“Our ultimate goal is to become the go-to nightlife resource worldwide.”

Kenny Kadar is an adventure capitalist born and raised in the wilds of Los Angeles. Back when nightlife meant staying up late to play Super Mario Bros., Kenny scrapped on soccer fields and chugged Capri-Suns. In the 6th grade he started his first business: customized children’s books. He grew up a little and earned a business degree while warming bar stools at the University of Washington.

Kenny launched Night Tap, the nightlife expert, in June 2011. Night Tap gives nightlife enthusiasts, and the venues that serve them, an opportunity to connect. They provide members with deals, content and events to catapult their nightlife experience at a discount through a resonating lifestyle brand. Nightlife venues receive increased exposure and sales.

And if you’re wondering where you’ve seen Night Tap previously, Paris Hilton rocked the iconic I Heart Night Tap sunglasses in early June.

MO: You conceived the idea for Night Tap in September 2010 and then launched in June 2011. What were you doing in the time between conception and the launch? Where did your inspiration come from?

Kenny: I was inspired to start Night Tap because I love going out. However, the costs for grabbing a drink with friends can add up. It got to the point where my friends and I chose to stay home over going out for a night on the town just to save money. The vision for Night Tap is to offer insights into the best nightlife experiences and the opportunity to take advantage of those experiences at a preferred cost. That way you don’t waste your time…or your money.

When I originally developed the concept for Night Tap, I was working full time as a Business Development Manager. I spent time between September 2010 and March 2011 cultivating the idea…and working up the balls to leave my full time position and steady paycheck. In March, I made the decision to venture out with Night Tap full time. We did the bulk of the heavy lifting to get the business up and running from the end of March to our launch in June.

MO: How are you managing 100% increase in traffic month over month?

Kenny: We are very happy with the increase in traffic and are dedicated to providing even more entertaining nightlife and cocktail content at a more frequent rate. We want to improve the nightlife experience for even more people. To achieve that, we will to continue to provide relevant and entertaining content to our readers. We are working with more writers and developing additional concepts to continue to keep our content fresh, interesting and engaging.

MO: You left a position as Business Development Manager to start Night Tap. What made you decide to take the risk and has it been worth it so far?

Kenny: I have always been very entrepreneurial and wanted to take the full time entrepreneur route. However, leaving my position as a Business Development Manager was hard to do as I enjoyed the job and the people I worked with.

Shortly after conceiving the idea for Night Tap, my Dad had a triple bypass surgery. My Dad is not the person you would have thought to have a triple bypass. He is lean, works out regularly and goes out of his way to remain in good shape. The entire experience was very taxing on my family. And for me, I realized that nothing is guaranteed in life. You never know what will happen tomorrow…or if you will even be around to see tomorrow. I have the entrepreneurial spirit and I knew that I would always regret not taking a chance on this idea. I can accept trying and failing, but I can’t accept not trying. And that realization is really what helped me work up the courage to make it happen.

The risk has definitely been worth it. There are always ups and downs with any job and that is only amplified as an entrepreneur. However, the skills I have acquired and the challenges that I have overcome to bring Night Tap to market have made me a stronger person. The tools that I have developed as an entrepreneur will continue to benefit every facet of my life and for that alone, it has been worth it.

MO: Has Night Tap personally changed how you experience nightlife? Or are you now too busy doing business to enjoy the perks?

Kenny: I am definitely very busy and do not get to enjoy ALL the perks of the job. However, I always make sure to take a step back and enjoy the ride. After all, the journey is usually more fun than the end result.

However, I don’t find myself going out randomly to grab drinks with friends as much. When I go out, I go out with purpose. I have a lot of business meetings over drinks (it’s usually more fun than coffee or lunch) and I always introduce myself and my company to the owner/manager of a nightlife venue. I find myself asking patrons how they learn about the venues, what types of offers would be appealing to them, and of course, tell them about Night Tap. As the nightlife expert, it is important that I have a pulse of the nightlife. So going out is work, but it’s fun work so I have no complaints.

MO: Are you seeing any trends in nightlife that you’re excited to take advantage of and deliver to your customers?

Kenny: Absolutely. We are seeing an increase in the number of venues and bartenders that emphasize mixology, farm fresh ingredients and unique flavor profiles. To take advantage, we are creating a video web series called “Raising the Bar” that will feature creative cocktailing and the great lengths that venues go through to make delicious libations. Think “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” focused on cocktails. The series will be hosted by Kat Odell, the Editor of Eater LA, and the first episode is currently in editing. We are very excited to release it to the public.

MO: What are you plans for expansion? Are you hoping to have a presence in every major US city?

Kenny: Our ultimate goal is to become the go-to nightlife resource worldwide. Why limit ourselves to just the US? We will be expanding our offerings to include products and travel deals. We have several really awesome drinking related products (like hangover kits, whiskey stones, and more) that we will be featuring over the holidays so that our subscribers can get a relevant present for the alcohol enthusiast in their life.

Beyond market expansion and additional offerings, we will continue to increase the frequency that we put out articles and videos to keep our viewers consistently engaged with insightful and entertaining content. We are also in high level discussions with several complementary media outlets to provide nightlife content and deals to their subscribers.

We will also develop smart phone apps so that our viewers can easily access our content and deals while on the go.

A lot of fun stuff in the works and we are excited to make it happen!