Crew Collective LLC
Northwest's Client Success Stories
Crew Collective LLC
Crew Collective LLC is a New Jersey-based rental company servicing traveling professionals looking for a home away from home while doing business in the NYC metropolitan area. When entrepreneur Victor Alofe saw the need, his years of experience as a corporate business consultant kicked in, and Crew Collective was born to meet the demand.
With the support of our Business Identity service, Victor took Crew Collective online. Victor was kind enough to share some insight into the world of business creation, website building, and even pizza recommendations.
“Crew Collective is more fulfilling for me. It’s a company that has sustainability and longevity.”
Creation of Crew Collective
“The idea came to me for Crew Collective mid-last year. I have a lot of friends who are flight attendants, and I travel a lot. And I thought to myself, what are flight attendants’ and other professionals’ accommodations truly like when they are on an assignment or working away from home?
I was able to ask them a lot of questions. I found out that a big thing that flight attendants use to limit the cost is called crash pads, which are just temporary places where people can live in a communal space.
But, from everything I heard, there’s nothing good to say about them. Professional high-quality rentals are very much needed in this space and in the market. Before Crew Collective, there was no uniform way of finding crash pads that are actually nice spaces that people would want to stay in.”
Getting Crew Collective Online
“I’m a pretty tech-savvy guy. I’ve launched businesses in the past, so I have a little experience with creating websites and trying to establish an online presence. Building websites wasn’t really new, but Crew Collective’s website was the first time that I really took it to this level.
I have experience with WordPress, but I had to get great at WordPress. I needed to really understand what my vision was and put myself in the perspective of a client. That’s somebody who doesn’t really have much time. Most likely, they’re going to be accessing the site on a mobile device, so I tried to make it as mobile-friendly as possible. Like for example, on mobile, you click call now and can reach us.
I tried to add little touches that made the user experience as smooth as possible. It took a lot of research, a lot of time, and commitment to trying to build the best possible site at the time.”
Journey of a Business Owner
“I’ve always been a pretty entrepreneurial guy. I worked in corporate for some time as a management consultant in the tax revenue, insurance, and media entertainment space. I was exposed to a lot of cutting-edge technology and different ways in which you can try to capture engagement from clients or prospective customers.
That kind of led me to my first company, which was called Just Pawfect. A pet supply and accessory store, as well as a training store. I have a couple dogs, and I did my own training with them based on books that I read. I was able to implement the teachings so well that other pet parents were impressed.
That ability to turn what I learned into something other people wanted to learn too helped me build my first business and really establish my clientele. I had Just Pawfect for some time. After sunsetting that business because it was time to move on, I set up my next venture, which was Crew Collective.
Crew Collective is more fulfilling for me. It’s a company that has sustainability and longevity.”
Victor’s Pizza Recommendation
“My favorite pizza place around the rentals is Linwood Taphouse in Linden, New Jersey. They make fantastic pizza! It’s actually a great sports bar, too. They have literally 60 to 75 TVs. It’s insane.
You can’t turn your head without looking at a TV. So, it’s great for game days, and I’m a big sports guy. That’s definitely a great pizza place to grab a bite around the homes.
All their food’s good!”