Earlier this month, Fluent City, a NYC-based experience company and modern day culture school, raised $2.5M in funding from well known investors. In conjunction with the announcement, the CEO, James Rohrbach, answered our questions about the company, the funding and future plans.
FinSMEs: James, can you tell us a bit more about you?
James: I am an entrepreneur working at the intersection of education, technology, and culture. I have always been passionate about the mission of enriching people’s lives and expanding their worlds through the Liberal Arts and cultural education. Almost 10 years ago I started my first company with that aim (Gulliver, “Trip Advisor for College Study Abroad programs,” acquired by Noodle Education in 2010). And I feel particular urgency around this mission today, given both the dismal reputation of the Liberal Arts and the rapidly rising close-mindedness evident in our contemporary politics.
FinSMEs: Let’s speak about Fluent City. Which need do you want to satisfy?
James: Investing in Experiences over Things and continuous self-improvement are central to the zeitgeist of our time. People are spending their money less and less on the shiny new object and more and more on learning something they’ve always wanted to know how to do, or going on that unforgettable trip. It even has a name – the “Experience Economy.”
But no one’s yet built the premium brand you can trust to provide those enriching experiences. That’s what we’re doing. We’re building a modern day culture school that teaches you what you need to know to be a well-rounded, globally-minded person today: art and design, food and drink, languages, travel and culture.