Developing & Launching Start Up Idea

4yr ago

1 reply

Hi Makers! My name is Roderick Hughes and I'm a junior at American University. Ive had this idea for a while and I'm currently branding it now and will soon have an instagram page up to attract customers. My company name is called Simmer & Sizzle. It's a digital marketing app aimed to help brand independent chefs and elevate their presence in the food industry. Through content marketing and events, we provide exposure for these chefs and allow them to build better relationships with consumers. On the consumer side of things, they will be able to tailored the app to their preferences. When they open the app, they'll be prompted with a survey asking them questions like "What do you like to eat?" or "Do you have any dietary restrictions?". Based on those answers, they'll be connected with the chef that best matches their preferences and will be able to hire chefs on spot. I've come across some issues that I need help thinking through. 1. Coming up with an effective revenue model. So far, I'm charging these chefs a fee per month for us to provide exposure and elevate their business to the next level. 2. Supply. With us bringing more customers, that'll require more supply for the chefs. Any suggestions on supply options for chefs? 3. Satisfaction for chefs. This is my biggest question. How can I ensure guaranteed customers for a chef? For example, if a chef only gets 1-2 orders per day and is paying a fee is it really worth it for them to join our app. I need help working through this!! I know this is a lot but if you have any feedback on my idea as a whole, or have interest in potentially working with me to launch this product please let me know!! I've become very passionate about this idea and want to learn as much as I can through feedback and suggestions from you guys!! Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my idea 😄

Replies

Felipe Otálora @felipe_otalora

Hey Roderick! What you are building sounds really cool and hopefully you will do very well. It's good you are thinking ahead in terms of the business model and indeed the supply/demand side. Nonetheless, I can share a few advices. 1. Focus on the problem first! What are you helping these chefs/customers solve? Is exposure the real problem behind the chefs? Or could it be something else? 2. If you have validated the problem correctly then don't immediately jump into building a solution. An app could help but maybe you can find an easier and faster way to provide value for the chefs that does not involve developing an entire app. A startup has limited resources like time and money. 3. After you have those done try to get your product in user's hands as fast as possible. Learn as much as you can and iterate. Business model and supply and demand will come later! Anyway, just my two cents, hope you do well!

Jan 21, 2020