{"id":8614,"date":"2014-08-19T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-19T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=8614"},"modified":"2020-03-30T23:20:51","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T03:20:51","slug":"urban-oyster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/community-stories\/urban-oyster","title":{"rendered":"How Urban Oyster\u2019s David Naczycz is changing the way people discover New York City"},"content":{"rendered":"

A self-professed history nerd and dedicated urbanist, entrepreneur David Naczycz has found a career that merges his two passions. What started as a walking tour guide gig turned into a full-fledged business called Urban Oyster Tours<\/a>. A resident of New York City for over a decade, David is devoted to educating and showing people neighborhood hidden gems \u2014 where the locals shop, eat, and drink (and he\u2019s always open to discovering new places, too).<\/p>\n

For this edition of\u00a0Member Spotlight<\/a>, a series where we showcase entrepreneurs of emerging companies, we chatted with David about the transition of starting a non-profit to co-founding a tour company that combines his three loves: cities, history, and sustainability. Here\u2019s what he shared:<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been an entrepreneur for a while now.\u00a0<\/b>I grew up near Detroit, and I was always inspired by cities,\u00a0urban\u00a0development, and what made cities tick. I launched a non-profit organization called Detroit Synergy<\/a> and our aim was to empower citizens to create projects that would improve the city.\u00a0That organization is still running today.<\/p>\n

When I moved to New York in 2005, I fell in love with the city since Day One. <\/b>A\u00a0friend suggested I become a walking tour guide and that set me on the path to eventually launch Urban\u00a0Oyster.\u00a0My\u00a0urban\u00a0development background showed me the importance of small businesses to the health of cities and communities. When I saw chain stores taking over New York City, I wanted to do something. The idea of Urban Oyster is to educate locals and visitors about shopping, eating, and drinking locally. It\u2019s about keeping the money in the community and creating a more sustainable economy.<\/p>\n

\"David<\/a><\/p>\n

The local movement is important<\/b> because people are realizing that a lot of things are better for individuals, communities, and the planet when we produce and consume locally. Our society went on a binge of mass-produced, globally sourced stuff.\u00a0There are some items that fit well into that model, but bread and cheese are not on that list. People are simply starting to figure out the error of making and buying everything on a Walmart scale. They are beginning to value where things are produced and how they are produced.<\/p>\n

Our tours are very intentional. <\/b>They\u2019re usually small group tours, 14 people or less. It feels more like walking around the city with friends. Many \u201ctourism\u201d activities insulate you and treat the city like a zoo, encouraging visitors to look and take pictures. We encourage engagement, introduce you to real New Yorkers, ply you with food and drinks so it\u2019s a multi-sensory experience. In fact, over half of our customers are New Yorkers. And at the end of our tours, you will truly feel like you know the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t pick favorites, but I love our newest tour.<\/b> It\u2019s our first van tour of New York City Craft breweries<\/a>.\u00a0Currently we only offer that one to groups, but I love how the craft-brewing scene is finally blowing up in New York City.\u00a0 A lot of people are unaware that there are now 14 breweries operating here.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my piece of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs:<\/b> Research your industry and find out how you will become successful by understanding the key competitive levers. I give this advice because in this particular instance, I didn\u2019t follow it and\u00a0it led to some rough times.\u00a0Starting this company was always a passion of mine, but I didn\u2019t know the industry and what it would take to make money.\u00a0I could have saved myself a few years of frustration if I\u2019d just done that work up front.<\/p>\n

\"David<\/a><\/p>\n

Photographs by Lauren Kallen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A self-professed history nerd and dedicated urbanist, entrepreneur David Naczycz has found a career that merges his two passions. What started as a walking tour guide gig turned into a full-fledged business called Urban Oyster Tours. A resident of New York City for over a decade, David is devoted to educating and showing people neighborhood […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":887,"featured_media":8649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43903],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Urban Oyster\u2019s David Naczycz is changing the way people discover New York City<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A self-professed history nerd and dedicated urbanist, entrepreneur David Naczycz has found a career that merges his two passions. 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