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

Tom, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

When I made the decision to curate my first art show, I knew that I needed a catchy concept in order to get people through the door. Art shows can typically be a bit stuffy and boring so I wanted to give people not only a reason to come but a reason to stay. Booze isn’t a cost effective to give away in large volumes so I needed something else that I give away. Anything that was cheap and easy to serve. That’s when I thought. back to my college days. I would go to Costco and buy 10 lb bags of pancakes mix for $6 that would last for months. I literally survived off of pancakes, lol. My friends and I would also go to IHOP after a night of drinking and sober up on pancakes. We always asked ourselves “Why doesn’t IHOP serve Booze? They’d make so much money”. That’s when the idea clicked! The Pancakes & Booze Art Show was born!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Come experience one of the largest pop-up live music & arts movements to hit North America over the past decade. Celebrate our 10th year serving FREE PANCAKES and introducing you to some of the nation’s leading emerging talent.

The LA based event originated in 2009 and has since popped up more than 500 times in 35+ cities around Europe & North America.

Batter sizzles, beer foams, and canvas lines the walls from ceiling to floor as hundreds, if not thousands, of revelers indulge in endless pancakes and live music.

This is no stuffy wine-and-cheese, pretentious, someone-gag-me art event. It’s an innovative reimagining of the art show concept. A welcoming vibe for up-and-coming artists and musicians to strut their stuff in a free verse, anything goes environment.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I had $2,000 to my name when I started my business. I didn’t have any money so I needed to create a business that required little to no capital to start. I just wanted to invest my time. I spent $1,600 to rent a warehouse space that could house my event, then an additional couple hundred dollars on various other materials to execute the first exhibition. The rest was all just my own time. I worked 15 hours days for years while I built my events and The Pancakes & Booze brand. I used the money I made from each event and sunk it right back into the next event. Over time I started making more than I was spending.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media is the key to the success my business. If people don’t know you’re out there they’re not going to easily find you. I spend countless hours active on social media. I think the key is to personally respond to every comment/message personally until it’s not physically possible to do so. We received thousands of messages and comments weekly and respond to each and every one of them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pancakesandbooze.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pancakesandbooze
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PancakesandBoozeArtShow
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/pancakesbooze