How to help restaurants reduce food waste by selling surplus through the Foodobox mobile app
Plus my trip to Ferma De Sub Penteleu
Hello from your friend in Bucharest, Romania.
In this issue: my trip to Ferma De Sub Penteleu, Foodobox founder Jane Dimitrova, public speaking tips, and more!
Ferma De Sub Penteleu
For my daughter’s three-year old birthday, me and the family went to this lovely ‘luxury farm’ in the Buzau mountains called Ferma de sub Pentelua. It’s roughly a 3-hour drive from Bucharest. There’s no wifi or internet available, so I had a chance to unplug, herd some goats, catch some fresh air, and spend time with family and friends. Some people I know go there every year and spend a week or more! That’s much too long for me, but for a weekend, I highly recommend it.
Innovators Can Laugh
What do you do when you have a surplus of food? Do you just throw it out or is there a sustainable solution? Well in this latest episode, I chat with Jane Dimitrova, a fascinating entrepreneur from Bulgaria who is helping tackle that problem by developing the first mobile app in Bulgaria to tackle food waste - Foodobox. Jane has a fascinating background having worked in Italy and Argentina, and also interned at P&G. According to her, people in Bulgaria are often quite skeptical about innovations and major changes. Hear how she’s confronting these obstacles and trying to get her startup off the ground. Listen to the conversation here.
Highlights:
- 1:14 – where did you grow up and how has that shaped your view of the world?
- 3:26 – what was your early career path like?
- 5:10 – is Buenos Aires like the Paris of South America
- 6:10 – how were you robbed?
- 7:27 – what were some responsibilities you had at Food to Go?
- 9:50 – when did you have an aha moment that you can launch a company in Bulgaria?
- 11:52 – what do customer like about Foodobox when they discover it?
- 13:00 – does the customer have an idea of what they’re receiving?
- 13:55 – who was the first investor in Foodobox and what was that experience like?
- 15:15 – has it been hard to grow a ‘sustainability like’ business in Bulgaria?
- 16:31 – what trends are you seeing in the food industry that will continue to gain traction?
- 17:35 – what’s next for you personally?
- 18:35 – is there a book or podcast that has impacted the way you run your business?
Some cool stuff
🗺️ Visualize the human population in 3D over time.
🎤 11 Public Speaking Tips to Nail Your Presentation
🎓 The best commencement speeches from the likes of Barack Obama, Tim Cook, and more.
🍿 This movie was much better than expected - Loving Adults (Netflix)
The End
I had a great week as I got to take the kids to beautiful IOR park (first time there, hidden treasure in Bucharest), develop a good framework for how I talk about website personalization on podcasts, interview more fascinating Bulgarian startup founders, and celebrate my little girl’s birthday. I’m also co-hosting another Innovators in Bucharest event on Oct. 27th. If you’d like more info, email me and I’ll send you the details.
Let’s go kick some butt. Have a great weekend!
🤠 Eric Melchor