We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Claudia Duran. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Claudia below.

Claudia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

Yes! Because I have been through my own personal journey of transformation, I approach working with clients of diverse backgrounds through the lens of authenticity and seeing what is beautiful and special about each of them, and how to best communicate that.

My vast experience working in global marketing laid the foundation for understanding all different types of people, as well as how they think and what makes them tick. I am insatiably curious. Everyone has a story. I truly love connecting people, and feel called to do this work on a deep level.

Claudia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I discovered luxury matchmaking and coaching after 20 years of experience in Miami, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington D.C. marketing global brands including PLAYBOY TV INTERNATIONAL and HALLMARK CHANNEL, and successfully launching start-ups in hospitality and private aviation.

What I started seeing was that so many people had become so very disconnected from themselves and each other in this overly digital world. After years of marketing brands, I had a shift focusing toward individually based one-on-one marketing when clients began asking me for help.

Helping people best market themselves as individuals, not in a #brand way, but in a more authentic way, who they really are, and what makes them unique, became my focus. What started as a fun passion project evolved into a perfect opportunity to apply my communication skills in a relaxing, discreet and confidential manner on behalf of a diverse clientele with fascinating stories and backgrounds! I’ve amassed a wealth of insightful knowledge about love, men and women, and been the conduit for many happy couples, and joyful singles.

Over the course of my career, I’ve inked partnerships with VOGUE, VARIETY, WALT DISNEY, THE ANNIE LEIBOVITZ STUDIO, award-winning global advertising agencies, live event production agencies, and spearheaded a global PR campaign promoting Sir Richard Branson.

I loves brands, and I love people.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When the pandemic hit, matchmaking, like most businesses, came to a screeching halt. It basically went from hero to zero, since the early days were so uncertain and fear based. No one was investing in matchmaking memberships anymore.

I learned early on in my career never to place all my dependence or revenue in one company or in one source. Even when I had been at Playboy very early in my career, one of the world’s most iconic brands, one day Playboy Entertainment Group out of LA decided it was time for the International division in Miami to be reabsorbed by the LA operations and overnight we were all out of jobs!

So I immediately turned to the coaching side of my business, where I partnered with a leading entrepreneur and best selling author in the transformational coach space, and together she and I wrote an online nine month coaching program for women in one weekend.

We launched it the same month the world went into quarantine on ZOOM. While the pandemic raged and our own fears and emotions intensified, we pushed forward with enrollment, eventually registering 12 amazing trailblazing women who said no to fear and yes to self development and an investment into a community of like minded women.

We taught three months of self love, three months of love and relationships, and three months of love of what we wanted to create in this new world. We went through everything together. Many women came out on the other sides as business owners, paid artists, and coaches themselves. I would bike 10-20 miles a day, eat roasted organic vegetables in the evening and watch shows, and teach this course until people started meeting outside again. I am very grateful for the women and that project. It was truly a time where “the rubber hit the road.”

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2013, I went out to LA to work for a former client who had launched a new private jet company with the former guys from NETJETS. Working in LA in that business was both totally insane and totally a blast. We had multiple Forbes billionaires as clients, and I got to collaborate with people I had long admired such as major movie studios, The Annie Leibovitz Studio, Variety, and the influential Hollywood Business Manager community. I was eager to make a splash launching this new operator turned management and charter player in the aviation space and worked tirelessly to do so.

After the launch a year later, the company went a different direction with no more marketing budget and I found myself in need of a major pivot. It’s not easy to settle after having those extremely gratifying creative experiences!

Turns out, the pivot came in a big way when my brother in law was deployed and I found myself helping my sister during those six months with two babies! Can you imagine being at dinners honoring Jane Fonda and Quentin Tarantino and suddenly changing your niece and nephews diapers and cleaning sippy cups? OMG!

Luckily, I had some awesome people around me who encouraged me to help them with marketing for their businesses, so “for the time being,” until I could “figure things out” I freelanced during that time. Freelancing became consulting. Consulting became my own business. I was a hesitant entrepreneur, truthfully. What started as a marketing & PR boutique evolved into an international matchmaking, coaching, and philanthropy-based company.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.commstudiollc.com
• Instagram: vipmatchmaker
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-duran-56b45014/