After dating The Met in New York City, Nick Gray he started giving free tours to his friends, showing them his favorite pieces and telling them interesting stories about the museum and the works of art. Gray’s tour eventually spread by word of mouth, and he began hosting weekend events and even birthday parties at the museum.
Gray wrote a blog post about his visit, and soon saw the demand flood in – thousands of people emailed and wanted to join his events. That’s where he got quiet Museum Hack, the antidote to the boring and stressful museum visit. You know, the ones you associate with school trips and monotone voices.
Gray’s tour focused on lesser-known paintings and artists with interesting articles, and quickly gained popularity after being featured in the Daily Candy newspaper. To grow the business, Gray hired stand-up comedians and actors as tour guides, believing that their skills would make each tour fun and engaging.
By 2019, Museum Hack had grown to five cities with 50 employees and was generating $2.8 million in revenue. However, Gray wanted to step back from the operational side of the business. In 2020, sold Museum Hack to the leadership team of Tasia Duske (CEO) and Michael Alexis (Marketing Director) for a total of 7.
The sale was arranged as a payment plan over 3-5 years, with Gray retaining a 15% equity stake. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic struck soon after, forcing museums to close and disrupting Museum Hack’s business model. The company quickly moved into offering team building events.
As of 2024, Duske and Alexis continue to run Museum Hack and the parent company, while Gray has sold his remaining stake and is no longer involved.
The takeaway: Identify the golden goose
The Museum Hack fits right into the sweet spot of the required matrix. That is, the category “Golden Goose”, which has many customers and high-value services.
Think about it: Gray could write a coffee table book about his museum visits and anecdotes. But that may reach the “Labor of Love” stage, with few clients. Instead, he went right to Goose Goose, offering a variety of personal tours for high-paying corporate groups and parties.
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