We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Anisha Holla. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Anisha below.

Hi Anisha, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Foodify is a first-of-its-kind matchmaking platform for small restaurants and local food influencers in their city.

As a Dallas food influencer myself, I personally witnessed the impact social media can have on these small restaurants. One of my most rewarding moments was getting a call on the phone from the owner of a local pie shop in tears, because my video about her pie shop went viral and completely sold her pies out. And in 30 years of being open, they had never been sold out before.

It’s times like those that made me realize the power of social media to literally change the lives of restaurant owners. Restaurants need visibility, and one of the most effective ways to get it in today’s age is social media. After seeing the impact my page was having on local businesses, I really wanted to build a platform where restaurants–even without knowing anything about social media–could get connected with influencers in their city, who could bring them the attention they deserve.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

We’ve built the first-ever matchmaking platform for small, local restaurants and food influencers in their city. We’ve automated the entire process of finding influencers for these small restaurants–from getting matched to the right influencer, to scheduling the influencer, all the way to paying the influencer for their services. It’s a hands-off way for restaurants to enjoy the amazing impacts of influencers, without having to know the first thing about social media.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I was actually a pre-med student in college. But it’s one of my mentors at work that gave me some life-changing advice. She told me one time to “find something that wakes you up without an alarm clock.” And so I searched for a long time about what made me happy–what got me out of bed every morning. I would say I had sort of a mid-life crisis in my third year of college, where I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life. But starting my own food influencer account, being a food writer for the Dallas Observer, and getting to meet all these amazing restaurant owners around Dallas was what showed me…that was what woke me up without an alarm clock. Getting to help these small local restaurants bring traffic through their doors. And that’s what drove me to start Foodify.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

As entrepreneurs, I feel like we’re taught–programmed almost–to act like we always know what we’re doing, like we have it all under control. We’re always selling ourselves…to investors, to mentors, to customers, But the last few months, they’ve taught me that it’s nearly impossible to know everything. It’s never a sign of weakness to admit something you don’t know, and to actively seek out the answer. People are always willing to help. Asking questions…it’s not a sign of weakness, It’s truly a strength.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://foodifyapp.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodify_us
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/foodify-app/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@foodify_us