Stephen Tanenbaum – Co-Founder of UGallery.com; Access to affordable, original artwork online while giving artists a reputable place to sell their artwork; His journey with his co-founders; Pivoting from representing student artists to emerging and mid-career artists;
Segment 1: (Length :03:00) – General Updates; Introduction to Stephen Tanenbaum; Intro him; Introduction to UGallery.com, an online platform that showcases affordable, original artwork, as well as storefront features from artists around the world.
Segment 2: (Length :05:00) – Testing an eCommerce solution to a tangible product such as art; Early to market; Hyper-growth in the most recent years; Creating good customer experiences; Dealing with haters.
“You have to build thick skin if you don’t have it already. You let all the negativity go in one ear and out the other. You listen to it, but you let it go out. You listen to the constructive criticism cause it can really help you evolve your business and help you succeed.”
“Give the ability for consumers / customers to live and own original artwork. That used to be only for the millionaires.
“Artists are our partners. We wouldn’t be successful without them and their continued growth and evolution as an artist, and what they’re producing and creating. It allows us to match them up with customers.”
Segment 3: (Length :04:00) – Marketing UGallery to Generation Y; Drivers of growth; Expanding the Brand through partnerships and being creative with campaigns.
“Working with different interior designers, bloggers and media . . . it’s allowed us to create a lot more campaigns to get the brand awareness out there.”
Segment 4: (Length :03:00) – Wearing multiple hats; Learning where you’re core expertise is.
“It involves little sleep. You’re literraly doing everything. Doing the books, Reaching out through email, manage SEO and search campaigns. You get it done, but you realize that you can’t do it all yourself. At some point you have to understand when to bring in outside help.
Segment 5: (Length :03:00- Hustler Thought of the Day:
Entrepreneurs average 3.8 failures before final success. What sets the successful ones apart is their amazing persistence. – Lisa Amos
“If you quit, you’re not going to win. It’s very easy to give up and throw in the towel. The biggest thing about persistence is understanding when to move on from a project and when to double down. As long as the trend in your business is growing and evolving and meeting your goals and a bright future, then full double down.”
“Don’t quit.”
GENERAL NOTES:
Stephen Tanenbaum – Entrepreneur, C0-Founder & President of UGallery.com
Stephen is an entrepreneur at heart, creating companies that impact the people and community they touch.
After launching two businesses, an on campus t-shirt company and creating the Bunkpal, a portable bed shelf sold in national retailers, Stephen Tanenbaum co-founded UGallery in 2006. His other co-founders are Alex Farkas and Greg Rosborough. As of current, Alex & Stephen are full time with UGallery.com, Greg is full time with his mens fashion label, Abasi Rosborough.
While wearing ‘multiple hats’ in the early years, he oversaw the website build, online marketing strategy, finances, and operations.
More recently, Stephen leads the UGallery team, which has grown revenues by double digits every year since inception.
Stephen led the company’s first capital raise through outside investors and works hard everyday to keep UGallery on the cutting edge, staying ahead of the ongoing competition in the online art space.
Under his leadership, the company has customers in all 50 states and over 50 countries around the world.
Recognized by Internet Retailer as the top luxury e-retailer for artwork, the company is poised to scale with its growing base of 500 artists, 7,000 one-of-a-kind artworks, and 1.7 million social media followers.
Stephen is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post Arts & Culture section, providing insight in the rapidly growing online art market.
Stephen lives in New York City, embracing both the arts and sports history, making frequent trips to the San Francisco office and Atlanta, where he retains his southern roots.
