Are Private Members’ Clubs Losing Their Cool?

Whisper it: in private clubland, the VIP PLU have gone AWOL. How else to explain the rise of startups like Contra, which exists to discreetly help bulk up the thinned-out crowds there? Think of it like a cross between a guest list and Eventbrite: Contra encourages applications to join – 64,000 so far, per the firm – but accepts just a handful, around five percent, after vetting them, private club-style.

This ring-fenced group of supposed desirables is then deployed…