Dineable Profile

“We deliver catering packages to the guests of virtual events.”

“We believe that sharing meal[s] is the best way to foster connections between people.”

“Bootstrapped.”

“Five full-time team members and a few freelancers.”

“Not always but certainly from around college-age when it finally got through to me that I'd have to work for a living. My grandfather had his own business that was later acquired (chemical sales). My mom runs her own child psychology practice, and my dad, before he retired, was the primary partner in a law firm for many years. So, running things runs in my family I guess!”

“Dineable was a COVID pivot that evolved naturally during a conversation with a client from our prior business model. They said ‘we're doing virtual events now, pitch me some ideas.’ I said ‘let's send food to everyone.’ They said ‘Figure that out, and we'll pay you for it.’ Acting on it was pretty natural — last year anything was possible and people were willing to try new things. So, we sent ten emails, sold four pilots, and we're off to the races. Confidence came because people kept opening their wallets and providing positive feedback.”

“We had a long list of potential names (75 or so). Our old model was around dietary restrictions, so we wanted to have a brand personality that was welcoming and told someone ‘yes you can’ who often hears ‘no you can't eat that.’ Someone else came up with the idea of combining ‘Yay’ and ‘Table’ which became ‘Yable.’ I hated that name but went home and wrote down synonyms of ‘eat’ and ‘able’ together until I saw ‘dine’ and ‘able’ next to each other. Removed the space and here we are.”

“The absolute hardest thing in starting a company is finding a good balance of team members who work well together, respect each other, can work autonomously, understand the mission, and aren't afraid to push back when they think something is being done wrong. It took me about three years to figure out how to find the right mix, and I'm so grateful to have found the team I have today.”

“We reach all types of people as ‘guests,’ but the folks buying from us for the events that they are planning are corporate event planners, association managers, and department heads at corporations.”

“We have an omnichannel marketing strategy. Our branding is consistent and seamless across all platforms, and the brand voice that we use on each channel is customized to reach the specific audience that lives on that platform and what they are looking to get from that platform. 

Traditionally, event planners are used to a more cumbersome sales process. We have created a seamless experience on our website that makes a corporate event planner and meeting planner's role exponentially easier. 

We run loyalty campaigns via email and social media, and our growth strategy consists of reaching new leads through Google Display Ads, Google Search Ads, and drip campaigns.”

“SEO, Word of Mouth.”

“Marketing KPIs: ad impressions, clicks to website from all social media channels, ads, and email campaigns; what channels our website visitors came from; views of the funnel in Google Analytics 

Website KPIs: what CTAs people are clicking on the website, scroll maps, heatmaps, page views, number of sessions, what pages people are looking at and spending the most time on 

Business KPIs: revenue, number of won leads, number of lost leads, profit margin, [and] cost”

“‘The Mom Test’ by Rob Fitzpatrick”

“Being an effective salesperson isn't much different from being an effective therapist.”

“Focusing on what we do for our customers and their guests. Every event we operate means we've helped more people build connection and community through food.”

“Sell first, build last. Focus on progress, not winning.”

“Finding ways to keep the company growing, creating a cohesive team, [and] building a product/service that people love.”

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