When Anant Vasudevan was a USC Iovine and Young Academy student in 2020 and COVID suddenly hit, the world shifted and so did his existential perspective. Surrounding oneself with a supportive network of people wasn’t just an advantage, it became a necessity. Even though he wasn’t technically in-person among his collegiate peers, his cohort stuck together as a unit and helped each other out through thick and thin. The IYA experience acted as a collaborative family for Vasudevan, reinforcing what’s special and important about life – community. 

It’s no surprise that Vasudevan has been active in capturing the magic of communal partnership ever since. That’s why he and cofounder Ami Yoshimura recently formed the members-only creative social club, Verci – an NYC-based “campus” offering a curated creative space for people on unconventional paths. Inspired by his synergistic days at IYA and a subsequent six month stint at an off-the-grid farm in Northern California, Verci is a place to create, co-produce, make friends, and above all else, be yourself. 

“When you’re on your own, learning starts to plateau, that inspiration starts to plateau, and you start to realize what you took for granted at a place like IYA. I definitely realized what I was missing,” Vasudevan shares. 

When Vasudevan witnessed his friends graduating and entering the often-isolating “void” that is the post-college working world, he knew he had to reform how – and where –  young creatives do business. Verci is Vasudevan’s answer to that vast cavity of seclusion – it acts as a co-working space, a social event venue, and an artistic salon. Vasudevan says the best way to describe the concept is a “shared living room.” (If your living room was packed with painters, podcasters, and tech founders.) With DJ capabilities and resources for productions like fashion photography, he also calls it a “gym for creativity.” 

“You can do what you want here. You’re not a guest, you’re a host,” he says of the membership’s freedom. 

Verci has been operating through pop-up spaces for the past few months, but it recently launched a 6000 square foot Soho location that features coworking desks and three studios currently in development, including a full-service media lab. Tuesdays and Fridays are for recurring events and there are regular workshops, fireside chats, performances, and unique social and learning opportunities like last week’s “Prom You Wish You Had” and an ongoing popular writing club. 

“It’s brought together freelancers, content creators, and entrepreneurs in the broader sense. People starting a tech startup or an agency or a fashion line or a podcast, doing content part-time or trying to make it full-time. At all stages, having people around you who can inspire you and celebrate those wins and also be there when the times get tough,” Vasudevan says. 

Growing up in India, Vasudevan always gravitated towards non-traditional thinking that allowed him to follow his own path. It’s why he chose IYA and it’s why he’s so passionate about cultivating a place for people to work, communicate, and grow in an environment that fosters togetherness and nonconformity. 

“That push towards unconventionality. You can do what you want and the horizons are very wide,” he says of IYA’s lessons and how its framework influenced Verci. “There’s maybe a culture that pushes you towards more traditional roles. There’s a version of me doing that in a different universe. But also realizing there are these different things I can do … that I can craft a model of life that matters to me. I have great examples in my cohort who are examples of this …  These are the types of entrepreneurial journeys that will honestly last. The beauty of IYA is there are a lot of unconventional passion-oriented journeys.”

When developing Verci, Vasudevan crafted a manifesto that references historical instances of booming innovation in times of catastrophe and civil instability. Harkening back to the counterculture movement of the ‘60s, he points out a heightened need for community and unconventionality in the wake of COVID’s impact and in the shadow of rapid technological advancements. It’s time for his generation to lift each other up in unison.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen in a few years. COVID showed us that. Now it’s more important than ever to find your people and spend time investing in the ones that matter. That’s the one constant,” he adds. 

With Verci’s membership on the rise, Vasudevan is dedicated to carving out an intentional haven amidst the bustling metropolis and corporate societal pressures that often hinder organic creativity and intellectual curiosity. When he looks towards the future and the possibility of more locations, he hopes to harvest a symbiotic relationship with the community he serves, no matter the external factors they’re facing. 

“By being incredibly active alongside the community and prioritizing their needs, Verci can hopefully build an institution that is responsive, constantly adapting, and built for the benefit of its members as the world and community changes,” he resolves. 

He adds, “I’m happy as long as the space gets curated, people are together, and there’s an impact that comes out of it.”

Anant Vasudevan recently founded the members-only creative social club, Verci – an NYC-based “campus” offering a curated creative space for people on unconventional paths. Inspired by his synergistic days at IYA, Verci is a place to create, co-produce, make friends, and above all else, be yourself. 

In Search of Community: An Unconventional Thinker Founds a Space For Creatives

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