I had a couple of drinks with Dani when he was in Bucharest a while back. Until then, we had worked together in the telecom industry from a distance, via Skype and email, for more than 2 years. As far as I remember, he's a very nice fellow in person too. But then again, I drank a few that night. Dani Zoldan is a genuine new-yorker, but please don't hold that against him. He's a good guy in spite of his origins.
Apologies, I may have confused you; the reason I'm throwing these crappy jokes at you is because I'm trying to introduce Dani as I know he'd prefer.
Dani is an entrepreneur in the New York entertainment business. He owns a comedy club in New York, where the likes of Chris Rock, John Oliver and Louis C.K. have performed. He also runs businesses in the telecom industry and he's co-owned one of them (Titan International Wholesale) with a couple of top-notch Romanians.
On weekdays, you will find Dani either at his office, demanding his employees that they call him "King of the Greater Manhattan", or on Twitter heckling Jerry Seinfeld because he can. The weekends are generally reserved for his family (Saturdays) and tormenting his interns in the obliging NY traffic (Sundays). But no matter the day, at the end of it, he's a successful businessman and a father of 3 great kids.
Versiunea in romana a interviului e aici.
Background
I was a horrible student when I was younger and dropped out of New York University. I always wanted to do my own thing and didn't care to listen to my teachers. Because of that, I lacked a foundation, structure and discipline.
When you don't listen to authorities, there is no one to hold you accountable but yourself. I made a lot of mistakes because of this and its something I am constantly working at.
The whole entrepreneurship thing
When I was 19 years old I had my first business idea. I wanted to aggregate the news on a website. That idea lasted for about a week. My second idea was to produce web videos for small businesses. For a fee, the business can hire me to create a promotional video for them. That idea also lasted for about a week. I think I actually tried to sell the service to a company.
My next idea stuck and I spent the next 4 years focusing on it. It was a music website called Eargazmic.com. It was a subscription service for independent bands and they would have a platform to promote themselves and sell their music. They could also post photos and upcoming tour dates.
The company was my baby and I loved working on it but I was too young and inexperienced to turn it into a real profit generating company.
Inspiration from someone in particular?
Not so much. The typical people most entrepreneurs mention these days - Richard Branson and Steve Jobs. Mostly Branson though.
Jobs before going into business
In high school I worked for an architecture firm. It was an amazing experience being around older professionals at such an early age. I appreciate that experience still to this day.
Getting there
I got into Telecom by accident. My brother Ari had a fledging telecom business and he asked me if I wanted to give it a shot to see if we can make money. We worked together for 8 months and we had a different vision for the company so I left and decided to start my own telecom company. I ended up buying the assets of his business.
My true passion is in the entertainment business and that's the space I'm mainly in now.
Working with Romanians
I find Romanians to be very efficient and calculating (in a good way). Every decision needs to discussed before an action is taken. Hiring people in Romania is obviously much more affordable than hiring in the United States.
I learned a lot from my Romanian partners. I don't find them to take risks as much as Americans. When you have partners, you need to know each others strengths and weaknesses and play off that.
The comedy club in New York
The club was founded in 1986 and Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Louis CK, Robin Williams were regulars in the 80s and 90s. Some of them come back, typically trying out new material because they're going on tour or doing a special on TV.
Every comic has unique material and the audiences have different tastes. We really have a large mix of comedians on stage.
Romanian humor
Unfortunately I haven't gotten a chance to take note of the type of humor you guys enjoy, but I know Romanians are into American comedy.
Favorite comedian
Robin Williams. There's never going to be anyone like him ever again. He was such a one of a kind and unique talent.
Best show ever at the club
A few months after I purchased the club 8 years ago, Jerry Seinfeld walked in unannounced and performed. Jeff Ross also came in that night.
Who would you like there sometime?
Sarah Silverman.
Owning a business in NYC
The cost of doing business is the toughest part of having a business based in New York City. The rents especially are insane. However, the networking opportunities in New York are the best that you can't find anywhere else. You have access to creative, money people, accountants, lawyers and entrepreneurs.
The best of all industries you can find in New York which is awesome. Among the biggest challenges, for me personally, is to manage my time better
Trump or Hillary?
I am voting for the Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. It's unfortunate that he's not getting the media attention that Trump and Clinton are getting. He's a very refreshing alternative to the others. I think Hillary will win though. I cannot even imagine having to talk about Trump for the next 4-8 years. I may have to move to Romania!
