Sammi Alani

Co-founder

at Pirate Studios

I’m a co-founder of Pirate Studios, where I built and now run the company’s North American business. Over the last ten years, I’ve been in the trenches scaling Pirate from a single site in London into a 37-location, 500k-customer network of self-service music studios across the UK, US, and Europe. Pirate is now profitable, projecting $1.5M EBITDA on $15M in revenue, supported by the GTM, expansion, and operational systems I’ve helped put in place. I specialise in zero-to-one GTM, international expansion, and turning scrappy operational chaos into predictable growth. I’ve launched new markets from scratch (LA, NY), fixed underperforming locations, negotiated the real estate and unit economics behind each site, and built brand partnerships that unlock additional revenue. I’m comfortable going deep on the details including but not limited to pricing, utilisation, P&Ls, staffing, launch playbooks, and early operating structure. At Mucker, I hope to support founders who want practical, no-fluff guidance on how to find real demand, scale thoughtfully, and avoid common early-stage mistakes.
California
HealthTech & BioTech, Media & Entertainment, Social Media & Community Platforms
Brand partnerships and monetizationInternational ExpansionMulti-site operationsUnit economics and pricingZero-to-one go-to-market strategy

Articles by Sammi Alani

Startup Guide to AI Visibility Be the Brand ChatGPT Recommends

Startup Guide to AI Visibility: Be the Brand ChatGPT Recommends

Introduction Today, users aren’t just searching on Google. They’re asking ChatGPT, Claude, Google’s Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI systems for advice. AI visibility is the new frontier of brand awareness....

Practical Uses of AI Automation for Startup Operations

Practical Uses of AI & Automation for Startup Operations

In a recent Mucker Growth Series session, we invited Rock Vitale, Founder & CEO of Easie, to share how he’s helped early-stage teams move from manual, fragmented workflows to streamlined,...

New York Tech Week Mucker Sessions Recap

2025 New York Tech Week Recap Of Mucker Sessions

Last week during New York Tech Week 2025, we joined more than 1,000 events hosted by founders, investors, and VCs. This post is a full Mucker recap of the three...

Build a Customer Support Function for Startups Using AI Alex Velinov

How to Build a Customer Support Function for Startups Using AI Tools with Alex Velinov

Delivering high-quality customer support can be one of the most resource-draining parts of a startup. The good news: we’re at a turning point where founders can use AI tools to...

Zero → 100: The Exact Steps We Took to Close Our First 100 Paying Customers

Zero → 100: The Exact Steps We Took to Close Our First 100 Paying Customers

Going from zero customers to 100 in just four months sounds impossible—unless you’re a founder willing to roll up your sleeves and hustle relentlessly. I’m Gaurav Bhattacharya, co-founder of Jeeva.ai,...

Sales Discovery & Qualification for Startups Richard Harris

Unblocking Startup Growth: Best Practices for Sales Discovery & Qualification with Richard Harris

Startups are in a constant race against time and resources, navigating complex sales environments with lean teams and limited margins for error. In a recent session from the Mucker Growth...

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