Interview with John Li of Menuism
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“Menuism”:http://www.menuism.com is a community-based restaurant guide where you can “rate what you ate”. Users keep track of “where” and “what” they ate while getting daily recommendations from friends. Menuism aims to provide all info needed to pick a restaurant, from user reviews and food ratings to menus, photos and external reviews, and users can contribute any and all of the information.John is a co-founder of Menuism. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2001, he worked in Microsoft’s Windows Mobile group until early 2006, when he and business partner Justin Chen left their day jobs to work full-time on Menuism. |
What pushed you over the edge to quit your corporate job and focus on developing Menuism?
It wasn’t any single specific thing – I’d always wanted to try my hand at entrepreneurship and the timing seemed right. The experience at a large corporation like Microsoft definitely helped build the confidence to strike out on our own, and also provided the initial seed capital. The idea for Menuism came from a weekend brainstorming session after deciding that we wanted to start a business. It solves our needs and we hope it solves the needs of others as well.
What was the biggest “up” and what was the biggest “down” that you experienced during this whole process?
It’s been a mostly level experience so far, but there are definitely peaks and valleys. The biggest “down” was around mid-2006, when daily startup and development grind was taking its toll and the light at the end of the tunnel seemed most remote. In contrast, the biggest “up” was finally going live with Menuism in October. That coincided with the TechCocktail event in Chicago where we finally got to talk (and talk, and talk) about our idea with others.
What life experience most helped you prepare for the entrepreneur lifestyle?
Two things. First, I took a Software Engineering class at UC Berkeley that let us choose and execute our own projects, which got me hooked on the idea of entrepreneurship. Second, during college I worked at a startup that fit every negative stereotype of dot-bomb mismanagement, which turned out to be a great reality check.
Bonus: What’s your favorite thing on the menu at your favorite restaurant? What’s the worst thing you’ve ever been served at a restaurant?
There are too many of both to share specifics, but for February my favorite is pancakes – in honor of National Pancake Week we launched a “Food Fight” contest where anyone can help us find the best pancake in a number of cities and win prizes along the way. You can jump in “here”:http://www.menuism.com/foodfight.
Copyright © 2007 by Sonia Aggarwal