Nothing is random. Within a time frame of a few weeks, I had a number of acquaintances from the UK tell me I should feature Yossi Gluck and his company Next Level Events. Yossi is an all-encompassing event planner who oversees high-end events from A-to-Z—or, as he says, “A-to-Zed.”
Although high-end luxury events are commonplace in the US, they were rare in the UK until recently. But they are becoming more and more common there—thanks in part to Yossi and his team. While Yossi works with people with any budget, his meticulous attention to detail and talent for producing eye-pleasing events have led him to become a very popular event planner, especially among American clients in the UK.
Yossi has arranged a wide range of events including weddings, simchahs, private birthday celebrations, and retreats for billionaires as well as overseeing a large anti-technology asifah featuring Rav Tzvi Meir Silberberg.
Yossi believes that his concept of a one-stop shop is what has helped propel his career. The idea that one person or company will handle every single aspect of an event is a strong selling point of his.
We discussed how the UK scene differs from that in the US, and Yossi shared some of his tips on how to make your own table at home stand out.
Enjoy! -Nesanel
I was born in London. I learned in Bobov cheder and then went to Ohel Torah Yeshivah Ketanah here in Stamford Hill. My father is a Chernobyl chasid, and he worked for the chevrah kaddisha in London for the last 27 years. They have a company called Carmel Funeral Services that takes care of all of the levayos, which is interesting because I feel like my job is the opposite: it’s celebrating life. My mother is from Antwerp. She’s a shadchan. My mother makes the shidduch, I plan the simchah, and my father takes care of the end.
“I am the third of ten children. Growing up, I don’t think I was particularly entrepreneurial. I was probably involved in selling some things when I needed to be. I would bind sefarim when I was in yeshivah ketanah. I liked learning; I was a typical yeshivah bachur.
“I would do odd jobs during bein hazmanim and help out in the sukkah shop before Sukkos, but that ended when I went to learn in Eretz Yisrael. I learned in Emek Hatalmud for two and a half years, and then I went to the Mir, where I learned in Rav Goldman’s chaburah for two years.
“I didn’t work at all when I was at the Mir. My father asked to come with him a few times for a levayah when he needed some help, but I never went; it’s not for me. My brother did it, but I couldn’t do it.
“I got married soon after returning from Israel; my wife is also from London. I got married around Purim time and learned in kollel in London. I had a morning chavrusa and an afternoon chavrusa until I figured out what I wanted to do. Until today, despite my busy schedule, I try to keep to my very early morning shiur at 6:10 with Reb Yoely Friedman as well as my evening chavrusa.
I began to think about starting a business. I wanted to do something that had not been done in London before.
“I called my brother-in-law Hillel Lichtenstein, who owns NES security and works with high-end clients, and asked what he thought about going into arranging high-end events. I always liked fancy events. I had an eye for detail and paid attention to nice things. Even when I was in yeshivah, I remember going to Shabbos meals and seeing simple plasticware on the table and thinking to myself, ‘I can do better than this.’ Even if I was just going away with bachurim for Shabbos, I always made sure we chose nicer things for the table because I wanted it to look like a real Shabbos table, not a random Tuesday night. When I would go to weddings, I felt like people were spending so much money on mediocrity. I knew I could do it better, so I wanted to open a business based on that idea.
“My brother-in-law introduced me to someone who managed a high-end whiskey shop and held an annual event in a hotel where people would come and taste various types of whiskeys. I wanted to know if there was someone who was in charge of these sorts of “high-end events.” The manager of the whiskey event shop said that people always reach out to him for planning, but that there wasn’t a proper all-inclusive event planner in London to cover it all. I went and observed the event, the process and what it looked like.
“Funnily enough, when I was at the whiskey event, I was approached by my cousin David Lubelski, who manages the JTrade exhibition show in London for Ari Feferkorn. He asked me what I was doing, and I told him that I was thinking about getting into the event industry. He offered me a sales job for JTrade and to help them with the actual event planning on the side. I liked sales too, and I thought it was a good opportunity.
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