As the global economy continues experiencing major corrections, many businesses have painfully discovered that a lack of vision and flexibility can be deadly during times of widespread change. Businesses sometimes are one-trick ponies—some prosper due to a unique product or service, yet most stay put in their niche. SKventure is a rare example of a versatile business group that embraces construction, real estate management, and hospitality, never ceasing to broaden its boundaries, and prosper. “You have to be good at something in the beginning. I started with construction, and got really good at it; then began investing in other things. In doing so, I learned, and it made me a lot happier,” tells Shyon Keoppel, the Group’s founder and an ingenious natural entrepreneur.
Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Shyon founded his first company when he was 19years old. While his former high-school buddies were squandering their hard-saved dollars upgrading their clunkers, Shyon was buying fixer-upper homes and learning the ropes in the real estate and construction business. In 2014, Shyon founded his construction company and ever since has relied on in-house construction teams for his real estate and hospitality projects. “We use our construction company for all of the ventures—from concept to design, everything is done in-house, and we use all of our companies when possible from start to finish of a new project,” explains Shyon of the benefits of his group’s self-sufficiency.
Having made his bones in real estate and construction, Shyon made a lateral move to hospitality. “We started to conceptualize restaurants and ideas from other cities, and started opening them in Oklahoma with a partner,” Shyon affirms. SKventure conceptualized and created several flourishing hospitality projects which include fusion restaurants, sports bars, lounges, dive bars, and a dance-hall in his hometown. However, “I just didn’t feel there was enough challenge anymore…in Oklahoma,” admits Shyon. Having secured a strong and financially sound home base, SKventure started propagating to California in2018, homing in on the LA hospitality sector. Shyon fell in love with the LA area while visiting his father’s place in Santa Barbara at Christmas time as a child, and his crush on LA only became stronger with the years. “Everything good comes from LA, all the big brands are born in big cities like NYC, Miami, and LA,” admits Shyon. SKventure’s shining entry on the LA hospitality scene occurred in December 2019 with the launch of 3rd Base, a plush sports bar and lounge.
Nestled in Hollywood, the exquisite version of its Oklahoma namesake, 3rdBase offers an unmatched dining experience and a unique sports viewing atmosphere. Rest assured that the next two hospitality projects, a large restaurant at Melrose and Crescent Heights, and a lounge on Sunset will be no less applauded, as Shyon believes “that SKventure’s market knowledge exceeds that of our competitors, and our steadfast pursuit of visionary development and hospitality brands keeps us relevant and ahead of the game.”Both projects are scheduled to open their doors to the public in 1Q 2021 despite a slowdown caused by COVID.