The Mavs Enterprise Help program launched at the beginning of the 2022-23 basketball season to help 100 various entrepreneurs and small enterprise homeowners who name North Texas residence.
The Dallas Mavericks have partnered with The Lonely Entrepreneur to empower these in this system with entry to the data, instruments, and help they should succeed as a part of the Mavs Enterprise Help (MBA) program.
We consider within the energy of storytelling, and it’s our honor to showcase varied MBA members all year long to focus on their extraordinary accomplishments.
Each entrepreneur has a narrative to inform. That is very true for minority and women-owned companies, who typically have to leap by way of much more hurdles to see their companies succeed. The Dallas Mavs are excited to amplify the voices of varied minority entrepreneurs within the inaugural class of the Mavs Enterprise Help program.
MERCEDES JOHNSON
Founder and CEO of Meals Magnet
ABOUT FOOD MAGNET:
Meals Magnet was based in Dallas, Texas, to assist meals truck homeowners discover new enterprise and clients. The pandemic shut down many of the occasions that meals vans participated in and made discovering enterprise troublesome. Meals Magnet connects vans to native neighborhoods, workplaces and extra who want a meals truck for an upcoming occasion. Meals Magnet additionally helps foodies find, comply with, and obtain promotions from their favourite vans contained in the cellular app.
BACKGROUND:
Mercedes Johnson is a graduate scholar on the Jindal Faculty of Administration on the College of Texas at Dallas, and he or she’s working in direction of her MBA centered on entrepreneurship and innovation.
By day, she’s a principal UX (person expertise) designer at Capital One, and by night time (and weekends and some other time), she’s the founder and CEO of Meals Magnet app.
Meals Magnet is a multi-sided market cellular software that helps meals vans e book occasions, handle permits, market to clients and extra. Meals Magnet empowers meals lovers to search out, e book and work together with their favourite meals vans.
Johnson obtained the 2021 Texas Enterprise Corridor of Fame award and was a finalist within the 2021 Massive Thought Competitors. She holds two bachelor’s levels and initially deliberate to be a information reporter. Nonetheless, she quickly acknowledged that she naturally gravitated in direction of enterprise endeavors, and her distinctive designer skillset fast-tracked her on the street to success. Johnson deliberate to climb the company ladder.
Then in the future, her future got here calling.
Johnson joined the CometX program – a turbocharged innovation program that places scholar entrepreneurs on a quick monitor to success. The scholars are incubated in an atmosphere that prepares them to launch a brand new enterprise idea. Johnson thought she’d get to construct out a enterprise in this system. As an alternative, they needed her concept inside every week.
A short while later, Meals Magnet was born.
Once I sat down with Johnson on the first Mavs Enterprise Help cohort, her infectious spirit and constructive perspective was obvious. I used to be bought simply listening to her imaginative and prescient and keenness. Nonetheless, as she later shared, the ups and downs of beginning a enterprise, going to highschool and dealing full-time could make one weary. That’s why the help of the Dallas Mavericks and Mavs Enterprise Help is necessary for Johnson and different entrepreneurs.
The native of California stated Meals Magnet got here from researching the issues food-truck companies face. She began by cold-calling meals truck homeowners within the space. She needed to find out about their firms.
Quickly Johnson realized there was a a lot larger want readily available. Lots of the meals truck enterprise homeowners she talked with have been immigrants who struggled with the again finish of promoting and enterprise. The pandemic additionally highlighted a obtrusive want within the meals truck trade. Whereas eating places relied on meals supply apps, meals vans struggled to alert their shoppers the place to search out them and when.
As a designer, Johnson set to work on the technical resolution. Straight away she knew this might work, she simply wanted the funds, help and a marketing strategy to launch the enterprise full steam forward.
Meals Magnet is correct on the cusp of coming into the general public market at the beginning of 2023.
“Once I began my MBA, that’s once I fell upon entrepreneurship,” Johnson stated. “After exploring this system, I used to be like, ‘holy cow, this is similar factor I’m already doing each day.’ So I assumed, ‘okay, let’s do that,’ and the remainder is historical past.”
Johnson works full-time, goes to highschool, teaches workshops, and finds time to hitch cohorts just like the Dallas Mavericks. There’s little time to do the rest, however she understands that’s the character of the enterprise. She’s assured lives will likely be impacted by way of Meals Magnet and he or she’s pushed by the will to assist others.
Mavs.com sat down with Johnson to study extra about her extraordinary story.
Mavs.com: Hello Mercedes! First, I’m not going to faux like I find out about your trade. I needed to Google what UX means, so I already really feel that a lot smarter. What else are you able to inform us about Meals Magnet?
Johnson: We’re on the point of go to market in January publicly. Meals Magnet is a double-sided market similar to Uber. The place there’s the rider facet and driver facet. What we do is similar idea, however with meals vans. So, you may seek out your favourite meals truck, you may e book them for particular occasions and discover low cost offers once they have lunch specials. That will likely be out there on the buyer facet.
On the meals truck facet, we’re going to be extra of an end-to-end enterprise resolution, serving to them run their enterprise. Many truck homeowners and drivers are immigrants; typically, English shouldn’t be their first language. Lots of them didn’t develop up with a powerful enterprise background. In order that’s the place I’m capable of are available and leverage my background in enterprise and apply it within the software to assist them monitor all of the important metrics they should know. We’re going to make it tremendous simple. We’ll assist them with advertising, allowing, staffing and supply occasions on their behalf. It’s our purpose to assist them scale their enterprise by placing all of the sources at their fingertips in a single spot. I actually consider we’ll have the ability to change lives.”
Mavs.com: What challenges do you face as a Black lady in enterprise or as a minority entrepreneur?
Johnson: Generally it’s exhausting for me to work with traders as a result of they anticipate the founder to be full-time on the startup, however I need to maintain my very own residing. I’ve met some entrepreneurs that may leverage their households or lean on companions to assist them. In my case, it’s simply me.
The problem I face is how I can maintain a residing and preserve a roof over my head whereas additionally following my dream. I’ve needed to get inventive and discover different methods to get these funds. Fortunately, I’m a powerful public speaker and have been capable of win a number of pitch competitions. However these networking occasions are extraordinarily necessary to me and different minorities as a result of that’s how I’m capable of meet others who would possibly have the ability to assist me. In spite of everything, they’re dealing with the identical challenges.
That is additionally how I’m capable of share extra about my firm. I can let others know I’m coming and put a face to the identify. So, as soon as they see the corporate subsequent yr, they will join a face to the identify. This program is important as a result of everybody on this room has related mindsets and challenges.
I’m wanting ahead to studying about everybody’s enterprise and sharing our help of each other. One-on-one networking and having the chance to fulfill one another is essential. These occasions should not solely necessary to escalate my enterprise, however they assist us all to navigate by way of this entrepreneurial journey with different minority enterprise homeowners.
Mavs.com: What are some issues we regularly miss on the enterprise or company facet? What do you want others knew?
Johnson: I want individuals knew extra about what the entrepreneur’s life is admittedly like. Firms and organizations typically concentrate on the enterprise facet, which I do know is necessary. It’s important to have a powerful group behind you, positive.
However I believe it’s extra fascinating to know what a founder does once they don’t have a powerful group. How do they handle the workload, and the way do they execute regardless of not having the sources? The human-interest issue is missing as a result of startups are complicated, however you may’t examine grit on paper. You solely know what an entrepreneur is able to after listening to their story. For my part, the story of an entrepreneur is necessary, and so they often by no means get the chance to share it. I’ve carried the entire firm on my again and typically was alone, however I’m decided to persevere.
What’s fascinating is that I’ve really met Mark Cuban! I met Mark a yr in the past and am now at an occasion by way of his group. I imply, what are the percentages? I even found we’ve got a couple of mutual connections as properly. Dallas isn’t as huge because it appears. We have been each inducted into the Texas Enterprise Corridor of Fame collectively final yr. I acquired inducted as a scholar representing UT Dallas, and him as a legend. I’ll get there in the future.
The entrepreneurial journey shouldn’t be linear, however the dots are all connecting. It’s been a protracted journey; there are undoubtedly ups and downs.
For these nights once I really feel like I’m out right here alone, alternatives just like the Mavs Enterprise Help recharge me. I’m so grateful to have the chance to return right here and meet others who stay the identical actuality as me.
I’m wanting ahead to all of the totally different sources that can come out of this program. I believe in my place, any and all assist is needed. I’m right here with an open thoughts. I’m questioning how can I be useful to others and provides again a few of my data?
And two, how can I benefit from this occasion and develop from it? I’m not on the lookout for something particular, however I’m ready to assist in any approach doable. I’m actually excited to be right here. I got here from a person expertise design workshop at UT Dallas, the place I used to be guest-speaking for my occupation.
Folks typically ask me, “how did you give you Meals Magnet?” I inform them: “I’m only a actually sturdy designer. I understand how to analysis, hearken to my clients, and design options.”
Mavs.com: That is the yr of THINKING BIG! Our Mavs group simply got here off a Western Convention finals look, so that they continuously remind me to set huge objectives. What does that appear like for Meals Magnet?
Johnson: I might go up in opposition to Uber Eats and Amazon’s Complete Meals. The dream and evolution of Meals Magnet is strategic. We aspire to ultimately compete with these firms, however we’ve got a distinct segment with meals vans. Part two will contain eating places and a few actual property, however we plan to fly underneath the radar till we acquire sufficient traction to develop into harmful. Let’s simply say there’s a technique to the insanity.
Congratulations, Mercedes, on all of your endeavors! To study extra about Meals Magnet, click here.
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