Opening Soon
Opening Soon
Podcast Description
Opening Soon is the podcast where we go behind the scenes with founders of brick-and-mortar businesses — from pilates studios to coffee shops, boutiques, medspas, and more. Hosted by Alan Li, co-founder of FotoLab Studio and Signs and Mirrors, each episode explores how real entrepreneurs found their space, designed their store, hired their team, and built something from nothing.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on entrepreneurship and the journey of establishing physical retail spaces, with topics ranging from the nuances of vintage fashion retail to the intricacies of hair removal salons, fitness studios, and community-focused workspaces. For example, episodes include interviews with founders like Darbe Canady discussing the transition from tech to a vintage store and Cassie Piasecki sharing how she expanded her pilates brand to three locations in just one year.
Opening Soon is the podcast where we go behind the scenes with founders of brick-and-mortar businesses — from pilates studios to coffee shops, boutiques, medspas, and more.
Hosted by Alan Li, co-founder of FotoLab Studio and Signs and Mirrors, each episode explores how real entrepreneurs found their space, designed their store, hired their team, and built something from nothing.
David Liu is the founder of Kinjo, a 14 seat omakase counter and cocktail lounge in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Before launching Kinjo, David spent more than two decades building one of the internet’s most recognizable consumer brands as the co-founder and former CEO of The Knot. The wedding planning platform that helped shape the modern wedding industry. After taking the company public and eventually selling it, David found himself buying oyster farms in the Pacific Northwest and unexpectedly entering the restaurant business.
What started as a search for something more “analog” led David to oyster farming, investing in hospitality and eventually co-founding Kinjo, an affordable omakase concept designed to bring high-quality sushi experiences to local communities.
Today, David and his team are working to scale Kinjo beyond New York with plans to expand into cities across the country while using food as a way to build connection, community and cultural understanding.
In this episode, we talk about:
• Building The Knot from the early days of the internet to a public company
• Why David walked away from tech after 20 years
• Buying and operating one of the country’s largest oyster farms
• The surprising economics behind omakase restaurants
• Why David believes sushi can scale across America
• Building Kinjo and expanding into multiple cities
• Using hospitality and food to bridge cultural divides
• Lessons from working alongside his wife for decades
Resources & Links
Kinjo Website: https://www.kinjodumbo.com/
David Liu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davdliu
Made possible by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign, fixture, and furniture shop for events and retail stores.
Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/
Disclaimer
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