When most youngsters had been ready in lengthy strains to journey curler coasters at Hershey Park, Ryan Stana discovered himself gravitating to one thing that gave him a a lot larger thrill: the park’s theater. “I’d sit and watch the exhibits — and I used to be captivated,” he informed Entrepreneur. “And after I was a senior in highschool, I used to be nonetheless watching these exhibits, however I began to note this ‘unpolished’ high quality. Perhaps my rose coloured glasses broke, however I noticed a possibility to deliver excellence and innovation to attraction and leisure leisure.”
Stana says he had two goals when he was a child: to turn out to be a Broadway performer and to turn out to be a trainer. And people two passions got here collectively when, shortly after faculty, he launched his personal stay experiences firm RWS International. “I’m very fortunate,” he says, “Each of my mother and father are entrepreneurs and are extraordinarily supportive — they taught me that with laborious work, something is feasible.”
Since its launch from the nook of a crowded New York Metropolis condo (extra on that later), RWS has turn out to be a powerhouse in stay leisure, casting Broadway exhibits like The Lion King, creating leisure and experiences for cruiselines like Disney Cruise Line, producing international occasions just like the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Video games, and rather more.
Credit score: RWS International
Entrepreneur spoke with Stana to get the total image of how he launched and grew his firm. Very like the exhibits and occasions RWS International produces, his story is filled with drama and motion.
Inform us in regards to the second you determined to begin your individual firm.
As quickly as I completed faculty, I moved to New York Metropolis and have become an affiliate producer for company and retail occasions. I used to be making $600 per week. The corporate I used to be working for had wonderful inventive, however they didn’t know the right way to function and finances. I can not consider I am even saying that as a result of after I was in highschool, I used to be horrible at math. However I noticed, “Hey, they’re making $200,000, however they’re spending $250,000.” I noticed that you could have a stability between inventive and operational pondering. So someday I known as my mother and father and mentioned, “I hate this job.” And so they had been like, “Ryan, why do not you go and open your individual enterprise?” And I mentioned, “OK.” So I stop.
In order that’s the choice — how did you really begin the enterprise?
I went again to my condo in New York Metropolis. I had two roommates on the time, Barry and Colby, and I mentioned, “I’ll open an workplace within the nook of our front room. And when the cellphone rings, I want you to reply it so it seems like folks work right here. I am going to deduct cash from our utility invoice each month when you do. I despatched out an e-mail that night time to all of the folks I had labored with and mentioned, “I now work for RWS International. Should you’re , please attain out.” I did not inform them that I owned it as a result of who was going to belief a 21-year-old?
And when do you know that this concept was going to work?
About three weeks in, Clear Channel known as me about an upfront presentation and requested me to pitch for a $150,000 occasion. I keep in mind getting into and pitching, and as I used to be leaving the room, the shopper got here out and mentioned, “Ryan, we’re supplying you with this gig.” And I knew we had one thing particular in our key providing: turnkey operations. We deal with the creativity, the folks and the operations, and have systemized the method.
Your organization does so many various kinds of occasions. Are you able to boil it down for folks unfamiliar with the stay occasions area?
We are the world chief in creating stay moments throughout leisure and sports activities. We’re primarily damaged down into six divisions: Design vacation spot, the place we are literally designing theme parks, zoos, aquariums, museums, customer facilities. Then we’ve our land manufacturing division, the place we’re offering momentary experiences and stay exhibits in theme parks, retail facilities, and seasonal programming. We do pop-up model experiences in accommodations and resorts. Then we’ve our at-sea manufacturing division, the place we offer full-scale Broadway-type productions and immersive experiences on cruise ships. Then we’ve a retail and merchandise division. And our sixth division is our casting division. We offer over 8,000 jobs internationally for technicians and performers. We create a trajectory for our expertise, so you can begin working for us at Six Flags, transfer to a cruise ship, and when you do properly, get positioned in a Broadway present or a industrial. That enables us to nook the market.
Credit score: Medora Musical
As a performer, may you simply say, “Hey, I’ll solid myself as Simba?”
I could not say that and nor would anybody need me to say that anymore. I nonetheless get loads of pleasure in seeing the success of our expertise. That is what drives me. And after I say expertise, it isn’t simply the folks on the stage. It is seeing the folks in our workplace have success as properly.
Are you able to give us a way of your organization’s income progress?
We reached near about $50 million in income a 12 months after the pandemic. We’ve got grown to 9 figures since then. We expanded largely by means of acquisitions. We acquired a casting firm in 2016 (Binder Casting), then we bought a vacation spot design enterprise in 2021 (JRA). We then purchased our largest competitor in Europe in 2022 (ted). After which we bought the sports activities division in 2024 (Nice Huge Occasions), and most lately bought an app (Concord Helper) that helps performers be taught their music in a quicker approach, which permits our productions and our shoppers to economize. In 2023, we additionally took on a personal fairness agency, Bluestone Fairness Companions. I bought off a minority quantity of the enterprise to maneuver our firm into the longer term.
Did theater faculty put together you for all of this?
I simply be taught as issues come. I really consider that in case you have a ardour for what you do, you’ll determine it out. I informed a buddy lately that you just needn’t spend time getting an MBA. You probably have a ardour and you’re employed laborious, you are going to have success. However when you suppose being an entrepreneur will not be 24/7? You are useless flawed.
How do you develop in a manageable approach that does not unfold your self too skinny?
I’ve made it some extent since day one to not make our success based mostly on myself or any particular person. It is about having the methods and processes for the corporate to develop. And having a timeline for motion. We are saying these are the issues we wish to accomplish in 2025. And if a brand new thought comes up, nice, we bump it to 2026. So as soon as we have laid that basis, the combination of these companies could be very easy. Now I’d be mendacity to you to say that it has not been bumpy while you’re shopping for six+ corporations, however you take heed to folks and respect what they are saying, and transfer ahead.
How do you flip your mind off? Can you watch exhibits and never have your work mind going?
I can not calm down after I watch a present — that I can promise you. Folks would most likely chortle after I say this, nevertheless it’s about discovering a work-life stability. And the one one who can change a work-life stability is you as a person. I at all times guarantee that as soon as per week, I’ve someday that I shut off. That’s Ryan’s lazy day, the place I simply watch senseless tv and chill and spend time with my husband and my household to keep in mind that with out these folks, I could not be doing what I do.