Soho House Founder: How I Built The World’s Most Exclusive Club: Nick Jones | E163
Executive Summary
Steven Bartlett talks with Soho House founder Nick Jones about focusing on members, simplifying decisions, finding support for new locations and learning hospitality through practical work. Jones describes the early development of Babington House and Soho House New York. These notes cover selected business passages from the first roughly 50,000 characters of the public YouTube auto-captions of episode E163, not a complete account of the interview. Captions may contain errors; company roles, deals and practices are described as his account at the time, not verified current facts.
Key Takeaways
Prove hospitality can be different
He says he wanted to prove hospitality could be done differently, and that he never thought about making an aspirational brand. He was always obsessed about the member, which was his number one thing.
Mistakes mean you are pushing
He says that if you do not make mistakes you are not pushing yourself or leaving your comfort zone, and that part of his drive was proving to his family that he could do it.
Simplify what people need to act on
Jones describes wanting a proposal on one sheet of paper instead of four. He connects that preference to his experience of dyslexia and repeatedly edits complicated work down to its essentials. The business lesson is clear communication, not a claim that a learning difference gives everyone the same strengths.
Babington House
He found Babington House on the market for about a million to a million and a half pounds, with a small deposit. The sellers wanted to stay for the summer and complete in nine months, giving him time to get planning permission and raise the money from members. When he heard of a higher offer he increased his own.
The hard-hat dinner in New York
To raise money for Soho House New York he cooked chicken on a six burner on the sixth floor of a warehouse building site, laid a table with a white tablecloth and invited well-known people. David Bowie came and became an investor.
Ignore the doubters
Before that, everyone said a private members club would not work in New York, because people would not pay a membership fee and the velvet rope was the big thing.
Hospitality teaches practical collaboration
Jones recommends time in hospitality because people have to work together, get along with different colleagues and respond to customers. His comparison with a maths degree is personal opinion, not an educational ranking. The useful point is that frontline work can teach skills difficult to learn only from plans and reports.
The Conversation Breakdown
Prove hospitality can be different
⏱ Untimed topicHe says he wanted to prove hospitality could be done differently, and that he never thought about making an aspirational brand. He was always obsessed about the member, which was his number one thing.
Mistakes mean you are pushing
⏱ Untimed topicHe says that if you do not make mistakes you are not pushing yourself or leaving your comfort zone, and that part of his drive was proving to his family that he could do it.
Simplify what people need to act on
⏱ Untimed topicJones describes wanting a proposal on one sheet of paper instead of four. He connects that preference to his experience of dyslexia and repeatedly edits complicated work down to its essentials. The business lesson is clear communication, not a claim that a learning difference gives everyone the same strengths.
Babington House
⏱ Untimed topicHe found Babington House on the market for about a million to a million and a half pounds, with a small deposit. The sellers wanted to stay for the summer and complete in nine months, giving him time to get planning permission and raise the money from members. When he heard of a higher offer he increased his own.
The hard-hat dinner in New York
⏱ Untimed topicTo raise money for Soho House New York he cooked chicken on a six burner on the sixth floor of a warehouse building site, laid a table with a white tablecloth and invited well-known people. David Bowie came and became an investor.
Ignore the doubters
⏱ Untimed topicBefore that, everyone said a private members club would not work in New York, because people would not pay a membership fee and the velvet rope was the big thing.
Hospitality teaches practical collaboration
⏱ Untimed topicJones recommends time in hospitality because people have to work together, get along with different colleagues and respond to customers. His comparison with a maths degree is personal opinion, not an educational ranking. The useful point is that frontline work can teach skills difficult to learn only from plans and reports.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Member before brand
Begin with what members need from the experience instead of an abstract image of exclusivity. Jones says his attention was on the member, not building an aspirational label.
Simplify to decide
Reduce a proposal to the information needed for a decision. Jones's one-page preference forces teams to identify the core issue and avoid unnecessary complexity.
Make a concept tangible
The New York hard-hat dinner let potential supporters experience the project in its unfinished setting. A small demonstration can help people understand a plan that remains difficult to picture on paper.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Cut one document you own down to a single page.
- ✓Write down what your customer or member wants first, before the brand idea.
- ✓Plan a small proof event that gets the right people in the room.
- ✓Spend time with frontline staff and ask what repeatedly gets in the way of a good customer experience.
Notable Quotes
“i've always been obsessed about the member”
“if you don't make mistakes you're not pushing yourself”
“i want something on one sheet of paper”
The One Thing to Remember
i've always been obsessed about the member