Teach A Man To (Fly)fish

As we continue to refine our own framework for creator- and individual-first investing, we are often informed and inspired by existing models. We’ve discussed Donald Glover’s holding company and incentive structure, have drawn inspiration from Mr. Beast’s efforts, will soon explore Paris Hilton’s holdco, and, today, will dive into VCR Group – the brainchild of hospitality and operating vets Chef Josh Capon (of NYC’s Lure Fishbar), Chef Conor Hanlon, Gary Vaynerchuk, and David Rodolitz (of NYC’s Empellón).

In short, VCR Group is a full-service hospitality company that leverages the celebrity of its co-founding chefs, Capon and Hanlon, and the operational expertise of entrepreneurs Vaynerchuk and Rodolitz. VCR Group creates, develops, and manages high-end food and beverage concepts, including models such as membership, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and management contracts. Like other hospitality groups, VCR boasts brand-name chefs, but it is also uniquely flexible (and scalable). VCR isn’t confined to a standalone restaurant(s), but rather it offers comprehensive programming that appeals to multiple markets and diner preferences.

Unlike many of its peers, VCR Group marries an expertise in hospitality with experimental technology. One of their concepts – Flyfish Club – is a private restaurant where membership is purchased by NFT. In order to reserve a table, potential patrons must own a Flyfish or Flyfish Omakase (Flyfish + Omakase access) NFT – though food and beverage charges are incremental to the NFT price. While this membership can last for the restaurant’s full lifespan, holders reserve the right to lease or re-sell their NFT on the secondary market, and VCR receives a 10% fee on any sale. VCR Group presents an exciting example of how crypto-native technologies can align incentives and transform staid membership models. Customers can conceive of membership as a financial investment with the potential to appreciate, and VCR benefits from both restaurant patronage and any future NFT-related transactions (the bigger, the better).

VCR Group has developed a model that scales a traditionally analog business, digitally – and does so without distracting from their core competency: guest experience. The holding company structure allows for experimentation with revenue streams – all related to the chef’s celebrity, but not subject to the capacity and throughput constraints of a standalone, four-wall restaurant.

Finally, the team behind VCR has taken a thoughtful approach to their operating partnership. The pairing of hospitality operators and digital entrepreneurs with famed chefs is integral to the effort’s potential success. VCR Group offers an important lesson in how scale can only be achieved with the right structure and talent, and it serves as a reminder that “creators” should not be constrained to a single platform or modality. Through their ingenuity, VCR is poised to thrive in a deeply competitive category – and one that was historically limited to four walls, cookbooks, and network television.