Next summer’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil is still considerably a long ways ahead, yet for Manhattan Beach residents Mitchell Jolley and Christopher Stone, it’s all they’ve been thinking about.
The two are in the midst of drawing out logistics for their company Beck & Score’s inaugural gig: hosting a dream excursion set around the worldwide-hyped soccer tournament for 50 to 60 super rich clients, their family and friends.
In fact, Jolley is flying out on the job next week, a one-way trip to Rio de Janeiro.
“To dial everything in for everyone comes for the World Cup,” the 28-year-old COO explained. “We need to understand everything about the city, every restaurant, the clubs, the best areas to be. This is our first event and we have to do it right. It’s all about relationships in Brazil. I’ll be there for however long it takes.”
With this type of zealous dedication, Jolley, Stone and their three other partners, Eddie Salcedo, Douglas Bouton and Bradley Stone—all between ages 27 and 37—are setting out to create what they believe is the country’s first high-end luxury travel service for an exclusive membership, geared around the most demanded sporting events around the world.
It’s set up as a breezy one-stop shop for members who can afford it: stadium tickets, first-class flights, a personal concierge, five-star hotels or private villas with a private chef, security personnel, a chauffeur and a cleaning crew. The cherry on top is a free rental Samsung Galaxy S4 for each client, customized with Brazilian data, resources, real-time updates from the company and a personalized Google calendar.
“The value we bring is, we’re planning everything for you,” Jolley explained. “And to our knowledge, there’s nobody in the United States that does what we’re doing, not at the level we’re providing.”
The company’s name, Beck & Score, is a play on “beck and call”—and they’re setting out to be just that. Before, during and after the World Cup, which takes place June 12 to July 13 next year, each client will have access to his or her agent to hammer out logistics, answer questions or deal with emergencies.
“Given the high-end nature of the packages, we felt that the personal service level needed to be comparable,” Jolley explained. “The personal agent will be at your disposal anytime even before the event, and the agent will be in Brazil. They’ll be with you the entire journey. It’s a very personal experience.”
After applying to join Beck & Score, members are assigned with one of the company’s four agents based on interests. Then they have a choice between creating a custom travel package and proceeding with one of nine tailor-made travel packages throughout the four destination cities handpicked by the company heads: Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Salvador and Sao Paolo.
The company has already purchased $1 million worth of VIP tickets to World Cup games in these cities that they “thought would be in highest demand”—including the finals, semifinals and Team USA games. These tickets are already sold out for the public market.
With that level of service and access naturally comes a hefty price tag. While membership into Beck & Score is currently free (notwithstanding the screening process to determine the prospective client’s financial means), seven-day travel packages begin at $30,000 per person for a two-people package.
“We’re not trying to sell hundreds of packages,” said Stone, the company’s 27-year-old CEO.
Rather, the young company is setting out to sell just 50 to 60, as part of its plan to carefully cultivate a client base that would help Beck & Score become an international brand. It’s setting out to “grow organically” and culminate in a close-knit business and social network with some of the wealthiest, influential people around the globe.
The group is targeting three demographics: young professionals in Wall Street or Silicon Valley and entrepreneurs; family businessmen or executives who have limited time for leisure; and trendsetters or socialites in the entertainment industry with a large discretionary income.
“The idea eventually is to have an international group that is interconnected, with a huge business networking element,” Stone said.
Next up, Beck & Score is setting out to host their clients at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
“That was the real kicker in deciding to start this company,” Stone explained. “We’ll already have infrastructure set up, so we’ll really have Rio dialed in.”
But in the meanwhile, the company is eying premier sporting tournaments domestically, from the U.S. Open Tennis to the Masters Golf Tournament, and hoping to host their Brazilian and other international clientele.
“The reason why it’s worth going through Beck & Score is, we’re vetting everything,” Jolley said.
