In this episode of The Hard Launch, host Natasha Yuhjtman sits down with Julian Leaver, luxury event designer and founder of Julian Leaver Events. Known for his signature blend of hospitality and high design, Julian shares how his background with Rosewood Hotel and Resorts inspired a decade-long career creating some of the world's most extraordinary weddings and events.

Julian opens up about building his brand from scratch, the lessons learned from corporate hospitality, scaling a creative team, and building Loo, a solar-powered generator revolutionizing event design.

Together, Natasha and Julian dive deep into creativity, entrepreneurship, avoiding burnout, and how true success comes from building something bigger than yourself.

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Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome to The Hard Launch & introduction to Julian Leaver

01:30 – Julian's early love for design and growing up in a family of architects

03:30 – How college events sparked his passion for hospitality

04:40 – The Rosewood Hotels years: lessons in luxury and hospitality

06:00 – Founding Julian Leaver Events and surviving the scrappy early years

08:30 – Getting sober and launching his business with clarity and intention

10:30 – How COVID became a business reset and growth catalyst

11:30 – Building a design team that complements your strengths

13:40 – The importance of data, marketing, and adapting to client behavior

15:30 – Inside Julian's creative process: how design boards come to life

18:00 – Using emotion and "the feeling vendors" to shape a wedding's vibe

22:00 – Taking risks: destination weddings and the art of saying "yes" before you're ready

24:30 – How to avoid burnout and let go of control as a founder

28:40 – The craziest luxury wedding experiences (and the lessons behind them)

32:00 – Introducing LŌŌ: the solar-powered event generator changing the industry

36:00 – From weddings to hardware: what it takes to launch a new product line

40:00 – How to turn creative ideas into scalable innovation

42:00 – Rapid fire: Julian's wedding do's and don'ts

45:00 – Why hotels are the best training ground for future entrepreneurs

46:00 – Final thoughts on leadership, systems, and staying organized