met my business partner George Stroumboulis in 2008. We were both part of a startup in the LED lighting space, and over time we built a solid working relationship through a lot of hands-on experience. There were great wins, hard lessons, and a clear understanding of what worked and what didn’t.
After years of navigating decision-making gridlock, competing agendas, and too many egos in the room, we knew we could build something better. So in 2015, with young families at home and plenty of risk on the table, we stepped away and started from scratch.
That’s how Ideoli Group came to be.
We spent months working through the name. Dozens of ideas. Plenty of back-and-forth, mostly in New York. Eventually we landed on Ideoli. A name that reflects what we value: original design, thoughtful execution, and real collaboration. No fluff. Just results.
Ideoli is a design, manufacturing, and collaboration partner specializing in custom furnishings and lighting for retail, restaurant, hospitality, and commercial spaces. We work with global brands that want to elevate the environments they create. We help them do that with speed, precision, and craftsmanship.
Launching the company has been the most demanding and rewarding experience of my career. When you have real skin in the game — mortgages, mouths to feed, people relying on you — you’re motivated in a different way. You don’t overthink. You execute.
Thanks to a network of partners and friends who believed in what we were doing, we were able to land some major projects early on. That momentum kept us moving forward.
From day one, we agreed on a core value: we don’t work with assholes. That may sound blunt, but it’s a boundary that protects our culture. We’ve both experienced what happens when toxic personalities take over. We keep communication open, stay humble, and surround ourselves with people who respect the work and each other.
Today, Ideoli operates out of New York, Los Angeles, and Shanghai, with satellite teams in Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Guadalajara. I spend a lot of time on the road, but that’s the reality when you’re scaling a global business hands-on.
We’re still learning, growing, and building every day.
