Special Projects

Synthesized 2026-05-06 from 7 docs covering one-off initiatives: Inglewood location closure, Santa Monica transition project management, and Tiny Room Gives nonprofit activities.

Inglewood Closure

What happened: Tiny Room Studios operated at 6819 West Avenue, Inglewood for approximately 2.5 years. In mid-2024, leadership determined the lease was unsustainable and that the space configuration was sub-optimal for the vision of a world-class recording studio community. The decision was made to close and relocate to Santa Monica.

Timeline:

• August 15, 2024 — Inglewood closure announcement distributed to team (milestone target)
• August 26, 2024 — Closure email drafted/finalized by Greg (doc mtime)
• September 6, 2024 — Deadline for members to collect personal belongings
• September 8, 2024 — Last date for studio bookings at Inglewood
• September 9, 2024 — Farewell jam, 8:00 p.m. (RSVPs required)
• September 10, 2024 — All memberships terminated; operations discontinued
• September 20, 2024 — Physical move from Inglewood targeted for completion
• September 30, 2024 — Target date to sublet the Inglewood space (lead: Arturo)

Communications: Greg sent a personal closure email to "the Tiny Room Community" (info@tinyroom.com for questions). Tone: grateful, forward-looking. Key message: "The story of Tiny Room Studios does not end here."

Financial handling: All Inglewood expenses were reclassified as "discontinued operations" after move-out. The startup budget for Santa Monica separated these from new capitalized expenses. Inglewood projected losses and the return of the security deposit were to be tracked by Rae in the CapEx budget.

Lessons embedded in the transition plan:

• Subletting the old space was a financial priority — if no sublet by mid-August, lease/landlord terms would need renegotiation
• Space configuration was explicitly cited as a structural limitation, not just economics

Sources: Inglewood Closure/Closure Email from Greg.docx (2024-08-26); Project Management- Santa Monica Transition /Retreat Notes.docx (2024-10-18); Project Management- Santa Monica Transition /CapEx Budget To Do List 8.13.24.docx (2024-08-16)

Santa Monica Transition

Overview

The Santa Monica facility is a 6,000 sq ft space located directly off the 10 Freeway, featuring four fully sound-proofed rooms and expanded community space. It represents the flagship realization of the TRS membership-club model. Grand Opening was targeted for November 1, 2024.

Key Milestones (from Santa Monica Milestones Timeline, mtime 2024-09-02)

CapEx Budget Notes (as of August 13, 2024)

• Overall CapEx target: Stay under $1M
• Furniture & Fixtures: Not to exceed $50K (includes LED lighting, ceiling decorative pieces, shipping/taxes)
• Lighting budget: $35K (re-allocated $15K from contingency)
• Storage expense: $530/month in Santa Monica added to budget
• Inglewood projected overrun: To be incorporated
• Deferred items (next priorities once raise exceeds $1M): additional lighting/video cuts, app development
• Raise target: Oversubscribe by at least $100K; additional funds earmarked for lighting, cameras, and either liquor license or app development
• App development: Proposal from Nick/Brandon at $50K; discussion whether to build in-house
• Option 2 was the selected budget scenario (Arturo to finalize)

Sources: Project Management- Santa Monica Transition /CapEx Budget To Do List 8.13.24.docx (2024-08-16); Project Management- Santa Monica Transition /Santa Monica Milestones Timeline.xlsx (2024-09-02)

Workstreams (from Initial Task Overview, mtime 2024-07-19)

Corporate / Legal (Larry lead): Delaware and California filings, taxes/K-1s, org chart, signature matrix, board of directors (including independent member), nonprofit maintenance, insurance, licenses (liquor license, certificate of occupancy, zoning), compliance.

Facilities (Arturo lead): Full renovation plan, design, lighting, sound design, contractor supervision (Lalo/Lisa), signage, security (cameras, door access), physical move, Inglewood landlord negotiations (security deposit return), Santa Monica Building Department (capacity, fire safety).

Finance (Rae lead, Arturo secondary): QuickBooks implementation, chart of accounts, import of old financial data, invoicing/payment policies, banking, budget vs. actuals tracking, bookkeeping, POS system for CC processing with app integration, cost accounting per session/client/event, nonprofit bookkeeping and banking.

HR (Larry lead): Payroll setup, offer letters, employee handbook, onboarding/training, benefits (ICHRA health stipend plan), intern program with academic credit option.

Marketing / Branding (Arturo/Rick lead): Branding firm selection (2–3 firms, evaluate retainer), digital brochure, social media plan, merch, PR firm consideration, press release, Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.

Membership & Business Plan: Tiered membership pricing (Base $450/Gold $900/Platinum $1,800), application and approval process, booking system, guest policies, ambassador/celebrity program, referral program, sponsorships.

Operations: Events calendar (weekly talent events, monthly major events), masterclasses, content capture, customer service, food/kitchen.

IT & Apps: Member app development, cybersecurity, CRM, email setup.

Retreat (July 15–16, 2024)

Two-day planning retreat held at CBRE WLA, 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Ste 800, Los Angeles. Greg participated via Zoom on Day 1 kick-off and led the Day 2 roundup in person (2:00–6:00 p.m.). Key decisions documented in Retreat Notes (see Membership Experience, Events, HR, Nonprofit, and Financial Matters sections above).

Sources: Project Management- Santa Monica Transition /TRS Retreat Agenda.docx (2024-07-16); Project Management- Santa Monica Transition /Initial Task Overview.xlsx (2024-07-19); Project Management- Santa Monica Transition /Retreat Notes.docx (2024-10-18)

Membership Model (finalized at retreat, Oct 2024 notes)

• Initiation fee: $5,000 (waived until capacity reached)
• Hours roll over up to 3 months (first year policy); non-transferable
• Max 100 paying members + 20 scholarship members (15% of total)
• Guest fee: $25/day; up to 6 non-member session participants per session before fee applies
• Booking window opens 3 months rolling: Platinum (Sun) → Gold (Tue) → Base groups staggered Thu–Sat

Staffing Plan

• 4 full-time employees to start
• Jacob converted to payroll (maintaining donation status for the nonprofit)
• ICHRA health stipend for full-time staff
• Operating hours: Tue–Sat 7:30 a.m.–midnight; Sun 12:00–8:00 p.m.
• Staffing: Director of Wellness (7:30 a.m.), Reception + Senior Staff (9:00 a.m.), Lead Engineer + house engineers (noon–8 p.m.), 2 engineers (8 p.m.–midnight)

Grand Opening Plan

• Soft opening (Oct 25): Invitation-only — staff, friends/family, contractors, investors
• Grand Opening (Nov 1): All members + 1 guest, investors, VIPs, music entertainment, step-and-repeat, catering with bartender, photographer with shot list; speeches by Greg and Tiny Room Gives representative

Tiny Room Gives (Nonprofit Arm)

Legal identity: Tiny Room Gives Inc, 501(c)(3) Public Charity, EIN 92-2598937 (doc mtime 2025-12-12 — most recent source in bundle).

Mission: Raise money through general donations, grants, and events to make TRS membership accessible for people who cannot afford it. Secondary focus: grants/donations for wellness programming.

Structure:

• Unpaid Executive Director to lead fundraising and event planning, supported by 1–2 volunteers
• Larry handles insurance, compliance, internal audit, drafting scholarship application
• Rae assists with nonprofit compliance milestones

Scholarship program:

• Target: 20 scholarship members at any time (15% of membership)
• Fundraising target: $100K/year to fund scholarships
• Money distributed as individual grants for enrichment
• At grand opening: 5 initial scholarship members, funded by Larry's personal gift for Q1; hand-selected

Fundraising channels:

• Grants
• Events (benefit events; TRS event proceeds directed to TRG)
• Donor appeals (matching gifts, corporate sponsorships)
• Storytelling emphasized as key fundraising lever

To-do items documented (as of retreat, July 2024):

• Get tax letter and marketing documents
• Website and mobile platform for TRG
• Collaterals and logo
• Scholarship application process (questions being vetted)
• Larry & Greg to call David to preserve donation after Jacob conversion to payroll
• Greg to connect with Rae on current status of nonprofit

Sources: Tiny Room Gives/Tiny Room Gives Tax ID.docx (2025-12-12); Project Management- Santa Monica Transition /Retreat Notes.docx (2024-10-18); Project Management- Santa Monica Transition /Initial Task Overview.xlsx (2024-07-19)

Cross-cutting: Relationship Between For-Profit and Nonprofit

• TRS (Tiny Room Studios LLC / Tiny Room Gives Inc) operate as sister entities with overlapping leadership (Greg, Larry, Rae).
• 15% of studio memberships are reserved for nonprofit scholarship recipients — nonprofit funds flow in as grants to individuals, not directly to TRS.
• Event revenue from TRS events can be directed to TRG (benefit events).
• Member app includes a "Donate to Tiny Room Gives" feature — the app is a direct integration point between the two entities.
• Jacob's role bridges both: converted to TRS payroll while maintaining a donation relationship with TRG.
• Larry is the shared legal/compliance lead for both entities; his gift personally seeded the first 5 scholarship members.
• Financial reporting keeps the two entities strictly separate: Inglewood closure expenses are "discontinued operations" on the for-profit books; TRG has its own banking and bookkeeping.
• Greg retains final authority over membership approvals (scoring rubric + Greg's final review) and ambassador/celebrity selection across both entities.

Key Facts at a Glance

Open Questions / Contradictions

1. Grand Opening status unknown. All milestone dates are targets from 2024. No source confirms the Nov 1, 2024 grand opening occurred as planned. Many milestones (inspections, liquor license, app, website) were tight and could have slipped.

2. Inglewood sublease outcome unknown. Target was Sep 30, 2024. No doc confirms whether the space was subletted or whether the security deposit was returned.

3. App development decision unresolved. The $50K external proposal vs. in-house build (Nick/Brandon) was flagged as pending. No resolution documented in these sources.

4. Liquor license vs. app trade-off unresolved. The CapEx budget note explicitly defers one or the other until the raise exceeds $1M. Outcome unknown.

5. Raise status unknown. The goal was to oversubscribe by at least $100K. No source confirms how much was raised or whether the $1M CapEx cap held.

6. Nonprofit operational maturity unknown. The EIN doc (2025-12-12) confirms legal existence, but no source documents 2025 program activity, fundraising results, or scholarship recipients beyond the 5 planned for grand opening.

7. Jacob's dual role. Sources say "convert Jacob to payroll but maintain donation." The mechanics of this dual status (payroll + donation to TRG) are not fully explained.

8. "Musician Members" vs. general members distinction. Post-retreat notes flag this as a concept (pin system, audition process for musician designation) but it was not fully baked into the membership tiers described. Unclear if it was adopted.

9. David's donation. Greg and Larry were to call David to preserve his donation after Jacob's payroll conversion — no follow-up documented.

10. Website branding vendor. Decision on branding firm was slated for July 16, 2024 (Day 2 of retreat). No doc confirms the vendor selected or whether the shell website launched on the Sep 10 target.

Sources