We recently connected with Hannah & Layan of CLINK San Diego and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Hannah & Layan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

It was a Friday night after a long day at our day jobs, brainstorming with the last two brain cells we had left. We stared at each other from across the table, throwing out ideas like, “what about…nevermind”…“ what do you think about…nah, that won’t work.” We needed a name that would carry the essence and passion we developed for an idea that had not been brought to life yet. A name that would encompass the curation of feelings like joy, the purity of the purpose of bringing people together, and the drive and energy we wanted at the forefront. It needed to be simple, universal, timeless, and easy to remember…“CLINK!”

The word clink was already in our day-to-day vocabulary, it’s easy to spell, and it’s a sound that sparks joy, happiness, and positivity. “Clink Clink,” like cheers, embodies the energy of celebration and life, and it is universally understood.

Our vision for Clink San Diego is to create spaces where individuals of any demographic and background can create memories with strangers while bonding in the purest forms. Whether this happens through learning history, eating tacos, watching the sunset, or drinking tequila, these intimate experiences create bonds in which our modern day routines do not encourage. Meeting new people has become one of the toughest things for people after high school and college days, let alone building meaningful, non-transactional relationships with others. That is why we intentionally seek to bridge this gap and to bring people together from all walks of life while enjoying the best that San Diego has to offer.

Hannah & Layan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

The odds that brought Layan and I here are out of this world. I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and Layan was raised across the world in Dubai. Yet, we shared a passion, a love for genuine connection, and liberation from toxic social norms. We met while working at a legal nonprofit organization doing work in housing discrimination in early 2020. Working out of passion, we developed a sense of trust that we personally shared very similar values, ethics, and principles. This moral base of humanity, along with the energy we both exuded, opened our minds to endless possibilities of what life can be outside of the capitalist system, free from the 9 to 5 schedule, and liberated from a lifestyle based on fear and expectations. All these mantras sounded idealist until we put them into practice. It started by making a promise that we must try to defy this notion that we live by “work days” and “weekends.” We reclaimed our time, we always reminded each other, “it’s a day in which we work, not a work day.” This promise and mindset pushed us to get out and explore San Diego’s nature, markets, restaurants, and nightlife, and not just on weekends. We went to new areas, met new people, and enjoyed our time after work. We had to actively remind ourselves that while we both liked being productive and getting things done, we could not put all our desires on hold until the weekend came around – we had to enjoy ourselves and take advantage of our passions, desires, and spirit, regardless of the day of the week.

Layan and I went on multiple trips together and tried an Airbnb experience for a rainforest tour in Puerto Rico. The tour guide, and now our friend, Alejandro, played a crucial role in the birth of Clink. Witnessing him hosting and bringing people so much joy, creating space for us to enjoy nature, food, culture, and new friendships was refreshing and extremely unique. When we came back to San Diego, a decision was made. We were going to try to create an experience that embodied a similar sense of bonding and joy, but that would bring our identities and values as its essence. Fast forward about a year later, we currently offer four (going on five) unique Clink San Diego experiences that live up to our vision: Drink & Dance Salsa with Locals; Hookah, Tea, and a View; Experience Food & Culture in Historic Chicano Neighborhood; and Sunset Bonfire & S’mores Charcuterie. Quality Coffee & Ocean Views coming soon!

It is hard to say that we belong in any specific industry. We are in the business of building bonds and understandings between complete strangers, curating enjoyment, creating memories, and engineering a good time, while honoring our values. We don’t aim to compete with vendors that provide the services we highlight, but rather bring them to the spotlight and have them shine. The basis of our endeavors is not money, and this impacts everything. All decisions are made from pure vision and with our purpose in mind, while profit becomes the means and not the goal.

Good times and great vibes are what we hope people see on the surface, but of course with any meaningful endeavor comes obstacles at every turn. Like many small businesses, we have gone through more “trial and error” than anyone on the outside can see. We have had vendors cancel on us at the last minute, we have forgotten our materials and had to do emergency grocery runs for marshmallows and skewers, and we even once were told by beach patrol that we had to put out our bonfire, minutes before our bonfire experience. Our ability to last-minute problem-solve has truly reached new levels, both in Clink and in life!

On a larger scale, decolonizing the experiences and incorporating our values and ethics are some of our biggest pillars and challenges. Incorporating these principles required plenty of research on our end, like when choosing which vendors to work with. It is our priority to work with other women-owned and local small businesses rather than chains or corporations. We also like to have conversations with our guests before some experiences about how to be respectful visitors through appreciation rather than appropriation or superiority.

Safety is another concern and difficulty that comes with being women, but is amplified when running a business. Not only our physical safety, but also our mental health and wellness can become impacted by inappropriate comments from guests or vendors while we are hosting. This risk comes with the turf, since our purpose is to host individuals from all walks of life, before even getting a chance to know them. For instance, when someone books a Clink experience with us, all that is provided to us is their name and sometimes a photo. While it fulfills our purpose, this reality requires us to be very observant and ready for anything and anyone.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Money and instant gratification. Layan and I had to unlearn the glamorization of the hustle and “chasing the bag.” Our journey started with pure passion for creating experiences based on connection and joy, not the monetary gains. Based on our modern day measure of success, any job we take should always result in a monetary gain – it is what we use as a meter to make decisions, especially in business. However, Layan and I had to replace this capitalist mindset with a visionary mindset and instead utilize our passion and happiness as the measure – and while we have found this to be the most effective and satisfying in the long term for Clink, it often comes with pushback from society, friends, and family. Others will apply their own monetary measure to our endeavors and disapprove because we are looking through different lenses – one is “logic,” and one is vision. Viewing money as a tool for Clink, and not as the instant reward, has allowed us to make decisions from a much more positive and pure place.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

It is hard to believe that Layan and I have only known each other for two and a half years, because sometimes we can’t remember what our lives were like before we knew each other. We met while working at a traditional 9 to 5 office job for a nonprofit law firm in 2020, managing housing discrimination cases for low-income clients. We had both studied Political Science in college and shared a background of awareness about oppressive systems and injustice. Layan and I instantly clicked and we realized we related on a different level than our other colleagues. We worked closely together since we shared the same position, and our job required us to relive many traumatic experiences of discrimination that our clients faced. Working in those positions together provided us lots of perspective and built the foundation for the friendship and business partnership that Layan and I have today. Since then, we both left that job and focused on Clink as our priority.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.clinksandiego.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clinksandiego/
• Other: Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/395318608