Today we’d like to introduce you to Chloe Makhani and Sophia Parsa.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Mountain Gate and Stanley Social were two separate ventures that were never intended to overlap, and the origin story of how they came together is in many ways entirely serendipitous. Mountain Gate started by accident when Sophia Parsa invited 20 strangers to a dinner in her parents’ backyard and 60 showed up. She handled the surge of guests so well and people were so thrilled with the dinner that most were contacting Sophia wanting to connect with the people they had met. This is when Sophia created a facebook group for all of the attendees and realized how special this thing could become.
As the community grew, Sophia quickly realized her events needed a new space to host them. After bouncing around from house to house and venue to venue, she connected with me. I opened the doors to stanley social last October 2018 to help out a friend who was looking for a venue to host an event. My goal was to create an all encompassing restaurant, but what happened instead was the birth of Stanley Social; a hybrid event space that is as accommodating as it is elegant. Once known as the infamous Dar Maghreb, the opulent eatery and event space was able to be reclaimed. I knew that the space was special and there was more that could be done with it, which Sophia noticed too. Stanley Social is 5,000 square feet of classic Moroccan culture with a modern Hollywood twist. Our versatile environment gives us the edge we need to play host to any and all types of occasions.
As my business was new when Sophia and I were talking about our respective businesses, I was looking for more regular events to host that people could look forward to in the space. With our separate pursuits flourishing, we realized that our businesses could both become even stronger if we were to collaborate. Having known each other since seventh grade, we never thought that we would become even closer through this passion project. We both were and are so excited at the idea of creating a unique community for creatives, entrepreneurs, and innovators to come together. Business used to be so competitive and the idea of collaborating was not as appealing. That’s one of the reasons why now, in 2019, we could not be happier to have a dinner/speaker series that not only celebrates collaboration but fosters it as well.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road but I think that that comes with the nature of the Mountain Gate events. We don’t do the same thing or host the same people every time, so there are bound to be new obstacles that come with each event. We have had to learn to be incredibly flexible and to think on our feet, but as much as that can be considered a struggle I think it is actually more exciting than anything. It means that every time we have a unique experience, and no event is quite like the last.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Stanley Social is known for a wide variety of special events, from influencer birthdays to corporate events, weddings and anything in between. Our space is beautiful untouched as well as completely decked out, and I think that’s why we can work with so many different event needs. Some of the events we are most proud of are definitely the events we have been hosting with Sophia. Sophia created this amazing group that took lots of time and energy to form and what she built happens to fit perfectly in our space at Stanley. There are so many communities people can join in LA, but I believe this is one of the most unique. We stand out because each event targets a different group, a different industry, and to be a part of Mountain Gate you have to be invited by someone who has attended one of the dinners. The beauty of this series is that the network of members is ever growing and diversifying but in a controlled and curated way. We want all of the connections that people make at our events to be meaningful ones that last.
Contact Info:
- Address: Stanley Social
1510 N. Stanley Ave.
Los Angeles, 90046 - Website: stanleysocial.com
- Phone: 3108948666
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @stanleysocial & @mountaingate
Image Credit:
Jordan Ring, @jordanringphotography
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