Summary
On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Jeff Amerine and Grace Gill sit down with Justin and Mailena Urso, founders and owners of Big Box Karaoke. Big Box Karaoke is a combination bar, restaurant, and karaoke hotspot located in the heart of downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas. Throughout the episode, Justin and Mailena discuss the importance of continuous growth, the entrepreneurial mindset, the struggles they faced through the Covid-19 pandemic, and their shared love for karaoke.
Show Notes
(0:52) Introducing Justin and Mailena Urso and the Big Box Karaoke Origin Story
(14:17) Finding the Right Location
(17:49) The Pandemic’s Effects on Big Box Karaoke
(25:18) Re-Opening after the Pandemic
(28:17) Balancing Feedback
(31:11) The Core Customer Base
(34:12) Longterm Projections and Hopes
(38:01) Advice to the Younger Self
(40:48) Closing Thoughts
Links
Quotes
“March 15th I think is the date everybody remembers. I always tell this story: On the Saturday before the shutdown, in an eight-hour timeframe, we did as much revenue as [we did] in the next six months combined. In eight hours. And it was one of our busiest nights ever, but it took six months to make that same amount of revenue that [had only taken] eight hours.” – Justin Urso, (19:23)
“We averaged fifty reservations a week before the pandemic, and then you go to zero. And 80% of our business was based on reservations, so the math just doesn’t add up.” – Justin Urso, (23:05)
“Our business is expensive to build out. It’s not just opening a coffee shop or an ice cream parlor or something. There’s a lot of costs that go into building out those rooms and the technology involved. And so [expansion] is a little bit more difficult.” – Justin Urso, (27:25)
“We were like, if we build it, they will come. That was our mindset. But we did do a lot of testing. We personally experienced this concept a lot and had a great time and took our takeaways from that…and there were other businesses in other markets like ours that were popping up. So it wasn’t like this was a brand new thing.” – Mailena Urso, (30:12)
“The advice we would give to people in that situation is just believe in what you’re doing and have some backup for it. And if you can’t find the backup, then that’s maybe where you’re like, okay maybe let’s change it a little bit.” – Mailena Urso, (33:49)
The Story of Big Box Karaoke with Justin and Mailena Urso
On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Jeff Amerine and Grace Gill sit down with Justin and Mailena Urso, founders and owners of Big Box Karaoke. Big Box Karaoke is a combination bar, restaurant, and karaoke hotspot located in the heart of downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas. Throughout the episode, Justin and Mailena discuss the importance of continuous growth, the entrepreneurial mindset, the struggles they faced through the Covid-19 pandemic, and their shared love for karaoke.
Big Box Karaoke
Justin and Mailena fell in love with karaoke while living in Japan after college. While they had experienced karaoke bars in the United States, they were captivated by the private-room model that was growing ever-popular in Japan, which has over 100,000 karaoke rooms across the country.
Eventually, they moved back to the United States with the dream of opening their own private-room karaoke bar. While living in Chicago, they took their friends out to a similar karaoke bar across town to see how they would react. While their friends were singing and ordering drinks, Justin and Mailena were taking notes.
“We were like, if we build it, they will come. That was our mindset. But we did do a lot of testing. We personally experienced this concept a lot and had a great time and took our takeaways from that…and there were other businesses in other markets like ours that were popping up. So it wasn’t like this was a brand new thing.” – Mailena Urso, (30:12)
Unfortunately, it was difficult for Justin and Mailena to find the capital they needed to open a karaoke bar of their own. After all, banks weren’t necessarily looking to loan large sums of money to young, inexperienced entrepreneurs in 2009. Justin and Mailena continued looking for the right opportunity and eventually returned to Northwest Arkansas. They considered opening a location in 2015, but the situation wasn’t right. And in December 2018, they opened Big Box Karaoke on Block Street in downtown Fayetteville.
The Pandemic
After opening in 2018, Big Box Karaoke steadily grew throughout 2019, establishing itself as a premiere entertainment space in the heart of the city. But, when the pandemic arrived in early 2020, Justin and Mailena knew things would change. After the mandatory shutdown that spring, Big Box re-opened as a to-go food and drink location to keep the business alive.
“March 15th I think is the date everybody remembers. I always tell this story: On the Saturday before the shutdown, in an eight-hour timeframe, we did as much revenue as [we did] in the next six months combined. In eight hours. And it was one of our busiest nights ever, but it took six months to make that same amount of revenue that [had only taken] eight hours.” – Justin Urso, (19:23)
The pandemic was a difficult time for the Ursos, but as the world began to re-open and return to a semblance of normalcy, Big Box Karaoke began to boom again. Now, they’re considering expanding to open another location, and they have franchising in the back of their mind.
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