Meet Veronica Speck | CEO + Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Veronica Speck.  Veronica is one of the most talented and dedicated professionals we have come across in our many years in media and we are so excited to share our conversation with her below.

Hi Veronica, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Entrepreneurship runs in my family so I always had the intention of beginning my own business, but I wanted to gain experience first. I moved to New York City for undergraduate and graduate school and immediately enrolled in internships, including Vogue, CNN, NBC, and Christie’s. After receiving my Master’s, I accepted my first role at the Whitney Museum of American Art, in the Special Events and Development Department. I then held senior communications and marketing roles at amfAR, Bernadaud, Escada, The Future Perfect, Daniel Boulud’s hospitality group, and more. In 2020, I decided to launch my luxury communications consulting business, VHS Ventures, incorporating my experience in public relations, marketing, strategic partnerships, business development, event production, branding, social media, and more. My portfolio consists of a variety of luxury lifestyle clients across various verticals including art, architecture, automobiles, fashion, interior design, furniture, fragrance, beauty, wellness, hospitality, fine jewelry, and more.

Unlike traditional PR agencies, I began my business in order to offer a wide range of bespoke, tailored services to clients – from emerging to established. Additionally, I place artists and designers with galleries and art/design fairs and brands with retailers. In the future, I plan to expand the venture capital division and invest and grow brands and companies within my client portfolio.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
VHS Ventures is a global communications consultancy & strategic advisory agency with a diverse portfolio of international clients within the luxury and lifestyle sector. Unlike traditional PR agencies, we provide affinity partnerships, branding and business development, celebrity and VIP relations, digital marketing, e-commerce, event production, experiential media, and public relations for luxury and lifestyle clients in the automotive, architecture, art, beauty, design, fashion, finance, fintech, fragrance, fine jewelry, hotel, real estate, restaurant, travel and tourism, technology, and wine sectors. VHS also connects artists and designers to galleries and luxury brands to retailers for representation and provides interior and collectible design consultation services. In 2020, VHS Ventures was established in New York and California with international operations abroad. Veronica is a Partner of the luxury fragrance brand Maison d’ Etto, an Editor at The Design Release, and a member of the Forbes Business Council and Female Design Council. In 2021, Veronica H. Speck was awarded the Forbes Next 1000 Entrepreneurs. In 2022, VHS Ventures was awarded the “Next Gen” by The PR Net, an international awards program that celebrates agency excellence, championing the new thinkers, innovators, and groundbreakers across the field of PR, who are shaping the bright future of the communications industry. It certainly was not easy and there are daily challenges, but I am incredibly proud of the business I have built, and I am endlessly inspired by the clients and partners I am lucky enough to work with.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Although I am technically based in New York City, I am from San Diego, and my extended family lives in Los Angeles. I have also worked with LA-based clients including furniture and lighting designer Lulu LaFortune and fine jewelry designer Fie Isolde who just opened a gorgeous new flagship boutique in West Hollywood designed by Extra Ordinary Studio. When I am in town for the holidays, I look forward to visiting the latest exhibition at the Goldwyn House by The Future Perfect and the West Coast outpost of Dante at the new Maybourne Hotel in Beverly Hills. I also love to finish the day with a classic cocktail (or sundae) at the Sunset Tower Hotel bar, Chateau Marmont, or the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel. I also have City Guides for a plethora of other destinations on my website.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

Always my family! My parents, grandparents, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends were incredibly supportive when I left California for college, stayed for work, and of course, when I started my business. I could not have done it without them. It’s always important to surround yourself with those who challenge you to pursue your dreams, celebrate with you in your successes, and be there for you in your failures.

Website: https://www.veronicahelenspeck.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veronicahelenspeck

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vspeck/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/veronicaspeck?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vhsventures/

Other: https://www.instagram.com/vhs.ventures/?hl=en

Image Credits
Nela Kekic