WIZARD STUDIOS’ 20th ANNIVERSARY –AN INTERVIEW WITH CEO & FOUNDER, MATTHEW SARAVAY: PART ONE
This June Wizard Studios is celebrating 20 years as a live event production company with award-winning technical, design, and fabrication capabilities. Over that time we have delivered countless special events from political campaigns to rock concerts. Wizard Studios continues to create events and experiences that leave an indelible impression on audiences around the nation. We took a few moments to ask our CEO & Founder, Matthew Saravay to reflect on his journey with the company and we’re excited to share what the 20th anniversary means to him!
This year we celebrate Wizard Studios’ 20th Anniversary. What thoughts and emotions come to mind when you think about that?
The first thing that comes to mind is, “boy did that happen fast. Where did 20 years go?” I guess the good news is that after 20 years I still love what I do. Being in the event business has provided me with some of the most gratifying experiences of my life. I got to work with world-renowned music artists like Madonna, James Taylor, and Taylor Swift (at the same event); Aretha Franklin; Bruno Mars, Kanye West, Lionel Ritchie, and Jackson Browne… I’ve been involved in two presidential election nights and on the campaign trail with two Presidential nominees; I’ve worked with the current President, & past Presidents from George W. Bush, to Barack Obama; I’ve been to President Clinton’s house like six times in the past two-years. I was one of 4 people on a Zoom call with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame. He made me take off my Pink Floyd concert shirt that I wore for the call. I’ve worked with famed chefs like Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, and David Burke. I’ve helped literally thousands of nonprofits raise money for their causes, and I helped literally hundreds of families celebrate their most precious moments. I’ve pulled off some crazy stunts that could’ve landed me in jail (but never did). I’ve been stressed to the max by deadlines, and seemingly impossible situations. I’ve failed… a few times. But every time I got up, dusted myself off, and went back for more. For me, this was never a job. Being an event producer and producing events is who I am. I was born to do this.
What has been the greatest “lesson learned“ or piece of advice you’ve received over the years?
A story that I tell everyone on their first day of work at Wizard Studios is about what happened to me in 1991 when I was first starting out. I was a salesman for a medical billing software company. The CEO of the company hired a retired salesperson he knew to mentor me. I fondly referred to that man as “the fossil.” His name was Larry Heller. And the first thing he said to me when we met was, “When is a sale a sale?”
Being the smart guy that I was, I quickly replied, “when the client signed my contract and gives me a deposit.”
“No,” said Larry.
“Well, when we deliver the goods to the customer and they pay the balance in full, then it must be a sale.”
“No,” said Larry.
“Well, why don’t you tell me then, Larry, when is the sale a sale?”
And Larry said, “When they order more coats!”
Glibly I replied, “But Larry, we are selling software…”
“The point is, kid, that when they order more coats, you can consider the first order a sale.”
That exchange has stayed with me my whole career. And when I started Wizard Studios the mantra I built the company around was that I would do whatever it takes to ensure the client I had would hire me again. Margins be damned! It costs way more to acquire a new customer. In this digital age, where everyone's a critic for the world to see, and likes and 5-star reviews are a measure of the quality of your work, we must strive to consistently deliver excellence, and work to turn our customers into evangelists for our brand.
Wizard Studios is known around the world for being an award-winning event production company. It was named the Best Corporate Event Planner by the NY Chapter of the International Special Events Society at its annual Big Apple Awards in 2011 and you, specifically, were inducted into the International Live Events Association, NY Metro Chapter’s Hall of Legends in 2018. How does it feel to have received such prestigious recognition in the event industry?
I would be lying if I said the accolades did not matter. Of course, it is nice to be recognized by your peers for your efforts. But nothing can replace the feelings of elation and satisfaction when after working hard to turn a blank canvas into an event, your customer comes up to you with a smile and a look of satisfaction on their face and tells you what an amazing job you’ve done. There was no better high than being at the celebration for President Biden in Wilmington when it was announced that he had won the election in 2020.
When you reflect on the abundant number of incredible events Wizard Studios has produced, what are some of the most memorable events that come to mind?
Probably like 15 years ago we were asked by some advertising agency if we would dye the Chicago River brown. Apparently, a couple of years prior, the “Dave Matthews Band'' was in Chicago on tour. Their tour bus was empty, and while driving over a bridge in downtown Chicago, the driver thought it would be a good time to empty the bus's septic system through the grates of the bridge and into the river below. Well just as that was happening, a tour boat was floating under the bridge, and the tourists on the boat were treated to an awful shower of raw sewage. The tour bus driver was cited by the police, and the band was mortified. If you don’t know, Dave Matthews is a huge environmentalist. Anyway, some ticket sales agency in Chicago thought it would be clever to dye the Chicago River brown as a stunt promoting Dave Matthews's return to Chicago the next year. So their Ad agency asked us if we would do it. I said, “No, I’d sooner fly a giant inflatable toilet down the river with a giant sash across it that says, ‘No Dumping.’”
The Agency stuffed shirt pounded the table and said, “I love it!”
“I’m kidding!”
“I’m not! Let me know how much it would cost.” So, about a month later we found ourselves on the banks of the Chicago River behind the Wrigley building inflating a giant toilet bowl when the police approached. They didn’t have any issue with us floating a giant inflatable toilet bowl down the Chicago River, but rather with us trespassing on the lawn behind the Wrigley building. We got a $50 ticket for that, but the giant inflatable toilet bowl was on every morning show in Chicago that day and caused a traffic jam in downtown Chicago as cars stopped on the bridges to click photos.
At the same time that was happening, I was working with Major League Soccer on a halftime show in Cleveland, Ohio starring a band called “Bowling for Soup.” Their hospitality rider had the usual list of shenanigans, but one thing stood out: They either wanted a poster of the band, “Panthera” or a poster of Beatrice Arthur, naked. So, I had one of our designers superimpose Beatrice Arthur’s head onto the body of an old, well-endowed, naked man with the caption, “We always knew…” I called the local Kinko’s in Mount Kisco, NY, and asked them if they would mind printing a poster with a naked person on it. The clerk said, “No problem.” So, I went there to have the poster printed, and while I was waiting, and it was slowly printing off of this large format printing machine, that was facing out toward the front of the store, some guy walks in with his young daughter holding his hand, and she pointed at the poster slowly printing off the machine and exclaimed in the loudest voice ever, “Daddy, look at the giant penis!” I was so proud that day. And the band LOVED the poster.
So much of Wizard Studios’ success stems from the hard work and incredible leadership of Matthew Saravay. Wizard Studios is proud to be a company that values teamwork, innovation, zeal, ambition, dependability, and respect. It is with great leadership that we continue to excel and reach new heights! Stay tuned to see what Matthew has to say about the future of Wizard Studios and contact us today to get started on your next event!