The co-founders of The Gathering Spot, a popular private membership club in Atlanta that has hosted over 3,000 events with a variety of clients, among them Netflix, Google, Spotify and Coca-Cola, were recently featured in Forbes Magazine following the purchase of a major conference in Atlanta and plans of expansion to Los Angeles by the end of 2019.
The two founders are Ryan Wilson and T.K. Petersen. Mr. Petersen, who is under 30, is a native Virgin Islander from St. Croix, and was featured in The Consortium last year following a trip Consortium team members made to Atlanta in 2018. Since then, the business has grown and the men sat with Forbes Magazine recently to talk about the expansions.
In addition to hosting some of America’s top brands, The Gathering Spot has also worked with entertainers and public figures such as T.I., Drake, Ludacris, Traces Ellis Ross, Will Packer, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Civil Rights leaders like Ambassador Andrew Young, according to the Forbes interview.
The men recently purchased A3C Festival & Conference in Atlanta, which engages and inspires the artists, entrepreneurs and creatives that shape culture. The conference was founded in 2005 and has grown from a local Hip-Hop showcase to become one of the most important music, tech and culture events of the year.
“We bought it with Paul Judge who is a tech investor and entrepreneur here,” said Mr. Wilson. “The main thing around why we wanted A3C is that the core of what we are doing is about community and experiences. We want to give people a framework to meet people that they otherwise wouldn’t come across. A3C operates on that same premise. It is a community that comes together around a specific experience, mainly Hip-Hop.”
The company also plans to open a Gathering Spot facility in Los Angeles, which Mr. Petersen expounded upon when asked how could people signup. “They can get on our website, thegatheringspot.club. All of the information is there for them to get on the waitlist,” Mr. Petersen said. “In addition, we will be previewing experiences. For example, after the Ebony Power 100 Gala in LA last year, we hosted a curated experience at a home that we rented out where people could get a feel of the types of gatherings we would have. We had people from various industries attend to give them the type of feel we plan to add to the LA community. You can also follow us on social media, particularly Instagram, where we put a lot of our information.”
Founded in 2016 after Mr. Petersen and Mr. Wilson spent years formulating their strategy, The Gathering Spot has profited well over 7 figures, and the founders plan to continue their expansion in other locations.
Feature Image: T.K. Petersen (Credit: Forbes Magazine)
Share On Facebook
Tweet It
