August 31, 2015
This guest-blog post is by Arif Ahmed, who goes to school at Dougherty Valley High in San Ramon, California, having just started 11th grade. He enjoys creative reading and writing as well as playing basketball in his free time. Arif volunteered as an AlligatorZone Ambassador at Sunnyvale Public Library, Sunnyvale, California. ‘AlligatorZone Ambassadors’ is a new initiative aimed at seeking greater community-engagement by youth through celebration of local entrepreneurship and innovation at an AlligatorZone, the program where kids meet cool startups. AlligatorZone is a series of family-friendly tech startup events, aimed mainly at youth aged 7 to 17, held in various cities in close cooperation with local public libraries. The startups featured were Mise and DogTV. For more information on AlligatorZone, visit AlligatorZone.org.
August 30, 2015
Even though the room wasn’t full yet, you could feel the excitement and buzz in the air. People congregated in various parts of the room, discussing their expectations and sharing their ideas for this event. Even though the AlligatorZone hasn’t started, people were eagerly waiting for the presenters to show their products to the audience. As time clocked down to 3, many people became interested in the Mise presenters, who were preparing their favorite dessert, a chocolate mousse as a special treat for the event today. Many people became interested in their food, which they would have a chance to taste later.
Kids from all ages as well as adults were in attendance and everyone was eagerly listening as 10 year old Keshav introduced the food startup known as Mise and gave a short description. Ben London, one of the cofounders of Mise, took the stage to discuss his startup and what his company exactly does. He revealed to the audience that his business helps out local Bay Area food restaurants including food trucks and restaurants. He showed that Mise helps out by making the financial stress on startup chefs easier by hosting an online market where chefs share their best dishes, creating personalized packaging and labels for their customers, as well as free local delivery throughout the Bay Area. Ben’s friend and fellow cofounder, Yishan, then took the stage to explain that their food is not only healthy, but also cheap and locally made. The room buzzed with excitement as Mise opened up the room to questions and adults and children alike asked great questions. 10 year old Keshav asked how much does it cost to open a restaurant where Ben responded that it takes 3 quarters of a million dollars, on top of other expenses, which can be extremely tolling to fresh chefs. They explained that they wanted this business to relieve chefs of their stress, and just focus on what they love — cooking. Another question posed was how did the cofounder’s get the idea for this startup? Both Ben and his cofounder agreed that it was by having an open mind and brainstorming together. Yishan explained that he came from humble beginnings. He said that he took a year off before heading off to college, and worked in the food business as a dishwasher. It was there that he was exposed to the challenges and trials of being a chef. Yishan was then inspired to help chefs across the Bay Area start their business and achieve success by helping people taste their good food. What was even more amazing to the audience, as Ben explained, was that they have delivered over 170 boxes of “happiness” in just 2 weeks of the company’s existence. They explained that they spread word through social media and only expected the best of the best from the chefs, and amazed the crowd by explaining that they have already started partnerships with 11 local Bay Area chefs. They then turned to presenting their website, which was simple and elegant, which they explained was because they wanted to let the images of the food shine. The website showed a diverse range of cuisine at affordable prices, while also displaying an origin story for each chef and dish. Moderator Isabella asked a great question in what was Mise’s advertising strategies. Ben explained that instead of spending unnecessary money on commercials, they enjoy talking at events just like AlligatorZone to spread the word to potential customers. What a great idea! Throughout Mise’s presentation, more people walked in, and they were instantly drawn and engaged to the idea of the food startup.
After all the questions had been answered, 10 year old Keshav introduced the next startup, DogTV, the first TV programming channel for dogs. The founder Ron Levi, explained that the purpose for his company was to entertain the poor dogs who were alone at home while their owners are away at school or work, which can make them stressed, scared, bored, or all three. He showed clips that showed popular television hosts like Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Ellen talking about DogTV on their shows. Ron explained that his company is currently in 13 countries, and on DirectTV in the United States. He told the audience that this company originally started as a way to study dogs and the way they see things. After a short quiz on the different breeds of dogs, he then showed a short YouTube clip of dogs being mesmerized by DogTV. Ironically, he got inspiration for this idea from his cat, who would always beg Ron not to leave work or the house. He revealed a very impressive number that he has 20 million subscribers, and challenges in making DogTV succeed vary from country to country. After being asked the costs of the company, Ron explained that he spent over 8 years to start this company and has big investors including Discovery’s Animal Planet to finance his company. After a long experimental period in which he studied dog’s reactions to DogTV, he explained that he learns every day by removing things that dogs do not like from the program such as barking sounds, loud noises, and most importantly, cats, from the program. He explained that it took a lot of hard work and patience for this business to grow, and in the beginning it was very hard as he had no advertising. However, within a short period of time his revolutionary idea was on many major television shows like David Letterman, which led to nationwide publicity. He explained that DogTV was originally launched in San Diego, where it was a huge hit, which brought on major television networks like DirectTV and the Discovery channel.
A thought-provoking question, “how can young entrepreneurs try to create a successful startup”, was asked. Ben and Yishan responded by saying that you should take risks, execute your ideas very well, have an unrelenting passion, and believe in yourself. As Isabella announced the end of the event, the audience’s attention turned to the back table where Mise was saving their savory chocolate mousse. Even though the event was technically over, the majority of the audience was still excited as they tried the delicious mousse, made by Mise’s Chef Natalie. Ben and Yishan were eagerly serving out the dessert as interviewer Anisha asked questions to DogTV’s founder Ron.
Not only did both founders give insightful advice on the world of business, but they also were very approachable and friendly. After both startups gave their on-camera interviews, the AlligatorZone ambassadors and startup founders posed for a picture, a lasting testament to new friendships made. As the event came to an end, everyone were excited about DogTV and Mise and the prospects that local startups can bring.
Hope to see you soon at another session of AlligatorZone. Check out the running calendar at http://AlligatorZone.eventbrite.com.
Bookmark www.AlligatorZone.org, follow updates at http://www.twitter.com/alligatorzone and like us on www.facebook.com/AlligatorZone.org.
AlligatorZone is one of several impact-programs being designed at SiliconGlades. If you know of startups that would make for interesting presenters to an audience of kids, teens and families, please send your suggestion to events [at] siliconglades [dot] com, or direct-message at @siliconglades. AlligatorZone, is a program by SiliconGlades, an innovation firm that designs, among other things, hyperlocal social impact programs such as AlligatorZone. In other words, SiliconGlades designs programs that bring communities together for a common uplifting purpose, right in your neighborhood.
