"Gastronomy is an ossified industry". The 21-year-old Ukrainian started a startup because he could not get along in the restaurant

In the dynamically changing world, the catering industry remains one of the most conservative business areas. The young Ukrainian Volodymyr Turchak said that it was definitely the best place to make a small revolution. And he decided to open the heads of restaurant managers for the 21st century.

The initial idea was very simple. One day Volodymyr and his friends went to one of the Polish restaurants. As in our country the whole group was relatively recent, the language barrier immediately appeared. The Ukrainian thought - after all, it can be easily solved. All you need to do is put QR codes on the tables, which after scanning will display on the smartphones menu in different languages ​​of the world. And we have a problem waving hands in front of the waiter from the head.

Gastronomy is an ossified industry. Technological innovations are entering it very slowly. So I decided that this is the best place for introducing innovative solutions - an entrepreneur explains in an interview with Spider's Web.

But that's not the story. After all, business would not be a business if the idea, quite reasonable at first glance, just burned out. It soon turned out that the implementation of this solution is not an option. It turned out to be problematic to teach the managers themselves, let alone the waiters. This occupation has long been no longer a profession that attracts people who have been involved with it all their career. Today, it has become the domain of students.

This has many consequences. The requirement to conduct training among staff in conditions in which the service can change every few months, makes the manager more westerner than it benefits.

It was necessary to change the strategy.

So Turchak quickly turned over the stern. The industry has remained the same, but now the entrepreneur is developing a reservation system in Krakow that links restaurateurs with clients using social media . So nowadays - almost everyone. The idea itself seems not too revealing at first. If you want to reserve a place in a restaurant, all you need to do is go to Facebook or a website and find a phone number.

But myREST goes much further. Turchak has created a comprehensive system that integrates various channels to reach the customer. Collects reservations made on the restaurant, Facebook, Instagram and Google + websites . Then, with a few clicks, he pats the table for a specific hour.

There is nothing to hide that the next generations have more and more resistance to communicating with people. Making a phone becomes unnecessary discomfort. Therefore, the reservation is made without any contact with the service. The manager gets a request to reserve a table, checks its availability and sends a confirmation SMS via myREST - says Turchak

What happens next? 24 hours before "0 o'clock" the customer gets a reminder, also via SMS. A day later, after the visit, a request for the assessment of the trip on Trip Advisor falls into his e-mail account.

It may seem trivial from the outside, but restaurants are fighting there for every 0.5 point. If the client gets mad, the chances of leaving the opinion are very high. In the case of positive impressions, the stimulus is definitely smaller. And there is a need to remind the client that he has spent a nice time - emphasizes the co-founder of myREST.

The entrepreneur shares one more reflection. - Many Polish restaurants already run profiles on Instagram, but often they mainly serve to build relationships with the client. In the meantime, all you have to do is place a link to the reservation within the range of the cursor, so that the positive emotions can be turned into a busy table at once - he argues.

The development of Turchak's startup, however, encountered one fundamental problem.

There is not a single company in Poland that would offer a comparable product. It may seem like a blessing, in fact it often draws a beginner company to the bottom. In the case of myREST, everything breaks down with the issue of the restaurateurs' awareness. Is such a system necessary at all?

The 21-year-old decided to convince them in his own way. A bit cheeky, but as you will see, quite effective. Turchak (at the age of 19) simply entered the next restaurant and asked about the opportunity to meet with the manager.

You can imagine the reaction of service. Most of them immediately floated. Often, however, I found out what the manager's name is. After some time I came back as if nothing had happened and I had already asked about a particular person. I said that I am a representative of the corporation and I have an offer for them. I was lecturing on the table only when I was left alone with a decision-maker - he laughs.

To make himself credible in the eyes of the interlocutors, Turchak prepared a handful of specialist terms.

The restaurateurs were convincing. In 12 months, through direct visits and affiliate marketing, the Ukrainian acquired a total of over 90 clients, of which one-third of them already use the paid version of his system. And that means a steady cash flow, because myREST is based on the subscription model. The offer includes a free package with a booking limit of 10 per month, for paid versions you have to pay from 149 to 499 PLN.

Who uses them? Turchak explains that at the beginning he divided restaurants into four segments. The first are premises with an average bill of 35 zlotys and a number of places above 30. Such are not usually interested - it is the most conservative group of all. The talks are not going well with the last group of restaurants, where prices are below PLN 35, and the number of seats is below 30. Here, the lack of funds turns out to be a hindrance.

Target groups are in the middle - the ratio of prices to the number of tables means that there is a lot of traffic in them, and the turnover makes the expense of several hundred zlotys a month does not burden their budget - says Turchak.

It's easy to count that the money coming from the subscription itself is definitely not enough to think about any expansion. Turchak says that he decided (along with three partners) to develop the product with his own strength, because he has not yet found a common language with business angels.

Now, after strengthening its position in the startup environment, the co-founder of myREST decided to start financing. The goal is ambitious - creating a market for a new service is a challenge for big corporations. On the other hand - Turchak has already shown that he can do wonders with determination.

"Gastronomy is an ossified industry". The 21-year-old Ukrainian started a startup because he could not get along in the restaurant