Listen to the Podcast Episode on Your Favorite Platform
.svg.png)
From Medicine to Nightlife: Shane Neman’s Accidental Entrepreneurial Path
.png)
What set us apart was that we built technology for the nightlife industry. Many nightclubs, bars, and event spaces used our platform. Over time, we created an operating system for them, which included a marketing stack, POS integration, and ticketing. In fact, we were one of the first to introduce ticketing solutions for nightlife venues. (Shane Neman)
(00:00-07:06)
Shane begins by recounting how he unexpectedly ended up in the nightlife business. Initially enrolled in medical school at NYU, Shane was persuaded by his roommate—who worked at Goldman Sachs—to drop out during the dot-com boom and start a company. Together, they secured millions of dollars in funding and built a startup. Unfortunately, the dot-com bust led to the company’s downfall, but Shane’s entrepreneurial drive remained strong.
After the bust, Shane moved in with his girlfriend, who worked at nightclubs to make extra money. While waiting for her after her shifts, Shane noticed that the nightclub industry was still using outdated methods to manage operations—everything was done with pen and paper. With a background in computer science, Shane decided to build a software solution to address these inefficiencies. The result was a platform that integrated marketing, point-of-sale (POS), and ticketing systems for nightlife venues—a first of its kind in the industry.
This innovative solution turned into JoonBug, a thriving business that became the go-to platform for clubs, bars, and event spaces. Shane explains how his company filled a niche that no one else was targeting, allowing it to grow significantly over the years. He also discusses how his background in tech and computer science, despite initially pursuing medicine, allowed him to succeed in this new field.
In the latter part of the conversation, Shane pivots to discuss his next big venture—EZ Texting. While running JoonBug, he noticed that email marketing was losing its effectiveness. With services like Constant Contact and Mailchimp becoming overly saturated, Shane and his team recognized the growing potential of SMS marketing. In 2005, long before SMS became commonplace in marketing in the U.S., Shane launched EZ Texting as a scalable solution for text-based campaigns. The platform allowed businesses, especially in nightlife, to engage with customers via text, a tool that was still rare in the U.S. at the time. Shane fondly recalls the excitement of sending the first mass text and receiving over 100 calls from curious people asking how he did it.
Shane reflects on how the BlackBerry and its physical keyboard helped drive the adoption of SMS marketing in the U.S., although the tool was more widely used in places like London. By the late 2000s, texting became more accessible, and EZ Texting grew rapidly, eventually positioning itself as a leading SMS marketing platform in the U.S.
.png)
Title: Revolutionizing Nightlife: Shane Neman’s Journey to Building a Tech Empire
We found an underserved niche and built a solution for it. The biggest difference was timing. In 2000–2001, most venues didn’t even have a website. A lot of the tools we take for granted today—MailChimp, Facebook, website builders like Wix or Squarespace—didn’t exist yet. There just wasn’t much competition in the space. (Shane Neman)
(07:06-14:49)
Shane reflects on his experiences of building a full-stack solution for nightlife venues at a time when technology in the space was minimal. He describes how his company created tools that allowed venues to sell tickets online, manage audiences, and communicate with customers—innovations that weren’t even on the radar for most in the industry.
Shane highlights how, in the early days, he was willing to go the extra mile to earn the trust of nightclub owners. He met with them at odd hours, even picking up cash payments in person, which helped establish credibility. Over time, as the business grew, he shifted to more formal business practices, but early flexibility was crucial in gaining traction.
As the business expanded, Shane talks about the pivotal moment when they began capturing photos at nightclubs and directing people to their website to view the images. This clever strategy helped build a database of nightlife patrons, which would later become an essential asset for their marketing efforts. He explains how they used the data to offer targeted marketing solutions, setting them apart from competitors.
The turning point came when Shane’s company landed big enterprise clients and began selling tickets at scale. As electronic dance music (EDM) gained popularity, venues rapidly sold millions of tickets, generating significant revenue. Shane explains how they profited from digital ticket sales, charging convenience fees, and how their extensive database of patrons’ behaviors provided valuable insights that allowed them to optimize pricing and marketing strategies.
Pioneering the Future of Digital Tools: Shane Neman on SaaS, AI, and Business Lessons
That’s the key—get the leading venues on board, and the rest will copy. It created social proof. If the best nightclubs were doing it, everyone else wanted in. Plus, once they experienced it firsthand—getting an email invite, seeing the digital engagement—they understood the value. (Shane Neman)
(14:49-21:46)
Shane starts by sharing the story of his business in the early 2000s, where he identified a gap in the nightlife industry. Nightclub owners lacked digital tools, and many venues didn’t even have websites. Shane and his team filled that gap by creating a full-stack solution that allowed nightclub owners to manage ticket sales, reservations, and customer engagement online. This was a groundbreaking concept at the time, as tools like MailChimp, Facebook, or website builders such as Wix didn’t even exist. For Shane, the challenge was more about timing—introducing a digital solution when the market wasn’t ready yet, and educating owners who had little experience with technology.
Shane compares his approach to building the nightlife platform to early digital marketing tools like Constant Contact and MailChimp. The key, he explains, was getting the top venues to adopt the digital tools first. Once these venues experienced the benefits firsthand, including online ticketing and email invites, it created social proof, leading others to follow suit. This concept of “social proof” was critical—once the leading venues saw the value of digital engagement, others in the industry took note.
Alex and Shane discuss how this early phase of education was not just about selling a product but changing the way people thought about marketing and customer engagement. They reflect on how similar challenges were faced by companies like Constant Contact in their early days, where educating customers about email marketing tools was just as crucial as the product itself.
Shane also touches on the broader challenges of selling SaaS products in the mid-2000s. SaaS was still a relatively new concept, and many customers were unfamiliar with subscription models and the benefits of cloud-based services. Alex, who was working at Salesforce and SuccessFactors during this time, notes how much effort went into educating the market about SaaS, from explaining its advantages over traditional software to helping businesses understand the long-term value of subscription-based models. Shane acknowledges that the SaaS model was still a hard sell back then, especially in industries not used to paying ongoing subscription fees.
This conversation then leads to Shane’s earlier venture, a SaaS company from 1999 that tried to build a web-based version of Microsoft Office using Citrix, a technology that allowed users to access Windows-based software remotely. This was an early precursor to cloud-based apps, even though the terms "cloud" and "SaaS" hadn’t been coined yet. Shane’s company allowed users to access software like Word, QuickBooks, and more from a remote server, making it one of the first companies to offer cloud storage and virtualized applications. However, because the technology was ahead of its time, the company struggled to gain traction, and ultimately, it failed. Despite this setback, Shane’s experience proved invaluable, as it helped prepare him for the SaaS model he would later adopt successfully.
Shane’s reflection on this failure highlights how the world wasn’t ready for SaaS back in the late ’90s—people were still used to buying software outright and installing it on their computers. Even though Shane's company pioneered cloud storage, it was too early for people to understand or embrace the concept of paying for a subscription to software they accessed remotely. This experience, however, gave Shane a unique perspective on the importance of timing when introducing new business models.
The discussion then shifts to the evolution of technology and business models. Alex and Shane draw parallels between the early SaaS models and current advancements in artificial intelligence. Shane observes that while AI tools like chatbots are now being called “AI agents,” they are fundamentally an evolution of older concepts, just like SaaS and cloud storage evolved over time. This reflection on the cyclical nature of technological trends helps highlight how quickly industries can shift and how new concepts are often built on the foundations of previous ideas.
Shane’s entrepreneurial journey also leads to his success in the SMS space, where he capitalized on the growing demand for text messaging services. This eventually led to the creation of a successful SaaS platform for SMS-based services, which he later transitioned from to become an investor. Alex asks Shane about his current approach to investing, and Shane explains that when evaluating new ventures, he looks for serial entrepreneurs who have gone through similar challenges—those who have learned from their failures and are equipped with the experience to tackle new opportunities.
Shane Neman on Investing: Building Relationships, Trust, and the Real Value Beyond Capital
If someone has successfully built and exited a company before, that’s a great sign—but it’s not the only thing I consider. I spend a lot of time with founders because, at the end of the day, 90% of investing is about who you’re backing, not just what they’re building. (Shane Neman)
(21:46-31:36)
Shane offers a unique perspective as a family office investor who personally invests his own money, providing insights on how he evaluates entrepreneurs and builds strong, authentic relationships with them.
The conversation begins with a discussion about how founders with previous successful exits are often able to secure higher valuations for their businesses, making it more challenging for new investors to discover these entrepreneurs before they are already on the radar of major VCs. Shane points out that while successful exits are a positive sign, they aren’t the only factor he considers when evaluating a founder. He emphasizes that, as an investor, he’s looking for people who can tackle challenges independently and solve problems on their own. He also highlights the importance of backing founders who are smarter than him in their domain, trusting their expertise and experience to guide the business forward.
Shane shares how, when evaluating larger investments, he goes beyond just analyzing the business and product. He spends time with founders, observing their interactions with customers and team members to understand their leadership style and integrity. He gives the example of his investment in Flex Storage, a company providing tech-enabled storage units, where he spent an entire day working alongside the team to gain a firsthand understanding of the business. Shane points out that this personal involvement helps him gauge whether a founder is truly capable or if they are just “faking it.” He also notes how the founder's military background and leadership experience helped build credibility, making Shane more confident in the investment.
The conversation then shifts to what Shane looks for when a founder is doing due diligence on him as an investor. Shane stresses that family offices like his offer more than just financial backing—they bring valuable connections, expertise, and resources. Family office investors tend to be more hands-on, care deeply about the success of the businesses they invest in, and can move quickly compared to traditional VCs. Unlike VCs, who are often working with pooled funds from multiple sources, Shane’s investments are more personal, and his success is directly tied to the outcome of the businesses he backs. This means that he’s fully invested in the success of the company, providing not just capital but also access to a network of fellow entrepreneurs and mentors who can offer guidance and opportunities.
Finally, Shane highlights the advantages of family offices in the investment world, particularly their ability to make quicker decisions and act with more flexibility than traditional VCs. He notes that family offices are run by entrepreneurs who understand the challenges of building a business and can offer more than just money—they can bring industry connections, potential customers, and even additional investors to the table.
Shane Neman's Barbell Strategy: Balancing Tech Innovation and Real Estate Investment
(31:36-39:03)
With a background in tech, Shane explains how his experience with businesses like JooneBug and EZ Texting has influenced his investment choices. His strategy centers on two ends of the investment spectrum—deep tech, such as AI, quantum computing, and robotics, and real estate or businesses that seem resistant to technological disruption, like the iconic Santa Monica Pier.
Shane shares his belief that some businesses, like the Santa Monica Pier, are likely to remain valuable over the long term. He points out that certain things, like tourism and entertainment, are less likely to be overtaken by AI or technological advances, making them safe investments. He also emphasizes the importance of making investments in assets like self-storage, where people’s attachment to their belongings, like memorabilia, creates a consistent demand for storage space.
The conversation shifts as Shane reveals his practical approach to investing—focusing on businesses that have a clear, long-term value, or those in emerging industries that show significant potential. He also talks about avoiding investments where he can't predict whether they will be disrupted by new technologies, noting that knowing when to walk away from a potential investment is just as important as knowing when to invest.
Finally, Shane reflects on how his recent move from New York to South Florida has influenced his worldview and investment decisions. Miami’s growing appeal to entrepreneurs and investors alike, especially those leaving places like San Francisco, is reshaping the landscape. Shane’s approach to location-driven investments highlights how shifts in geography and lifestyle can have an impact on business opportunities and the future of tech innovation.
Shane Neman on Miami, Real Estate, and the Experience Economy
New York, LA, and Miami are the three biggest cities in the U.S. A lot of the foot traffic is driven by tourism—about 70% of it. So, it’s really a bet on whether LA will continue to be a major tourist destination. If you believe it will be for the next 30 to 50 years, then it’s a good bet. Opportunities like this don’t come around often, so when you see one, you take outsized bets. (Shane Neman)
(39:03-47:18)
Shane explains his approach to the barbell strategy, which balances investments in deep tech—such as AI, quantum computing, and robotics—with stable, traditional assets that he believes are less likely to be disrupted by technology.
Shane emphasizes his interest in businesses or properties that are resistant to disruption by deep tech. One example he highlights is the Santa Monica Pier, a well-established, highly popular tourist destination that has been attracting visitors for decades. He points out that, unless there is a radical shift in how people interact with tourism—such as a large-scale move to virtual worlds—places like the Pier will continue to thrive. The Pier's timeless appeal, particularly its famous Ferris wheel, draws millions of visitors, and its status as one of the most Instagrammed locations worldwide is a testament to its lasting popularity. Shane sees this investment as a "forever asset," drawing comparisons to owning the business around the Statue of Liberty. The idea is that this type of investment provides long-term cash flow and stability.
As the discussion moves into the topic of Miami’s evolving role as an investment hub, Shane contrasts it with traditional tech cities like San Francisco, New York, and LA. He explains that while Miami has seen an influx of wealth and a thriving real estate market, it is still lacking the necessary talent pool to support the tech industry at the level of more established cities. He describes how many of the people moving to Miami are those who have already made their money—successful entrepreneurs or investors—but the type of hungry, ambitious startup talent required for building and scaling tech businesses isn’t yet prevalent in the city.
Shane acknowledges that there are successful tech companies in Miami but notes that they typically do not have the same level of raw talent and energy that drives the tech scene in cities like San Francisco. This difference in mindset is further illustrated when Alex Shevelenko, the host, jokes about the early days of Shane's career, where his hustle involved working late nights, sealing deals with cash, and rushing to the bank to make deposits. Shane reflects on how that kind of startup energy and determination seems less present in Miami, where many entrepreneurs are more focused on enjoying the lifestyle rather than grinding to scale businesses.
Despite these challenges, Shane recognizes that Miami offers significant opportunities for real estate investments and for those seeking investors. He suggests that if you’re looking to build a business in the area, the capital is abundant, but the key to success lies in understanding the city’s strengths and limitations. He also discusses the shift away from remote work in the startup ecosystem, asserting that to build and scale successful businesses, the magic happens in person. This idea reflects a broader trend in the tech industry, where face-to-face collaboration has regained importance after the rise of remote work during the pandemic.
Shane further discusses his investment in the Santa Monica Pier, detailing how its location and long-standing popularity make it a solid choice for the future. The Pier's status as one of the top tourist destinations in Los Angeles, coupled with its association with Hollywood and the entertainment industry, ensures its lasting relevance. Shane explains that the majority of the foot traffic to the Pier comes from tourists, and if you believe that LA will remain a key tourist destination for decades, this investment could be a strong, long-term bet. He also underscores that such iconic opportunities don’t come around often, and when they do, they present the chance to make outsized investments with significant rewards.
Shane Neman's Barbell Strategy: Balancing Tech Innovation and Real Estate Investment
Actually, my book is full of horrible experiences of how I got screwed over. There are too many to pick just one—from someone giving me a credit card that ended up declining to bounced checks. (Shane Neman)
(47:18-55:12)
Shane talks about how his experience with businesses like JooneBug and EZ Texting has influenced his investment choices. His strategy centers on two ends of the investment spectrum—deep tech, such as AI, quantum computing, and robotics, and real estate or businesses that seem resistant to technological disruption, like the iconic Santa Monica Pier.
Shane shares his belief that some businesses, like the Santa Monica Pier, are likely to remain valuable over the long term. He points out that certain things, like tourism and entertainment, are less likely to be overtaken by AI or technological advances, making them safe investments. He also emphasizes the importance of making investments in assets like self-storage, where people’s attachment to their belongings, like memorabilia, creates a consistent demand for storage space.
The conversation shifts as Shane reveals his practical approach to investing—focusing on businesses that have a clear, long-term value, or those in emerging industries that show significant potential. He also talks about avoiding investments where he can't predict whether they will be disrupted by new technologies, noting that knowing when to walk away from a potential investment is just as important as knowing when to invest.
Finally, Shane reflects on how his recent move from New York to South Florida has influenced his worldview and investment decisions. Miami’s growing appeal to entrepreneurs and investors alike, especially those leaving places like San Francisco, is reshaping the landscape. Shane’s approach to location-driven investments highlights how shifts in geography and lifestyle can have an impact on business opportunities and the future of tech innovation.
Shane Neman on Improving Healthcare with Innovation and Creating Memorable Experiences
(55:12-1:04:01)
Alex leads the discussion by highlighting how some investments, like the Santa Monica Pier, can create priceless, lasting memories. Shane reflects on the importance of creating memorable experiences but quickly shifts to a more personal investment—the robotic pill from Endiotics.
This groundbreaking technology allows users to swallow a pill that the doctor can control remotely via Zoom to perform an upper endoscopy, a procedure that typically requires anesthesia and a hospital visit. Shane’s personal connection to this innovation is deep, as his father passed away from gastric cancer after being too scared to undergo a traditional endoscopy. He emphasizes how this new method could save lives by making these procedures easier and less intimidating, potentially leading to better health outcomes for millions.
Alex and Shane also discuss how identifying pain points, like the anxiety and expense surrounding medical procedures, can spark great entrepreneurial opportunities. Both speakers recognize the importance of improving the user experience—whether in healthcare or other industries—by removing friction and making essential services more accessible.
Shane concludes by sharing his philosophy on investing: looking for opportunities that not only have financial potential but also make a positive difference in people’s lives.
Check the episode's Transcript (AI-generated) HERE.
Other Episodes
Godard Abel | CEO of G2
S 01 | Ep 6 Where You Go for Software: Reach Your Peak
Dean Stocker | CEO of Alteryx
S 01 | Ep 8 Turning Your Customers Into Your Biggest Champions
Peter Fader | Co-Founder of ThetaCLV
S 01 | Ep 10 Turning Your Marketing Into Dollars
Author
Experience-focused Leaders is the #1 Multimedia Podcast! We talk to senior business & tech leaders about the experiences that move forward organizations, customers and society at large. True to form, we mix audio, video, web and eBook formats to turn these authentic conversations into personalized nuggets you'll remember & use.
.png)
