Blog - Collective Insider Series

Collective Insider Series: Divya Gugnani, Founder of Behind The Burner, Celebrates All Things Food

by Beth Schoenfeldt  |  9/12/09  |  12:52pm

Behind the BurnerBehind the Burner Founder Divya Gugnani was generous enough to answer questions from Collective-E and our members. We asked our members if they had any questions for Divya, just as we will be doing with other influential entrepreneurs for our Collective Insider Series.  This series seeks the most innovative ideas and creative strategies tested by other successful entrepreneurs and guaranteed to help your business now!  

Wendy Civale What prompted you to start Behind the Burner?
-Wendy M. Civale, Founder, Dolce Nonna

I’ve been a culinary enthusiast since I started baking chocolate chip cookies at age five. Through the years I honed my skills and pursued my hobby by cooking at home, attending culinary school and cooking professionally. My day job was always in finance (investment banking then venture capital) but my passion was for all things culinary. One day I came up with the idea to reach out to all the culinary experts that changed the way I thought about food and beverages. I decided to package their best tips, tricks and techniques in the form of short videos, articles and blogs. In addition to creating educational and entertaining content we also give people an opportunity to purchase the tools and ingredients the experts recommend.

The time was ripe for creating a culinary media brand focusing on both women AND men in their 20s, 30s and early 40s.

  • The Food Network reaches 100 million households in the US and 147 territories throughout all seven continents and consistently tops the Nielsen/ NetRatings Food and Cooking categories with an average of 8.6 million viewers per month
  • According to ComScore, food sites attracted 45.6 million unique visitors in September 2008, up 10% from 2007—more than double the rate of total Internet growth in the US.
  • June 2009 saw the largest online video viewership in a single month, according to ComScore. 81.2% of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video during the month, with the average online viewer watching nearly 7.6 hours
Cori Snyder Schuman When you started Behind the Burner, what was the thing/element/process that you were most excited about it? And at present, is that still the thing that gets you most excited, or is there something else, and if so, what?
-Cori Schuman, Founder Celebrity Chef!  The Game

I was initially most excited about learning tips, tricks and techniques from all-star talent. Funny enough, it’s still the highpoint of running Behind the Burner. I’ve enjoyed meeting chefs, restaurateurs, mixologists, sommeliers, and nutritionists across the country and learning bite size chunks of information that I use in my everyday life. My second favorite part of creating Behind the Burner has been building a strong team that I learn from and depend on.
Cori Snyder Schuman Did you need funding to start this, and if so, can you tell us how you found the funding?
-Cori Schuman, Founder Celebrity Chef!  The Game

I initially funded the business with my own capital. Once I refined the concept and started to build our online destination, I chose to raise an angel round. I reached out to a few personal and professional contacts who took a bet on me.
Wendy Civale What is the one thing about starting your business that you wished you would have known in advance (what did you find you wasted time/energy on)?
-Wendy M. Civale, Founder, Dolce Nonna
 
While I had invested in consumer facing Internet businesses as a venture capitalist I eventually realized I knew very little about designing and building a website. I wish I had done more research and diligence before I launched our site. The good news is that we continue to change and refine our online presence and experience for our visitors.
Beth Schoenfeldt You have a very wide distribution network, could you give specific advice on building content syndication deals?
-Beth Schoenfeldt, Co-Founder Collective-E

I firmly believe that building a strong distribution network is critical for any media/content related business. Our goal is to build the Behind the Burner brand and audience. The most effective way for us to do that is to syndicate our content widely. The best advice I can give to create a strategic map of all of the verticals and particular channels where you’d ideally want your content and then, just go for it and make it happen. Each site, print magazine, or TV network will have its own willingness to pay (or not pay) and levers for how they can share revenue. Adjust each deal in a manner where the end distribution site gets value and you do too. Revenue share deals are a great way to align incentives for both parties.
Wendy Civale It seems like every day there is a new food/chef related web site starting, why do you think the public is so receptive to businesses having to do with food/chefs, do you think there is a saturation point, and what do you do/think about to make sure Behind The Burner stays in the forefront?
-Wendy M. Civale, Founder, Dolce Nonna
 
The food vertical is very saturated with recipe sites and restaurant review sites as well. A vast majority of the food media content on the Internet is user generated. Behind the Burner provides expert advice from professionals who excel in their field.

While we have recipes and reviews, the focus of our brand is tips, tricks and techniques. Lastly, most food media content is catered to a particular demographic of the mom who has to put dinner on the table for her two kids. Behind the Burner is both a voyeuristic and practical experience for younger professionals who are just getting their feet wet in the culinary world.
Cori Snyder Schuman Do you see yourself still running the company in 5 years? And if not, have you thought about an exit strategy?
-Cori Schuman, Founder Celebrity Chef!  The Game
 
I hope I am still running the company in five years but time will tell! Right now, my time and energy is geared towards building our business and achieving progress not thinking about an exit.
Katie Hellmuth Martin Which strategy that you use is most effective for driving traffic?
-Katie Hellmuth Martin, Co-Founder Collective-E
 
Viral marketing has been incredible effective for us. We use a combination of social networking, social book marking and video sharing to drive traffic to our site.
  What is your greatest revenue source?
-Sabina Ptacin, Co-Founder Collective-E

Right now it’s a combination of sponsorships and product placements for our advertorial content.
Stefany Di Manno Which cooking shows are you addicted to?
-Stefany Di Manno, Founder Di Manno Designs
 
I’ve really enjoyed watching my friends compete in TOP CHEF, TOP CHEF MASTERS and IRON CHEF.
I used to watch Naked Chef (Jamie Oliver) on Food Network religiously, years ago.
Cori Snyder Schuman How do you approach chefs or mixologists you want to add to Behind the Burner?
-Cori Schuman, Founder Celebrity Chef!  The Game

This business is about a lot of personal connections. We’ve gotten some of our best talent through referrals. For the most part, we’ve been adding experts based on inbound inquiries.  We add experts based on talent, popularity of their cuisine or beverages, and respect in their field.
What characteristics or subject matter have you found makes a particularly successful (i.e., highly clicked on, shared, etc.) video?
-Lauren Purcell, Author Purcell Sisters: Cocktail Parties Straight Up

We've found a mix of both educational and entertaining content with a touch of celebrity guest appeal helps drives video viewership. We also like to show our tips, tricks, and techniques on screen so people can follow along.
Katie Hellmuth Martin Have you found ways to mix strategies to increase traffic from your videos and your content (like recipes)?  
-Katie Hellmuth Martin, Co-Founder Collective-E

If you visit Behind the Burner and click on the video tab, we hope to give you an entirely integrated experience. You can watch a video, read the tips, tricks and techniques, click on an expert Q&A, view the photos from the video shoot, download a PDF of the recipe featured and also purchase tools and ingredients related to the video.
Katie Hellmuth Martin How long does it take you to produce one video? What are the steps you go through?  
-Katie Hellmuth Martin, Co-Founder Collective-E

We can produce an entire video segment in two days but we usually do it over the course of a few weeks.

   1. We select an expert, topic, recipe (if we need one), commerce opportunity (if applicable), product placement/sponsorship (if applicable)
   2. We shoot out clips on location (restaurants, lounges, bars, etc.)
   3. Our video edit team distills the most important tips, tricks and techniques into a 3-5 minute reel
   4. Our content edit team reviews the reels and submits a few rounds of comments
   5. The segment gets finalized and waits in our queue till it is aired
  What is your favorite recipe on the site?
Panseared trout over roasted market vegetables, by Chef Leah Cohen.
  What is your favorite restaurant in NYC?
Can’t answer- will piss off my chefs!

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Collective Insider Series: Zappos just sold to Amazon for $840 Million, our exclusive Q&A with CEO Tony Hsieh

by Katie Hellmuth Martin  |  7/22/09  |  6:04pm

Zappos acquired by AmazonZappos CEO Tony Hsieh was generous enough to answer questions from Collective-E and our members. We asked our members if they had any questions for Tony, just as we will be doing with other influential entrepreneurs for our Collective Insider Series.  This series seeks the most innovative ideas and creative strategies tested by other successful entrepreneurs and guaranteed to help your business now!   Congratulations to Tony and to Zappos for the acquisition by Amazon,  his answers shed light on how Zappos became an target and how despite their massive growth they stayed true to their brand and superior customer service.

If you had to explain to our members why you believe Zappos.com has been so successful, what key reasons would you attribute it to?
  I think it's because of our focus customer service and company culture. Our whole belief is that if we get the culture right, then most of the other stuff, like delivering great customer service or building a long term enduring brand, will happen naturally on its own.

We've grown from almost no sales in 1999 to over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales in 2008. The #1 driver of that growth has been through repeat customers and word of mouth. On any given day, about 75% of our orders are from repeat customers. Our philosophy is to take most of the money we would have spent on paid advertising/marketing and put that into the customer experience instead, including things like free shipping both ways, our 365-day return policy, and staffing our call center 24/7.
Sabina Ptacin How have you created such a powerful and positive customer service force in Zappos?  Even scheduling this interview, the level of positive and quick feedback was notable enough to talk about after we hung up the phone. How do you keep that spirit alive and thriving?
- Sabina Ptacin
  It's a combination of making sure that everyone understands our vision of having the Zappos brand be synonymous with the very best customer service as well as making sure that we hire people that are a fit for our company culture. Our culture is defined by our 10 core values:

 1) Deliver WOW Through Service
 2) Embrace and Drive Change
 3) Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
 4) Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
 5) Pursue Growth and Learning
 6) Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
 7) Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
 8) Do More With Less
 9) Be Passionate and Determined
10) Be Humble

You can learn more about our core values here: http://about.zappos.com/our-unique-culture/zappos-core-values
Margot Tohn Entrepreneurs seem to be very good at starting and developing projects. I've found one of the most challenging things for me is to figure out and then decide what to stop doing, whether it's because the market is changing, it's not profitable, or I'm just not good at something.  Can you give an example of something you stopped doing and include how you made the decision, how long it took you to make, and the outcome? 
- Margot Tohn
  We are always open to experimenting with ideas we get from customers and employees. For example, we had some customers that suggested that we try selling dog collars, and others that suggested that we try selling sunglasses. Neither of those categories have very much to do with shoes, but we decided to experiment with both.

As it turns out, the dog collars did not sell very well, but the sunglasses did. So we decided to stop selling dog collars and invest more heavily in sunglasses. Today, we have one of the best selections of sunglasses available anywhere, online or offline, and they continue to sell well for us.
How do you feel businesses of all sizes should respond to the recession in order to thrive?
  I think the true test of a company's character (or even a person's character) is how they behave when times are tough. For us, we've continued to focus on providing the very best customer service and developing our company culture. My advice to businesses of all sizes is to figure out what you want to stand for (ie, what your core values are) and continue to make decisions based on that.
How important are social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to Zappos.com?
  Our primary focus has been on Twitter. We have over 400 employees on Twitter, and you can view their tweets at: http://twitter.zappos.com/employee_tweets

As you can see, most of the tweets are not about business or marketing, but it's a great way for us to connect on a more personal level with both employees and customers. It gives people a glimpse into our company culture, which is ultimately what our brand is all about.
Katie Hellmuth How often do your Tweets turn into actual sales?  Do you measure that in some way?
- Katie Hellmuth Martin
  We don't measure that because we don't think of Twitter as a direct marketing channel. Twitter allows us to be more personal with our customers and build relationships with them over time.
What is your favorite thing about entrepreneurship?
  I enjoy that there are always new challenges and that you have to be creative in figuring out how to attack those challenges.
What is the biggest challenge you face as an entrepreneur?
  I think the biggest challenge is that there are so many great ideas but not enough time or resources to do all of them. The hardest part about being an entrepreneur is figuring out what not to do.
Beth Schoenfeldt Looking beyond Twitter and Facebook, are there any other forms of new media or social networking you're following?
- Beth Schoenfeldt
  Aside from YouTube, not really.
Katie Danziger What was the most effective thing you did to maximize web awareness?
- Katie Danziger
  Most of our awareness online or offline has been generated by word of mouth. We really just focus on WOWing our customers, and let our customers do the marketing for us.

Do you have any consistent best-sellers at Zappos.com?
  It really varies by season, but in Q4 our top-selling brand has been Uggs: http://www.zappos.com/Uggs
Uggs at Zappos

These boots are made for...getting your entrepreneurial groove on. Here is his letter to Zappos employees with more Q&A about the Amazon acquisition. Thanks Tony! 

Collective-E members are finding success selling on Amazon, find out more

Want to ask CEOs and others your burning questions? Join Collective-E for the member-only opportunity.

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