The Monday Media Diet with Nadine Choe

On Bret, Line Sheet, and Cleopatra and Frankenstein

Nadine (NC) writes runs a very interesting company called The Stanza, providing an investor’s perspective on hospitality and fashion. It is one of the smartest reads as I look for travel related intel. -Colin (CJN)

Tell us about yourself.

I founded The Stanza, a media platform discussing hospitality & fashion from an investor’s perspective. Before I started The Stanza, I worked in real estate development and private equity for nearly a decade in NY and LA. The last three years of that were for Cain International, where I spent most of my time structuring billions of development capital for the Aman Beverly Hills. While at Cain, I got to see financing pitch decks for most of the buzzy club brands, because Cain had financed several club businesses. This gave me the credibility to talk about the hospitality business online and thus, played a role in the genesis of The Stanza.

Before that, I went to King’s College London and interned in investment banking. Currently I’m based mostly in Milan with my Italian husband, who I met in Ibiza, and we have a dachshund named Miuccia.

Describe your media diet.

I listen to a lot of podcasts. Some of my current favorites: Fashion Neurosis, What’s Contemporary Now, Lex Fridman, Tim Ferriss, Diary of a CEO, Gary Vee, Expanded…it’s a wide range. I think podcasts are one of the greatest mental tools because they are windows into the minds of some pretty incredible people.

At the time of writing this, I’m preparing to record a series of interviews for my podcast, and I publish interviews for my newsletter as well. Interviewing is an art and it’s a skill I hope to master in my lifetime.

Other than that, I read a lot of newsletters, as I also write one. Puck is fantastic - I love how the journalists have such unique voices and write somewhat gossipy stories for a smart crowd. Dry Powder and Line Sheet are my regular reads. I also love HURS - it’s very chic and curated very well. I read all the main ones too - Bloomberg, Morning Brew, Short Squeez, The Real Deal, Business of Fashion, WWD, Air Mail. System Magazine has long-form written interviews with people in fashion and is very well done.

What’s the last great book you read?

“Less Than Zero” by Bret Easton Ellis is the most memorable book I’ve read. I grew up in LA and went to boarding school outside of Boston, so I feel a lot like Clay. This summer, I read “Private Equity: A Memoir” by Carrie Sun. She wrote about her time working for Chase Coleman (Tiger Global) and I resonated so much with many aspects of the book - being the daughter of Asian immigrants, being under extreme pressure, and working insane hours. The latter does something to you that is hard to explain to people who haven’t lived that experience, so I took comfort in Carrie’s writing.

What are you reading now?

“Cleopatra and Frankenstein” by Coco Mellors. It’s an easy read before bedtime.

What’s your reading strategy when you pick up a print copy of your favorite publication?

I judge a book by its cover and the summary on the back.

Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?

I don’t think that anything I read is gate kept.

What is the best non-famous app you love on your phone?

These are pretty “famous”, but if I’m on my phone, I’m probably on Vinted or Vestiaire Collective.

Plane or train?

Tough to say - while taking trains in Europe is often romanticized, flights are so quick anywhere, especially from Milan. Two-ish hours to London, Paris, Ibiza and 1 hour to Sardinia. But, my flight anxiety has gone from 0 to terrible due to all the turbulence in the air these days.

What is one place everyone should visit?

Everyone should visit the deepest depths of themselves through psychedelics (assisted and in a professional setting, of course). Understanding your patterns and triggers is the biggest unlock in life, business, and relationships.

Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into.

I’m working on another business behind the scenes and part of that involves several rabbit holes on consumer psychology. (NC)