Madan Kulkarni With The Matrix Club

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studio in Chicago, Illinois. It’s time for Chicago Business Radio brought to you by Firmspace, your private sanctuary for productivity and growth. To learn more, go to Firmspace.com. Now here’s your host.

Max Kantor: [00:00:21] Hey everybody, and welcome to another episode of Chicago Business Radio. I’m your host, Max Cantor. But before we get started, I do want to thank today’s sponsor. Today’s show is sponsored by firm SpaceX. Thanks to two firm SpaceX, because without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories, and we have a great show today on the show. We have the principal and CEO of The Matrix Club, so please welcome to the show. Madan Kulkarni, welcome to the show, Madan.

Madan Kulkarni: [00:00:49] Hi, Max. Thank you for having me on.

Max Kantor: [00:00:52] So let’s jump right in. Tell me, what is The Matrix Club?

Madan Kulkarni: [00:00:58] The Matrix Club is a kind of a unique venture which will host a variety of things. First of all, it’s an event venue which will host all kinds of events right from weddings, shows, fashion shows, concerts, but it has got the latest in audio visuals. It has got a very flexible space. Along with this convention and banquet space, it also has its full service kitchens. It has got international fusion cuisine, restaurant, a world music and jazz lounge. It has got a little performing arts theater. It’s got an art gallery. It’s got dance and yoga studios. So it has got a bunch of things from the artistic side which are very synergistic to each other and which could be very unique for the community to come in and experience.

Max Kantor: [00:01:47] How did the idea for The Matrix Club come about?

Madan Kulkarni: [00:01:52] Well, this has come about after years of research. I’ve been involved in promoting of art, music and different kinds of things over the last 30 years, and I always wanted to collaborate with artistic kind of people to create some kind of a platform for global cultures to come together and express themselves. Along with that, provide services to a global community, which could enhance the understanding of different cultures and which could educate as well as entertain people. So The Matrix Club is kind of a result of years of, you know, thinking along these lines.

Max Kantor: [00:02:40] Now when did you start planning The Matrix Club?

Madan Kulkarni: [00:02:46] Matrix Club has been in the plans for the last over nearly two decades. It has been, you know, a plan of experimentation, a plan of putting things in together in, you know, starts and pieces. And then finally, this particular venue and this particular venture, which is being constructed currently and which should open in the next three or four months, is the culmination of all those, you know, ideas and outreaches. So once this place opens, I think we’ll be putting all these things in one place and people will see how all these things interact with each other.

Max Kantor: [00:03:30] So you talked about your emphasis on bringing together global cultures and and diverse global culture. So how are you building that community among various diverse communities?

Madan Kulkarni: [00:03:46] The simple fact is, when you provide a stimulating atmosphere, a place which welcomes artists, performers, as well as people who want to do events of different kinds into a place which will provide them with the flexibility or space, the conveniences of presenting their cultures in a way which they want it presented and in a way which they feel at home. But I think it kind of builds on its own. Like, I’ll just give you a simple example. We have our convention and banquet space, which is flexible enough to do a wedding or a concert. Now, for example, if you do a concert tomorrow and then we have, say, a Greek artist coming in from Greece now because of our full service kitchen and then the way how the banquet facility at the convention facility is laid out and then the huge stage which we have, it’s a 70 by 30 stage, which is inbuilt with the most modern sound and light systems by, you know, companies like Bose and RCF and Danley and show where we bring these people in. And then right from the basics, like, for example, the artists are provided with adequate, you know, the change rooms and all that they’re provided with the practice facilities. And then they are they are provided with the latest of sound and light systems and technicians who understand what they want. That’s what it’s all inbuilt within the place. So you don’t have to drag and sound from outside. You don’t have to drag it light from outside, but you see a system which is absolutely calibrated for this particular space, so it saves them a lot of trouble.

Madan Kulkarni: [00:05:32] And then from the audience perspective, you offered them free, complimentary parking, like if you go to the bigger venues, you pay anywhere from twenty five to twenty five dollars in parking, but here you get complimentary parking. And when they come in into the pre function areas, they are provided with concessions which are both Greek as well as mainstream American. So they get to have a taste of both their home and their homeland. So now it kind of stimulates. It makes them feel at home for the Greeks. It makes them feel that they are, you know, listening to a concert in Greece. For the Indians, it makes them feel that they are listening to a concert in India. Similarly, for the people here, it makes you feel that you are, you know, listening and enjoying a concert here. And apart from that, if you come into this venue, once the venue is ready, you are sitting on a space which is carpeted, which has got plush banquet chairs, which has got the screens and the LCD screens and all that, you know, designed and calibrated to the space. So it makes for a wholesome experience in a very cozy and comfortable atmosphere. And we can hold up to two thousand people. So I think we are we are really intrigued by what we can offer to the people here.

Max Kantor: [00:06:44] Totally. And I think what what makes you guys really unique is that no two people coming to your space will have the same exact experience, depending on what culture they’re from and what event they they go to. I mean, when I think of other event spaces, you go to multiple events, there could be the same feel every time. But what you guys are doing or what it sounds like is you want to make each experience as unique as possible. Is that fair to say?

Madan Kulkarni: [00:07:08] Absolutely. Absolutely. Like, for example, when I was just talking to you about a Greek concert or a Polish concert or an indoor concert, what is displayed on those LCD screens inside the space also? You could see scenes from Greece, you could see scenes from the Acropolis. And then at the same time, you could see, you know, artistically developed, you know, demonstrated food stalls outside which serve Greek food. So when people walk in there, they immediately identify with their culture in the context of this great country. So that’s the whole idea. So any and then you can always go for cross-cultural experience. Like, for example, somebody from Spain wants to take in an experience of, say, a Greek concert. The French people can walk in there and then get an idea of what the cuisine is and what the scene’s around there and what kind of music is being played. I think it would be a great cross-cultural experience for people also, and understanding each each other’s cultures, I think, is the best way of, you know, promoting understanding between places and people and countries.

Max Kantor: [00:08:12] Definitely. I mean, you’re taking something as fun as a concert and making it educational in a way as well, which is super cool.

Madan Kulkarni: [00:08:19] I would like to call it edutainment education, education as well as entertainment.

Max Kantor: [00:08:24] Yes, I love that. Yeah, that’s exactly what you guys are doing. Edutainment. That’s perfectly describes it. Now I know with when it comes to like COVID 19, you know, I’m sure event spaces in the industry, it took a hit. So how did you guys navigate during the pandemic and what are you doing moving forward?

Madan Kulkarni: [00:08:42] Well, we are taking some very sensible steps to protect our clients and consumers and all that we will be installing screens and we’ll be installing devices and then air fresheners and cleaners, which will recirculate air and all that. In consultation with our architects and the local municipalities. So we have an award winning architect, Tasmanian and company who is working very closely with us to put these things in place. And we are constantly on the lookout for different ways to make our clients and people more safe and to make, you know, the safety measures very accessible to them. At the same time, detect things which can possibly affect the performance or conduct of an event well in advance and take precautionary measures. So and then apart from that, we will also require daily screening of all our employees coming into our facility, which makes the place also very safe for people. So I think we can navigate through that. And then secondly, because of the size of the place, even if social distancing is mandated and the number of people let inside is mandated by, you know, whatever the demands of the situation are. I think we’ll be able to do that because we can seat about thirteen hundred people. So tomorrow, if there is a big, say, South-Asian wedding, which calls for a lot of people. So instead of having seven 800 people there, they could still get away by having 400, which is a substantial number of people in a space. Thirteen hundred people spaced, so there is enough social distancing in place. At the same time, they don’t feel that they have not invited some of their closest friends and family and all that, so we are able to fulfill those needs of the client as well.

Max Kantor: [00:10:33] Now, apart from pandemic related things and health related things, are there any trends that you’re seeing in your industry?

Madan Kulkarni: [00:10:42] Trends, the biggest thing which we are seeing is, look, when the pandemic hit and in the first few months, there is a lot of online events going on and online concerts or online events or online weddings and all that. But. Immediately in the second year, we have seen the trend turned around because there is no substitute to life, things happening, people meeting each other and greeting each other. We feel that online activities are good, but they are not a substitute for a real event happening with people congregating together and then exchanging greetings and the warmth which they normally have for each other. So. And then because of the lack of events and because of the shortening of these events or cut down of these events, we see a huge pent up demand which we feel is ready to explode in the next few years. So so far, as we find adequate deterrence to these newly forming mutants and stuff like that, I think the industry is poised to grow. Our industry is poised to, you know, accept the pent up demand which is going to be coming out.

Max Kantor: [00:11:57] Macdon Where is The Matrix Club located?

Madan Kulkarni: [00:12:01] The Matrix Club is located in the beautiful city of Naperville on Route fifty nine and a couple of blocks south or north of Ogden. It’s on Ogden and fifty nine in Maplewood.

Max Kantor: [00:12:20] And if one of our listeners was interested in booking an event with you guys, when is the earliest you guys are starting to book?

Madan Kulkarni: [00:12:31] We are starting to accept events from June of 2020 to better this year, so we already have several events booked starting in May, June onwards and it is going on. So we have bookings in 2020. The events are going on for, you know, the events have been booked for two thousand twenty three and twenty four also. So we have already started booking events.

Max Kantor: [00:13:00] And if people want to learn more about The Matrix Club, do you have a website you’d like to share?

Madan Kulkarni: [00:13:05] Yes, it’s a w w matrix venue dot com. W w w matrix venue dot com.

Max Kantor: [00:13:13] Well, MacDon, thank you so much for being on the show today. It’s been great talking to you about The Matrix Club and it sounds like you guys are are making edutainment at its finest.

Madan Kulkarni: [00:13:23] Thank you. Thank you.

Max Kantor: [00:13:23] Appreciate that and thank you all for listening to another episode of Chicago Business Radio. I’m your host, Max Lee Kantor, and we’ll see you next time.

Intro: [00:13:34] This episode is Chicago. Business Radio has been brought to you by firm SpaceX, your private sanctuary for productivity and growth. To learn more, go to Firme Space.com.