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Caitlin and Kelly Stefanick were living the dream. On paper anyway.
After graduating from the University of Chicago in 2017, the twin sisters moved to New York City. Kelly landed a role in PR, while Caitlin became a financial trader. They had big jobs in the big city. But still, something was missing.
“We weren't meeting the people we wanted to,” says Kelly. “We lived in one of the biggest and most vibrant cities in the world. But we really felt like we weren't plugged into that.”
It’s a feeling that millions of young professionals share: being surrounded by people, but feeling alone. The COVID-19 pandemic made things worse, to the extent that the U.S. Surgeon General later declared loneliness a public health epidemic in America.
But that feeling of disconnection didn’t hold the Stefanick twins back. Instead, it became fuel for founding their social events company, The Shaka Club. Five years later, Kelly and Caitlin find themselves running curated happy hours and events across 11 cities, helping thousands of people connect in real life.
And it all started with creating a website on Wix.
Starting a business of your own? Build your brand with Wix Harmony.
The social problem no one was solving
Without realizing it, Caitlin and Kelly had been doing their market research from day one in NYC.
The sisters went looking for a solution. They checked out social clubs, but the good ones were mostly exclusive and came with pricey membership fees. They showed up to meet-up events, but they were generally “super awkward” with no one helping people mix and mingle. And the apps weren’t cutting it either, with many young people suffering from what Kelly calls “app fatigue.”
There was a disconnect everywhere they looked.
“One day, we thought, ‘How can we make connecting with people more accessible?’” says Caitlin. “We were looking at it and said, ‘Okay, if we don't own the physical real estate, we can partner with bars and restaurants that people want to explore in their city.”
So they got started. Their first few events were small—just friends and friends of friends gathering at local bars. But through word-of-mouth, the meetups got popular fast. The gatherings grew from monthly to weekly, and before long, Shaka connections were popping up at bars and restaurants across the city. “Our friends were texting us, ‘Oh my God, there are people out in the wild who’ve met through Shaka,’” says Kelly.
That's when the sisters knew they'd tapped into something real.
Soon after, when it was clear the juggle between events and corporate life wasn’t manageable anymore, the twins decided to quit their nine-to-five and go all-in on The Shaka Club (a name inspired by the sisters’ love of surfing).
“It was very nerve-wracking,” says Caitlin.
“When you’re still at your job, sitting on this golden idea, that’s the excitement phase,” Kelly adds. “Then, when you’re actually putting it out to people, hosting events, quitting your job and becoming an entrepreneur, you have this existential crisis moment of, ‘Oh my God, we’re actually going to run a business and have to figure out how to do everything.’”
Building the brand on Wix
One of the first parts of that “everything” was having an online presence.
At the start, Caitlin and Kelly considered using events-focused platforms, but the limitations showed up fast. “We wanted a platform that could adapt with us. Not something that once we set it up, we’re going to be locked in,” says Kelly.
Hiring a designer wasn't in the budget, either, as the twins were determined to bootstrap the business from the start.
They landed on Wix, drawn by businesses they saw already thriving on the platform, and the built-in tools, like Wix Events and the Members Area.
“When we started using Wix, I was amazed by how easy it was,” says Caitlin. “Kelly showed me a little bit and then I was able to go in and learn myself. With Wix, we could immediately put our ideas out there to people and start getting customers.”
The web design process also helped shape the business model. “It makes you really think, ‘How can we present this service to customers?’” says Kelly. “Sure, we had a business plan, but putting a pen to paper by building the website was a really good exercise for us.”
The moment their website went live felt like a turning point. “It was empowering,” says Caitlin. “We had just quit our jobs and were diving into this new venture. To see an actual website go live makes it feel official. Like you're out there and doing it for real.”
A fresh look with Wix Harmony
More recently, the twins gave their website a refresh using Wix Harmony, Wix's AI-powered website builder. Wix Harmony, the sisters could freely switch between vibe coding and manual editing to match their vision perfectly. They could also consult or lean on Wix's AI agent, Aria, for help completing tasks at any point.
The goal for the redesign was simple: rebuild the website so it felt warm and community-driven, while showing just how much Shaka Club has grown. On the homepage, that comes through in real event photography and member stories.
From there, each city page takes on its own character, reflecting the people and atmosphere behind each unique location. No two city pages feel exactly the same, but together, they tell the story of a vibrant community that now stretches across 11 cities.
The layout keeps things simple. Visitors can quickly find their city and book a spot for an upcoming event. Meanwhile, Brands can find a dedicated Partners page, where they can learn more about sponsoring an event (a smart move given how companies like Monster Energy, Stella Artois and Hyperice have already jumped at the chance to partner with the business).
Visually, the website is clean and confident. Bold black typography sits on top of Shaka Club’s signature turquoise-blue, while the copy keeps things light and inviting. (Lines like "First dibs on NYC tickets" land like conversation rather than marketing.) The homepage itself even shifts from light mode to dark mode as you scroll, mirroring the day-to-night nature of Shaka events.
Overall, the redesigned website reflects The Shaka Club ethos. Open, unpretentious and rooted in good vibes. "We always wanted it to feel really welcoming and fun,” says Kelly. “We never wanted it to feel exclusive, dark and mysterious or hard to understand.”
Read also: How illustrator Kevin Zych turned a sketching side-hustle into a signature art brand—overnight
Running 11 cities from one dashboard
Today, The Shaka Club runs events with a core team of four full-time staff, including the twins’ younger brother who runs operations, and around 50 independent contractors on the ground.
In New York alone, they host two or three events per week. Some nights, there are more than 12 events happening simultaneously across the country, and they’re all managed from Manhattan.
Day to day, the whole operation runs through the Wix dashboard and the Wix Owner app. Contractors use the app to check guests in and monitor events in real time, while the sisters use it for just about everything else.
“Sometimes that's the first thing I'm checking in the morning once I get up,” says Caitlin. Kelly takes it further: “I’m on it more than Instagram. And I still get such an adrenaline rush every time I see a notification that another ticket's been sold.”
The built-in Wix Analytics have also played a major role in business growth. Caitlin and Kelly track which days drive the most ticket sales, how people find their event website and which cities are showing the highest demand.
“We can really see people coming back time and time again," says Kelly. "Each user has their own profile where you can see all of the events they've attended.”
“We've been on Wix from the beginning, so we have five years of data there,” says Caitlin. “We’ve organized that in so many different ways through reports, and that has helped guide us in terms of how we structure new locations.”
The proof is in the stories
The Shaka Club continues to grow organically, following opportunities that feel like a natural fit. Recent events have included everything from workout classes and spa experiences to kayaking adventures, with several partners now offering exclusive discounts to Shaka Club members. The sisters have even organized surfing events, bringing guests to the place where Caitlin first learned to surf herself.
The model has worked, and the proof is in the personal stories. “We've seen friendships, roommates—even couples—come out of Shaka,” says Kelly.
Caitlin shares another example: “I had someone the other day, an original customer of ours, text me. He's like, ‘Just so you know, this guy I met through Shaka, we just went on a trip together and we’ve become best friends.’ That's a life-changing thing for somebody.”
Five years in and 11 cities deep, the sisters aren't slowing down. People in their 50s and 60s have reached out asking for their own version. So have new moms, dads and college students. “We had so many different ideas for what direction we could take this in—and we still do—and Wix has enabled us to test those things very quickly and easily," says Caitlin.
But the mission hasn't changed. As Kelly puts it: “Seeing those connections is really why we still do what we do.”
5 tips from Caitlin and Kelly on starting your own business
If you're thinking about starting a business or turning a personal frustration into something bigger, the Stefanick sisters have been there, done that. Here's what they've learned along the way and the entrepreneurship skills that got them through it.
Just get started. “In today's day and age, you have so many tools at your fingertips. Just go do it and try it. There's really no excuse. Just go try it and work on it. That's the best way to see if it's something that can work,” says Caitlin.
Let your customers guide you. “Your customers are your most valuable asset. They have so much information to give you, and they want to give it because if you're solving a problem they experience, they want it solved, too,” says Kelly.
Build your website early. It shapes the whole idea. “It’s a good exercise to go through when you're starting a business—laying it all out on a website—because it makes you think through, ‘How can we present this to customers?’” says Kelly.
Learn by doing. “That's one of the things Kelly and I have had the most fun with—getting to learn by doing. As an entrepreneur you're really thrown into the fire and getting to learn,” says Caitlin.
Create a brand for your community, not just your business. “When we hosted the first couple events, we said to each other, 'We want to make something that feels like a community.' I think the brand helps with that. It just felt natural to have our own website,” says Caitlin.
While you’re here: Entrepreneurs and thought leadership: Why the two go hand in hand
