Dave Diaz organizes events in Philadelphia for professionals who are looking to expand and solidify their network.
As a child, Diaz lived in several locations throughout the northeast before settling in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for high school.
While attending high school in Pennsylvania’s capital city, Diaz didn’t speak much, floating between different social groups but ultimately never finding a clique that resonated with who he was.
“I definitely did not have the same vibrant personality that I do today. I wasn’t cool, but I wasn’t unpopular,” says the former inbetweener.
“I shook hands with both the nerds and the varsity team, but there wasn’t a specific group that you could throw me in.”
After high school, that impermanence followed Diaz, who admits that college became so daunting that he eventually dropped out.
“My dad then pushed me to pursue a career in the trades,” Diaz notes.
“I always had respect for those industries, but deep down, I knew that wasn’t for me.”
To earn money, Diaz got a job at the local shopping mall with Foot Locker, but early issues related to punctuality led to him being let go.
At that point, Diaz pivoted within the shopping mall and latched on with Express, a fashion retailer that caters to young men and women.
“I went from selling $100 sneakers to $500 suits,” Diaz mentions, but soon he left Express and landed a sales job in the jewelry business, where he sold diamonds and watches.
But the evolution of his sales career didn’t end there.
“My trajectory just kept increasing. After I got out of working in a mall, I began selling $10,000 jewelry items, but then I graduated to selling $50,000 cars,” the one-time Harrisburg resident says.
“From there, I was brokering the exchange of motor homes, and those price tags easily eclipsed $600,000.”
As Diaz’s income increased, so too did his desire to leave middle Pennsylvania, and soon he moved two hours east to Philadelphia, a bustling metropolis whose frenetic pace matched Diaz’s ambitions and relentless work ethic.
He may not have taken the traditional route, but since arriving in the City of Brotherly Love, Diaz has cultivated relationships and brought value to his employer, exceeding the expectations of so many who questioned whether he could succeed without possessing a degree from an accredited university.
“Technically, I should have a master’s degree in order to qualify for my current position, but because I built relationships, I was able to bypass that requirement,” Diaz says.
A handsome young man who is also handsomely compensated, Diaz could have become content with thriving for a company in a major market, but along the way Diaz recognized that outside of his corporate job, there was more he could do to bring value to others in Philly.
For Diaz, this meant leveraging his relationships and amiable disposition to curate and host events in the urban mecca.
These events were aimed at connecting high-performers, many of whom Diaz met through The Standard, a nationwide organization that features an array of uber-talented professionals in both corporate and entrepreneurial spheres.
As a member of The Standard, Diaz is a stark representation of what can happen when someone surrounds themselves with equally-yoked individuals.
In that sense, despite his impressive accolades, Diaz doesn’t consider himself to be self-made, but rather, The Standard-made.
“I know that getting into rooms with people who are years ahead of me is important, and if I can cultivate that within my city, I know that me and others will grow,” Diaz says.
“We have all heard the saying that you are the average of the five people you are around the most. Well, what happens if I take the best of the best and put them all in a room together? What connections can be made? What kind of business opportunities will develop as a result? See, here’s the thing: I don’t need to worry about HOW everyone will benefit because the WHO, or the people in these rooms, they will teach each other HOW, and that to me is extremely powerful.”
At the same time, there was also an ancillary, more personal reason for Diaz to produce these networking events in a city that has taught him so much.
“There is a negative connotation that is associated with the city of Philadelphia,” Diaz deadpans.
“Like many major cities, there are problems that persist here, but it’s not as bad as people think. Therefore, I wanted to change the narrative around the city by curating events that would highlight and showcase some of the city’s top professional talent.”
And for the past year, Diaz has invested time, energy, and resources into ensuring that when people come out to one of his events, they not only have a good time, but they also experience something far different from the status quo.
“Here’s what can happen sometimes with events: either people are waiting outside for three hours trying to get in, and then when they get in, it sucks. Or they pay $4,000 for a section and skip the line, but then the event is underwhelming, and they leave dissatisfied,” Diaz explains.
“But my events are different. We deliver distinctive experiences through our portfolio of affiliations of restaurants, venues, nightclubs, lounges, and relationships with the city’s most affluent. Realizing there was a gap in hospitality that was being ignored, I disrupted the industry by combining audacity and lifestyle and turning the attention on to what it means to provide a full sensory guest experience.”
Diaz then says:
“We set the bar for guest experiences by delivering unforgettable entertainment, strategic connections, and creativity at the core. This is an industry that is dominated by predictable and stale execution. I’m able to maintain relationships with these venues because of our level of execution, and our keen eye on what it means to maintain taste level.”
“Also, our goal is to drive congruency in all areas of life that showcase lifestyle and gives you a platform to display audacity without guilt. We provide a place to have multiple experiences inside one night, and with this multi-layered approach, we touch on every single sense to provide an unforgettable night. From the moment you open your car door, you are at the Grammys.”
For context, when Diaz hosts an event at one of Philadelphia’s premier locations, he brings out videographers and photographers to document the event, but what makes his soirees elite is he works tirelessly to ensure that the people on the guest list are vetted and capable of bringing value.
“The perception of being at one of these events is nice, but the real benefit is the networking opportunities,” he says.
“Because I’ve been able to attract some of the city’s best young professionals, these events end up leading to long-term relationships and business deals that otherwise would not have materialized.”
At the same time, there are a litany of inherent challenges that come with coordinating events, which is why Diaz is quick to credit the team around him for their efforts in making everything possible.
“First off, I’m not here without the incredible support of my team. These events aren’t just me. They’re a result of so many other talented people who also believe in the power of networking and getting talented people in the same room,” says Diaz, who even today is still navigating the nuances that are associated with being a viable player in the Philadelphia nightlife scene.
“You can’t get far in this game with being purely transactional. Some things are just worth more than money. Relationships are currency. In the long run, it’s about the people you’ll meet and how you can use one another as a trampoline to further each other’s goals. For example, because of one person, I’ll have the exposure to get access to intangible things that money just can’t buy. That’s called reach, which is why curating intentional relationships is always the goal. And yes, clients will come back to the events and buy because of talent. But guess what – everybody is talented. They have to like you. They genuinely have to like you and want to be around you because people like to shop friends, not strangers.”
He then adds:
“This isn’t an industry I have much experience in at all, but I’ll say this: growing up, I would get a new game for the PlayStation, and the first question the game would ask is if I wanted to play on easy mode, intermediate mode, or hard mode. No matter the game, I always chose hard, and that’s the same mentality I apply to what I’m doing now. I’ve never been in the event planning or nightlife space, but I’m going into this venture with the belief that I’m playing on hard mode, knowing full well that I’m successful because I’ve adopted this approach all my life, and truthfully, the faster I fail, the quicker I will find sustained success.”
Fortunately, at this juncture, things have worked out for Diaz, who moving forward will continue to leverage relationships and social media to bring attention to these events, a strategy that ideally will lead to bigger partnerships and larger venues.
“In time, I’d like to secure better deals with vendors, as well as sponsorship from some of the bigger businesses in Philadelphia. And I believe that if I continue to keep giving value to everyone, those opportunities will eventually present themselves,” says Diaz, who would like to network with more hospitality groups, including Glu Hospitality, who hosted one of Diaz’s recent afterparties in Philadelphia.
“I want to be known as someone that high-caliber people and companies can rely on, and that if they ever need anything, I’m only a phone call away.” QS
**
Today’s post is sponsored by realtor Caleb Carlson!
If you’re a Twin Cities homeowner or property owner who is looking to buy/sell, I personally endorse Caleb Carlson.
A staple of the Twin Cities real estate market, Caleb has helped countless homeowners buy and sell properties.
Whether you’re a first-time buyer or this is your fourth time moving, Caleb’s expertise spans all corners of the real estate market.
To get in touch with Caleb, call or text the number 701-520-8569 to speak with him directly!
quentinsuper.com 
Leave a comment