When most children have 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 greater thrill: the park’s theater. “I might sit and watch the reveals — and I used to be captivated,” he instructed Entrepreneur. “And after I was a senior in highschool, I used to be nonetheless watching these reveals, however I began to note this ‘unpolished’ high quality. Possibly my rose coloured glasses broke, however I noticed a chance to deliver excellence and innovation to attraction and leisure leisure.”
Stana says he had two goals when he was a child: to develop into a Broadway performer and to develop into a instructor. And people two passions got here collectively when, shortly after school, he launched his personal dwell experiences firm RWS International. “I’m very fortunate,” he says, “Each of my dad and mom 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 develop into a powerhouse in dwell leisure, casting Broadway reveals 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 far 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 reveals and occasions RWS International produces, his story is full of drama and motion.
Inform us concerning the second you determined to start out your personal firm.
As quickly as I completed school, 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 superb artistic, however they didn’t know learn how to function and funds. I am unable to consider I am even saying that as a result of after I was in highschool, I used to be horrible at math. However I spotted, “Hey, they’re making $200,000, however they’re spending $250,000.” I noticed that that you must have a stability between artistic and operational considering. So in the future I referred to as my dad and mom and mentioned, “I hate this job.” They usually have been like, “Ryan, why do not you go and open your personal enterprise?” And I mentioned, “OK.” So I give up.
In order that’s the choice — how did you truly 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 lounge. And when the telephone rings, I would like you to reply it so it seems like folks work right here. I will deduct cash from our utility invoice each month in the event 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. In the event 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 referred to 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 providing 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 dwell occasions area?
We are the world chief in creating dwell 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 got our land manufacturing division, the place we’re offering momentary experiences and dwell reveals in theme parks, retail facilities, and seasonal programming. We do pop-up model experiences in accommodations and resorts. Then we’ve got our at-sea manufacturing division, the place we offer full-scale Broadway-type productions and immersive experiences on cruise ships. Then we’ve got 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 in the event you do properly, get positioned in a Broadway present or a business. That enables us to nook the market.
Credit score: Medora Musical
As a performer, might you simply say, “Hey, I’ll forged myself as Simba?”
I could not say that and nor would anybody need me to say that anymore. I nonetheless get plenty 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 development?
We reached near about $50 million in income a 12 months after the pandemic. Now we have grown to 9 figures since then. We expanded principally 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 Large Occasions), and most lately bought an app (Concord Helper) that helps performers study their music in a quicker manner, which permits our productions and our purchasers to save cash. In 2023, we additionally took on a non-public fairness agency, Bluestone Fairness Companions. I bought off a minority quantity of the enterprise to maneuver our firm into the long run.
Did theater college put together you for all of this?
I simply study as issues come. I actually consider that if in case you have a ardour for what you do, you’ll determine it out. I instructed a buddy lately that you simply need not spend time getting an MBA. In case you have a ardour and you’re employed laborious, you are going to have success. However in the event you suppose being an entrepreneur is just not 24/7? You are lifeless flawed.
How do you develop in a manageable manner that does not unfold your self too skinny?
I’ve made it a degree since day one to not make our success primarily based on myself or any particular person. It is about having the techniques 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 concept comes up, nice, we bump it to 2026. So as soon as we have laid that basis, the mixing of these companies could be very easy. Now I might be mendacity to you to say that it has not been bumpy while you’re shopping for six+ firms, however you hearken to folks and respect what they are saying, and transfer ahead.
How do you flip your mind off? Can you watch reveals and never have your work mind going?
I can’t calm down after I watch a present — that I can promise you. Folks would in all probability chuckle 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 be sure that as soon as per week, I’ve in the future 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 do not forget that with out these folks, I could not be doing what I do.
