What if the secret to scaling a company without losing its soul is deciding who you are before you decide how big to get? Nicole Schmidt joins Dan Ryan to talk about building Source from a frustration with how messy construction purchasing can be. She explains why technology should take over the data entry so people can spend their time on the details that matter. Along the way, she shares her playbook for culture, from writing values that actually mean something to blending teams after an acquisition. She also looks ahead at what AI could unlock for the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Nicole Schmidt is the CEO of Source and a rare leader who has seen the built environment from every angle, with a career that spans interior architecture, hospitality and housing design, and sales. She is a DJC Women of Vision Industry Member Award recipient and a finalist for Oregon Entrepreneur of the Year. She has also grown her company through acquisitions, including the recent addition of Project Dynamics. Nicole is a newly minted American citizen, and she runs a remote team with the kind of intention most companies only put on a poster.

Chapters:

00:00 Core Values Hook

00:23 Show Intro and Sponsor

00:58 Meet Nicole Schmidt

02:31 First Meeting and Networking

04:51 Defining Hospitality

06:49 Entrepreneurship and Origin Story

08:54 Source Spark and Industry Pain

14:34 Transparency and Smoother Projects

18:05 Building Culture and Values System

29:11 Beating Procrastination

29:55 Marinating Not Avoiding

30:50 Culture Filter Acquisitions

33:31 Knowing Bad Fits

36:09 Sponsor Sustainability Note

36:34 Why Choose Growth

40:41 Acquisition Strategy Matrix

41:55 Legacy And Women Leaders

49:11 AI Future North Star

Quote of the Show: “I have not in my life found a brick wall I could not run through.” - Nicole Schmidt

Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.

🔗 CONNECT:

• Guest’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-schmidt-7420516/
• Guests Website: https://tothesource.com/
• Dan Ryan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedailydanryan/

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🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/

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• Transistor: https://www.defininghospitality.live/

What if the most unreasonable thing you can do for your business is make people feel something? This reair brings back a conversation that is well worth a second listen. Dan Ryan and Will Guidara dig into why the smallest gestures leave the biggest marks, how a daily 30 minute huddle can reshape a culture, and why connection beats being right every single time. A six hour dinner that felt like six minutes and a handwritten card of travel tips prove the point, and along the way they make the case that every industry is already in the hospitality business, whether it knows it or not.

Will Guidara is the author of Unreasonable Hospitality and the restaurateur behind Eleven Madison Park and NoMad. He cut his teeth at Tribeca Grill, Spago, and Tabla before opening restaurants at the Museum of Modern Art. He also created the Welcome Conference, a gathering that has left a lasting mark on the people who attend it.

Chapters:
00:00 Restaurant or Hospitality

00:52 Meet Will Guidara

01:25 Six Hour Magic Meal

02:23 Nomad Library Surprise

03:42 Games and Card Trick

04:29 Culture Takes Root

06:36 Finding Your Why

07:38 Will Origin Story

08:50 Hosting and Family

11:19 Hospitality Economy

14:09 Scaling Culture Daily

16:56 Values Beyond Posters

19:58 Impact of the Book

23:24 Unreasonable Intentionality

26:30 Offense in Adversity

31:10 Defining Hospitality

35:39 Beginner Mindset Dad

37:51 Advice and Farewell

Quote of the Show:

“Service is black and white. Hospitality is color.” - Will Guidara

Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.

🔗 CONNECT:

• Guest’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willguidara/
• Guests Website: https://www.unreasonablehospitality.com/
• Dan Ryan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedailydanryan/

📧 SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:

https://www.defininghospitality.live

🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/

🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PLATFORM:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419
• Transistor: https://www.defininghospitality.live/

What if a hotel could change the way you see the world? Dan sits down with Paolo Ferrari, founder of Studio Paolo Ferrari, to talk about design that goes beyond beautiful and into transformational. They get into why luxury lives in the stitch and not the chair, how film shapes the way he designs urban hotels, and why constraints and friction make for better work. Paolo also explains why shared values matter more than any pitch, how to protect a big vision when the budget gets real, and why physical spaces will matter more than ever as life moves online.

Paolo Ferrari is the founder and principal designer of Studio Paolo Ferrari and was named Boutique Design's 2025 Designer of the Year. For over 20 years he has been shaping some of the most ambitious hospitality projects in the world, including the cave-carved Desert Rock resort in Saudi Arabia. He is known for blending timelessness with courageous invention, and for chasing that moment when someone walks into a space and feels something they never expected.

Chapters:
00:00 Ambition And Uncertainty

00:31 Podcast Mission And Sponsor

01:06 Meet Paolo Ferrari

03:03 Optimism And Joyful Energy

03:57 Defining Hospitality As Generosity

04:41 Luxury Lives In Details

09:34 From Experience To Transformation

16:04 Programming And Urban Wonder

22:04 Designing For The Future

33:53 Friction Fuels Excellence

34:58 Sponsor Sustainability Update

35:23 Why Budgets Must Be Shared

36:55 Start With Vision

39:06 Value Engineering Creativity

43:01 Paradigm Shifting Projects

46:16 Design As Optimism

49:26 Choosing Aligned Clients

54:17 Analog Spaces Matter

Quote of the Show:
"Those physical spaces are gonna carry so much more weight. They're not just indulgent. They're how we connect." - Paolo Ferrari

Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.

Links:

• Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@defininghospitality?sub_confirmation=1
• Substack: https://www.defininghospitality.live/
• Guest’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/studio-paolo-ferrari/?originalSubdomain=ca
• Guests Website: https://www.paoloferrari.com/
• Dan Ryan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedailydanryan/

🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419
• Transistor: https://www.defininghospitality.live/