loeb, Director of Innovation at Loeb NYC and the mastermind behind our Austin event, our program at SXSW was an activation, a deliberate statement to the world of our presence and vision.  

The better one gets to know the man in charge, Michael Loeb, the clearer it is that his vision and ambition for Loeb NYC is massive.  In the words of Mr. Loeb himself, the vision for Loeb NYC is “What my partner, Rich Vogel, and I envisioned a decade ago when we concluded that for us Synapse was not the last chapter, but the opportunity for a bold new one.”

This vision is clear and enticing. A company factory: vertically integrated company-building from an idea, to execution, to exit. The nomenclature is simple, it more or less describes the lifecycle of almost any successful startup investment. But in the case of Loeb NYC company-building, both the theory and practice are very different. Traditional venture capital firms and accelerators generally think of themselves as hotbeds for successful market disruptors and innovations. As places where exciting early-stage ventures blossom into unicorn companies with regularity. The reality is that it’s difficult to build a company – read Michael Loeb’s post, “The Entrepreneurs’ Gene” to see the proof from a man who has done it many times over. Most early-stage companies will fail, plain and simple.

So, how does one create a closed-ecosystem with better odds and better pathways to success for early-stage companies, at scale? From my perspective, the model at Loeb NYC achieves this by removing the constraint of constant-capital raising from founders and CEOs, so they can focus on running their companies. Providing back-office support and advice to the early-stage companies so that the headaches of administrative work are largely mitigated. We challenge the odds by offering portfolio companies access to expert teams of marketers so that they can quickly augment a small marketing with a larger, advisory one. A real sense of community means that companies can leverage each other’s networks and speedily earn credibility and connections with customers. Place this in a beautiful working space that can compete to attract talent with the best of ‘em. Add outstanding talent, commitment, and creativity to that mix and you have something special. We have this. We have it now. And at SXSW, we told the world.

Loeb NYC is a place where true talent can thrive and where meritocracy is honored and respected. Above all else, it is a place deeply passionate and committed to building successful enterprises across multiple industries. That is our foundation and inspiration. Walk around our offices at 712 Fifth Avenue and a clear sensation is realized of the kinetic energy and momentum present in this environment. Startups pack the floor, each targeting a different industry with intensity and drive. One common thread emerges; an undying commitment to results and growth. The aforementioned confluence of success-factors cannot be created overnight. It is possible through years of focus, merged with a willingness to test, experiment and iterate. You can feel it the moment you step off the elevator.

Mike Provance, the CEO of 3×3 Insights describes his company’s relationship with Loeb NYC in terms of a streamlined symbiosis:

“Our company is housed inside Loeb NYC, and we can’t go a day without spending time talking to Michael about what we’re doing. He’s very hands-on in the way that he engages with his portfolio companies and is constantly thinking of ideas that help us better execute on what we are trying to do, whether it’s sending emails any time of the day, or wandering through the Loeb NYC incubator, Michael is always available to us, as are his team of experts in various areas of marketing, of product development, direct mail, about anything you can think of he’s got some sort of experts who can support the efforts you’re trying to do.”

Personally, I have been in the Loeb orbit for the past three years or so. In that time I’ve seen expansion into two new floors in our midtown Manhattan headquarters, and a threefold growth in the size of our portfolio. Sitting on the stairs in that Austin house at SXSW, it’s apparent that the last ten years of innovation, company-building, and pure hard work have been leading up to this moment: a powerful declaration of our identity and intentions.

Our efforts at SXSW excited and encouraged me about what’s still to come. As the team returned home and settled back into our rhythm of operating and building, one resounding statement from our time at SXSW remained fixed at the front of my mind: We are just getting started.