We recently connected with Nacho Isa and have shared our conversation below.

Nacho, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I had a regular job until very recently… and I couldn’t be happier to be at 343 Labs leading my own company in the industry that I love.

I started DJing/producing when I was 16. At 22, when i finished college, I was playing 3 times per week. I was starting to not enjoy a lot of gigs, so I decided to take a step back, go into corporate world and keep music as hobby. But as I got into my 30s I started questioning whether I could be in a corporate job in 20 years.

343 was my plan to bridge those two challenges. It allows me to be in music but without depending on music. It helps me align my personal, professional and creative life,

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

We help music producers level up. Whether they are starting or advanced, we help them take their craft to the next level. 343 Labs is a music production and DJ school but also a community. We are the go to place for music producers in NYC, with weekly free masterclasses and events.

We realised that there was a gap in the market. To learn music prodcution you had to either commit to college or college-like long programs with lots of theory or go to very unstructured budget schools. We built something based on a hands-on approach where our students are learning as they produce. With a very professional curriculum and certified instructors (we are an Ableton Certified training center) but always producing and progressing on your own projects.

What am I most proud? When I hear people tell us that we changed their lives, that they never believed they could be doing what they are doing. Or when someone sends my an amazing track after finishing our program. Just got one that literally gave me goosebumps

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

We are mostly a in person school. We have a school in NYC and one in Berlin. that’s 90% of our business.

When Covid hit, we moved all the business online in two weeks. We launched and sold out online courses. We hadn’t done it before so we had to figure out how to adapt the curriculum, how to market it, the technology… And it was a very successful time.

Not only that but we also launched a program where we hosted touring DJs for online masterclass that we called Pro Sessions and we supported the artists at a time when they were really struggling.

We built some great relationships from that time and we earned the industry’s respect.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Events. We have a beautiful space and with so many ads and so much noise in the digital space, we have realised that we have to get people through the door, get them to see the space, and then they can really understand what they could be joining. It’s not just a class, it’s a community, it’s also finally turning something that you have always wanted to do inot your hobby and something you can keep growing into.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.343labs.com
• Instagram: @343labs