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

Hi Demetrie, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

Within the vending industry our main focus is customer service. Every vendor strives to keep their customers happy. Not only do I strive to get customers their favorite products but this technology is set up for them to win cash too! Our largest cash prize of $50 was given to a student at SMU college (who I am sponsored by). He was so excited to receive the cash. Seeing his reaction to winning some extra money while providing contactless feedback to the vendor, is why I created my app.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Vending Mychine is a mobile application geared towards consumers to provide contactless feedback on product selections in their vending machine or micro market to vendors. This win/win situation takes some of the risk out of the vending industry.

My story began with a usual trip to the snack machine on a work day. The vendor placed hot Cheetos in the machine for the first time, and I was elated to see it. After purchasing the product, I walked back to by desk. While passing by cubicles I had coworkers ask where I purchased the snack. Since our building did not usually have them, they were very intrigued. I told them that the machine had just been stocked with them recently. Well, after work that day, I noticed the row of chips was empty. Immediately, I thought to myself, “Why don’t we just tell the vendor what we like collectively”.
This would eliminate a lot of wasted products, increase vendors revenue, and help with customer service.

I started mapping out my technology and how it would help the vending industry. With a lot of feedback from both the vending community and its customers, I have built a way for consumers to connect to their vendors.

At this time, we are sponsored by SMU Business School, our largest client is one of the biggest vending influencers on Instagram with 350k+ followers, and we have been recognized by Daymond John from Shark Tank.

How did you build your audience on social media?

All of my social media following has grown organically. I would advise anyone looking to grow their social media to do the same. Yes, you can pay to do sponsored ads but you have to make sure to keep those followers. Provide informative content on your page and don’t stray away from your purpose. Understand your industry by joining groups and searching through the questions in those groups. You will find answers to many questions that arise in that field. This will help you gain knowledge without feeling the pressure of asking for help in a open setting.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Yes, I have read all of Daymond John’s books to help me through my journey. He is a great person to follow and his insight into business is unmatched. I hope to be just as successful as him, that way I can mentor others just the same. Also, recently I have read “Think and Grow Rich”, “Atomic Habits”, “Trust and Inspire”, and “The 7 habits of Highly Effective People”. I would highly recommend these books for anyone taking the entrepreneurial journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vendingmychine.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/vendingmychine
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/vendingmychine
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/vendingmychine