8 ms·

Munch On Me (YC S11) Helps You Discover Tasty Dishes

104 points by jwang815 15y ago

thomasilk 15y ago
When Startups pick a name, they should think about 5 years from now not about if it sounds cool at the moment or is provocative. A controversial name can help you in the beginning, but it can kill you branding in the longterm. (Exception: For some brands a controversial name can work, but then the whole brand has to go along) If you pick a name like this one, you have to have the balls to build a brand and company that is controversial and provocative in every little detail.
spicyj 15y ago
The title of this post would probably make more sense as "Munch On Me (YC S11) Helps You Discover Tasty Dishes With Daily Deals".
- jwang815 15y ago
  Good one - changed.
fletchowns 15y ago
On the flip side, restaurants that are tired of the daily deal model may find Munch on Me to be a more enticing option. This is because Munch on Me’s core userbase consists of foodies, rather than bargain hunters. These are the type of people who are more likely to become repeat customers. Why would the userbase consist of foodies and not bargain hunters? If anything, won't it consist of bargain hunting foodies?
- te_chris 15y ago
  I know it's only mashable, but how many times does it have to be repeated: publishing a slightly edited press release != journalism
- guildchatter 15y ago
  Is it bad if we're both? =]
  - jwang815 15y ago
    A survey of our merchants have shown that ~75% of people who come in buy another dish. We spoke to our users and many are repeat users of Munch On Me (daily and weekly).
- vaksel 15y ago
  I'd take it a bit further, and say that foodies are much more likely to constantly look for new things
outside1234 15y ago
seriously, they named it "munch on me"? nothing double meaning came to mind when they were thinking about that name?
- ary 15y ago
  That was my first thought too. We're mostly adults here, but the name is seriously terrible. Please, please change it.
  - jonursenbach 15y ago
    Must be flying over my head; what's so awful about it?
    - nicksergeant 15y ago
      I believe they're referring to http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=carpet+munching http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=carpet+munchi...
      - jonursenbach 15y ago
        That's what I figured. Do not get that in my head at all when I think of "munch on me".
        nicksergeant 15y ago
        I didn't really think of it either until it was hinted at, to be honest.
        jwilliams 15y ago
        Likely a cultural thing. I imagine it would have stronger connotations in British/Australian context.
    - loschorts 15y ago
rorrr 15y ago
Ideas: 1) Add ratings for each dish, will help me decide what to buy. 2) It actually looks like each of the items on your side is not a dish, but a deal. So if the same dish is on sale in a week, it will be a separate item, correct? If that's the case, I would change it. 3) Add names for dishes on the left hand side. Right now the only way to find out what I'm looking at is to click on it, which loads a new page. 4) Add a filter (right hand side) by type - vegetarian, dessert, etc.
- hydrazine 15y ago
  Duly noted. We're hackin' hard over here!
revertts 15y ago
This is pretty awesome. Food's the main reason I follow Groupon et al.
Hisoka 15y ago
Are there deals for NYC yet?
- hydrazine 15y ago
  Not yet, but if you go to the NYC page you can sign up for an email update for when we do arrive. Thanks!
ethank 15y ago
Fukime, Leaky and now "Munch On Me"? Seriously? Is there a way to have a "ask your mom/dad/sister/girlfriend/wife what they think of your name" class before domains are registered? Branding matters.
- dadads 15y ago
  Now that you've mentioned this fact, I'm more interested in trying out these services.
  - ethank 15y ago
    Kind of how I remember the name Shwowp for how horrible it is, but have to Google "tara hunts startup" to find Buyosphere.
  - BasDirks 15y ago
    And you are not my parents or grandparents.
- NARKOZ 15y ago
  well yes, fukime wasn't so good edit: I'm affliated with Fukime
  - palish 15y ago
    I thought Fukime was great!
- bfe 15y ago
  A name with a hint of the controversial or scandalous can be more memorable and therefore be helpful. Any emotional reaction in a potential customer, whether mirth or indignation, is a lot more valuable to a startup than obscurity.
Tichy 15y ago
Techcrunch didn't want it?
- jwang815 15y ago
  We were on TC previously: http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/27/munch-on-me-is-a-groupon-for-food-done-right/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/27/munch-on-me-is-a-groupon-fo...
johnx123-up 15y ago
http://builtwith.com/munchonme.com http://builtwith.com/munchonme.com Can you elaborate why did you choose nginx + Varnish?

104 points by jwang815 15y ago

When Startups pick a name, they should think about 5 years from now not about if it sounds cool at the moment or is provocative. A controversial name can help you in the beginning, but it can kill you branding in the longterm. (Exception: For some brands a controversial name can work, but then the whole brand has to go along) If you pick a name like this one, you have to have the balls to build a brand and company that is controversial and provocative in every little detail.

spicyj 15y ago

The title of this post would probably make more sense as "Munch On Me (YC S11) Helps You Discover Tasty Dishes With Daily Deals".

jwang815 15y ago
Good one - changed.

fletchowns 15y ago

On the flip side, restaurants that are tired of the daily deal model may find Munch on Me to be a more enticing option. This is because Munch on Me’s core userbase consists of foodies, rather than bargain hunters. These are the type of people who are more likely to become repeat customers. Why would the userbase consist of foodies and not bargain hunters? If anything, won't it consist of bargain hunting foodies?

te_chris 15y ago
I know it's only mashable, but how many times does it have to be repeated: publishing a slightly edited press release != journalism
guildchatter 15y ago
Is it bad if we're both? =]
- jwang815 15y ago
  A survey of our merchants have shown that ~75% of people who come in buy another dish. We spoke to our users and many are repeat users of Munch On Me (daily and weekly).
vaksel 15y ago
I'd take it a bit further, and say that foodies are much more likely to constantly look for new things

outside1234 15y ago

seriously, they named it "munch on me"? nothing double meaning came to mind when they were thinking about that name?

ary 15y ago
That was my first thought too. We're mostly adults here, but the name is seriously terrible. Please, please change it.
- jonursenbach 15y ago
  Must be flying over my head; what's so awful about it?
  - nicksergeant 15y ago
    I believe they're referring to http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=carpet+munching http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=carpet+munchi...
    - jonursenbach 15y ago
      That's what I figured. Do not get that in my head at all when I think of "munch on me".
      - nicksergeant 15y ago
        I didn't really think of it either until it was hinted at, to be honest.
        jwilliams 15y ago
        Likely a cultural thing. I imagine it would have stronger connotations in British/Australian context.
  - loschorts 15y ago

rorrr 15y ago

Ideas: 1) Add ratings for each dish, will help me decide what to buy. 2) It actually looks like each of the items on your side is not a dish, but a deal. So if the same dish is on sale in a week, it will be a separate item, correct? If that's the case, I would change it. 3) Add names for dishes on the left hand side. Right now the only way to find out what I'm looking at is to click on it, which loads a new page. 4) Add a filter (right hand side) by type - vegetarian, dessert, etc.

hydrazine 15y ago
Duly noted. We're hackin' hard over here!

revertts 15y ago

This is pretty awesome. Food's the main reason I follow Groupon et al.

Hisoka 15y ago

Are there deals for NYC yet?

hydrazine 15y ago
Not yet, but if you go to the NYC page you can sign up for an email update for when we do arrive. Thanks!

ethank 15y ago

Fukime, Leaky and now "Munch On Me"? Seriously? Is there a way to have a "ask your mom/dad/sister/girlfriend/wife what they think of your name" class before domains are registered? Branding matters.

dadads 15y ago
Now that you've mentioned this fact, I'm more interested in trying out these services.
- ethank 15y ago
  Kind of how I remember the name Shwowp for how horrible it is, but have to Google "tara hunts startup" to find Buyosphere.
- BasDirks 15y ago
  And you are not my parents or grandparents.
NARKOZ 15y ago
well yes, fukime wasn't so good edit: I'm affliated with Fukime
- palish 15y ago
  I thought Fukime was great!
bfe 15y ago
A name with a hint of the controversial or scandalous can be more memorable and therefore be helpful. Any emotional reaction in a potential customer, whether mirth or indignation, is a lot more valuable to a startup than obscurity.

Tichy 15y ago

Techcrunch didn't want it?

jwang815 15y ago
We were on TC previously: http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/27/munch-on-me-is-a-groupon-for-food-done-right/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/27/munch-on-me-is-a-groupon-fo...

johnx123-up 15y ago

http://builtwith.com/munchonme.com http://builtwith.com/munchonme.com Can you elaborate why did you choose nginx + Varnish?