Tag: food technology

A strong social media presence has a direct correlation to success

Within 1 hour of posting on LinkedIn yesterday that I was opening a pre-seed funding round for High Margin, I had inquiries from interested investors. This particular note came from a well-respected CEO in the restaurant industry.

I continue to be amazed by the power of social media. As of January 1st, I started posting not only on LinkedIn, but also on Instagram, TikTok and X. Soon afterward someone asked me why I decided to do that. What was the benefit? Truth is, I don’t know.

When I started to post daily videos on LinkedIn during the summer of 2021, I also had no idea what the benefit would be. It was a gut feeling that it would one day pay off, but I could not produce any hard evidence that it was a good investment.

Why did I suddenly start writing a daily blog post in addition to the videos starting yesterday? Do I have a business plan with projections showing what the return will be on all this investment of time and energy? No. But I can tell you that posting daily videos on LinkedIn for the last 3 1/2 years has been personally and professionally rewarding.

“What if people don’t like what you say?”

“What if people don’t take you seriously because of the clothes you’re wearing?”

“I don’t see anyone else posting videos like that on LinkedIn… it’s not the right forum.”

I don’t believe in making decisions driven by fear. I especially don’t allow fear of what others might think to influence what I think is a great idea. This gives me agency over my personal brand.

“You’re putting all of your failures on public display. Don’t you think people won’t want to do business with you?”

Actually I think it has the opposite effect. Painting a rosy picture on social media is the ubiquitous modus operandi. How can you trust someone who creates the appearance of being flawless? Of never having any failures?

Messages like these… asking for a call to learn more about High Margin offering to help and potentially invest from a successful widely-respected CEO is all the evidence I need that a transparent, authentic approach to sharing on social media works.

Do some people watch my videos or read my blog posts and smirk or shake their heads incredulously at the ease with which I share so much about my approach to business and life? No doubt. Are they the people I want to do business with? Nope.

Weighing the benefits and drawbacks of a bootstrap strategy

I incorporated High Margin 7 weeks ago and so much has already happened. It has been 7 weeks of non-stop hustle, of deep soul searching and self-reflection, of hope and resilience.

“This time, I’m going to bootstrap it,” I told myself. All the pieces are in place.

We have:

  • A great idea for a solution that can show immediate value and impact.
  • A team of smart, hard-working individuals ready to roll up their sleeves and work for the promise of future compensation and of being a part of building something great.
  • Enterprise customers interested in what we have to offer.

What could possibly go wrong?

It takes so much more to achieve that one spark that ignites the fire that can become a new, successful business.

It always takes longer than you think. Always.

I thought that if I explain to potential customers with full transparency that we can really help them, but that we don’t have the luxury of a 6-month sales cycle, they would understand.

The truth is, not having a runway is a “we” problem. What we have to offer is good. Really good. It will solve many pain points for restaurants. But that doesn’t mean restaurant companies will shift priorities and find budgets to work with us, no matter how much they like us and what we have to offer.

Very early on, we had three solid deals and it has been my goal to close at least one of them. One deal would be enough of a basis to build a long-term sustainable business. Three deals would be ah-maz-ing. I mean… we’re going to have a KILLER 2025 amazing.

I gave myself until January 31st.

With 4 days left, the deal status is:

  1. We’re committed, but we might have to do it later, not right now.
  2. Happy to give it a try. We will pay you as soon as we see value.
  3. I’ll let you know by the end of the month.

I’m thinking it’s time to raise a pre-seed round.  The feedback around our product vision is very positive and it would take little time to stand up a first version to get a few case studies under our belts.

These 3 deals are likely to turn into long-term successful partnerships. Is it worth the risk of running out of air just to avoid taking any outside capital? The answer is clearly no. It’s time to raise some money.