How To Acquire Customers By Asking For Advice With Andrew Glantz

Last Updated on November 16, 2020

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About Andrew Glantz

Andrew Glantz is the Founder and CEO of GiftAMeal, a mobile app that promotes restaurants while giving back to the community. Each time a user takes a photo on the GiftAMeal app, a meal is provided to someone in need locally. So far, over 200 restaurants have joined GiftAMeal and over 485,000 meals have been provided. In addition to GiftAMeal, Glantz serves on the Washington University in St. Louis Alumni Board of Governors and guest lectures at the university on the topics such as marketing, negotiations, and entrepreneurship. Prior to GiftAMeal, Glantz ran a non-profit storefront that promoted re-use and sustainability, and served as Vice President of a children’s charity that raised over $300,000 during his four year tenure. Glantz graduated Magna Cum Laude from Washington University in St. Louis in 2017, where he received the Joseph W. Towle prize for top leadership potential and was voted Most Likely to be a Billionaire by his peers. Glantz was named to the Alpha Kappa Psi 40 Under 40 List as well as the St. Louis Business Journal’s 30 Under 30 List, where he was the youngest person on the list.

About GiftAMeal

GiftAMeal is a mobile app that helps provide a meal to someone in need each time a user takes a photo at a partner restaurant. Restaurants pay a monthly subscription to be listed on the app as a mix of marketing and giving back, and then we make donations to local food banks each time a photo is taken. I started the company while in college as a way to support restaurants and my community. I put my savings into it, hired an app developer, went door-to-door, asked a ton of people for advice, and continually learned and iterated!

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How Did You Get Your First Several Customers Or Users? How Many Users Or Customers Do You Have Now?

I went door-to-door to get our first restaurants on the app and did a ton of low-cost guerilla marketing strategies to get our first app users. We now have over 35,000 app users and over 200 partner restaurants.

How Does Your Company Grow And Acquire New Customers?

We acquire new restaurants through a mix of warm introductions, calls, door-to-door, Instagram messaging, Facebook messaging, inbound through our website, and referrals from our current client restaurants. We acquire new users through media publicity, social media, and in-restaurant promotional materials like table-tents, window decals, floor decals, and coasters.

What Actionable Tips And Tricks Do You Have For New Founders Who Are Looking To Get Their First Thousand Users Or Dollars?

It’s a numbers game. Get out there and ask for advice from potential customers. Genuinely listen to their insights so you can iterate your offering. And by giving you their advice, they may buy into your concept as you develop a relationship with them and they may be your first customers too. Just get out there and ask for help (not money) to as many potential customers as possible to get some initial ones on-board. And then ask for testimonials and referrals.

What Is Something You’ve Learned That Would Not Be Obvious To Somebody Who Hasn’t Worked In Your Space Before?

The restaurant industry is tough! And, restaurant owners are incredibly busy, so you need to be super conscious of their time and learn to be efficient if you get 15 minutes with them.