Today we’d like to introduce you to Max Rivera.
Hi Max, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Prior to The MAKRS Society, I co-owned another event business in the area. The MAKRS Society started in 2020, with the idea to have an online marketplace for local vendors, but soon emerged into running pop-up markets. With the vision to bring bigger events to the city, we started our MAKRS Holiday Fest in 2021, which had 170 vendors and almost 10,000 attendees in 2024.
Since there were a lot of market companies in the area, we wanted to separate ourselves in this space, which led to our Underground Markets (Market and Concert series with Oak City Music), our Foodie Fares (Foodie and Arts Markets featuring a food truck rodeo), and our new Raleigh and Durham Nights (Night Market Series featuring vendors, a live DJ and performances from Dakota Fox Entertainment). We wanted to truly bring experiences to the community and think that’s what pop-up markets were lacking in the area.
We now run 7 monthly markets in the Triangle (63 monthly events in 2025) and 3 festivals.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Running a business is never a smooth road. There has been ups and downs along the way. We’ve spent time and money on events that almost bankrupted us and we’ve had some events that had few to little people show up.
We’ve had to make adjustments along the way because people change, the economy changes; so we have to adapt to that in order to continue to thrive.
I think we’re now at a point where we’ve built a strong community, but there will still be challenges along the way.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The MAKRS Society?
What sets us apart is that we have a growth mindset. We’re willing to adapt, grow and continue to innovate. We’re constantly coming up with new events that connect local artists to the community. We are also starting to work more in partnerships with other organizations which I think is important. It bring people from different backgrounds together for a common purpose.
I’m proud that we’ve been able to continue growing through some of the hardships and now we are growing faster that we did the first 3 years in this industry. I think a lot of people know us in the area as one of the premier leaders in running events, and am excited to see how it continues to grow.
How do you think about luck?
I think if you put in the work, then good things will happen. This can sometimes be in the case of luck (having the right timing when it comes to trying out a new event or a new addition to the business).
There will be times when you have good luck in your business and there will be times where you have bad luck, but if you push through the bad times with a positive outwork and continue to look forward to the future and what it could be, paired with hard work, things will usually work out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://makrs.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makrs/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/themakrssociety
