Make It Personal for Your Customers The founder of a dining, entertainment and hospitality business talks about creating unique experiences.

By David Meltzer

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

David Grutman is the founder of Groot Hospitality, a collection of dining, entertainment and hospitality brands. In this episode of #ThePlaybook, Grutman talks with host David Meltzer about emotional intelligence in business, the value of partnerships and the characteristics of successful team members.

Grutman discusses his strengths — his heightened awareness of sense, feel and energy — and how that translates to creating experiences his club and restaurant customers love. He talks about the importance of innovation and uniqueness for making customers happy.

Grutman talks about his celebrity partners, including singer Pharrell Williams, and how he chooses partners that are like-minded and add value to his venues. He also talks about team-building and the characteristics he looks for in prospective employees: entrepreneurial mentality, self-confidence and taking business personally.

Related: What Makes a Real MVP

David Meltzer

Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing, Speaker, Author and Business Coach

David Meltzer, co-founder of Sports 1 Marketing and host of Entrepreneur's podcast, “The Playbook”, is a Top 100 Business Coach, global public speaker and three-time international best-selling author who has been honored by Variety as “Sports Humanitarian of the Year”.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

AI Could Cause 99% of All Workers to Be Unemployed in the Next Five Years, Says Computer Science Professor

Professor Roman Yampolskiy predicted that artificial general intelligence would be developed and used by 2030, leading to mass automation.

Buying / Investing in Business

From a $120M Acquisition to a $1.3T Market

Co-ownership is creating big opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Buying / Investing in Business

Big Investors Are Betting on This 'Unlisted' Stock

You can join them as an early-stage investor as this company disrupts a $1.3T market.

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg 'Insisted' Executives Join Him For a MMA Training Session, According to Meta's Ex-President of Global Affairs

Nick Clegg, Meta's former president of global affairs, says in a new book that he once had to get on the mat with a coworker.