San Francisco Reflection and Top Three Learnings

 

            I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this course but as I reflect on the past week on the plane ride back to DC, it is safe to say I am glad I signed up.  Not only did I get to experience the great city of San Francisco from a new and different perspective but I learned quite a bit about the sharing economy.  And most importantly, I discovered meal sharing and had some of the most delicious meals while meeting new people.

            My greatest takeaway from the course was the actual learning about the sharing economy and meal sharing.  The readings and pre-course work were very relevant, interesting, and laid a good foundation for my experiences in San Francisco.  I had always used Uber and knew how the company functioned but I had never experienced other industries and companies within the sharing economy.  When it comes to meal sharing, I had never even heard of the concept and was initially taken aback by the idea of going to a stranger’s home with other strangers.  All of my trepidations quickly dissipated after each unique and positive experience.  The three experiences we had in San Francisco were particularly amazing.  We got to explore different neighborhoods in San Francisco as a group and eat amazing food while meeting new people.

             I also learned a great deal from the company visits that were organized.  All three visits provided so much insight into AirBnB, Uber, and Feastly.  We were able to tour some of the most impressive offices I have ever seen but also got to meet with important people such as Chip Conley and Noah Karesh that are true influencers in the sharing economy at the moment.  They took a lot of time out of their busy schedules to answer our questions and talk very openly about their companies and the struggles and successes they are currently facing. 

My last takeaway from the course was the amount of work that was required to do a proper analysis.  From the user experience forms to the mystery shop forms to the importance-performance analysis, it was overwhelming at times.  We fit in three meal sharing experiences, a ride sharing experience, an attraction experience, moving all around the city every other night, company visits, data collection and analysis, and creating a presentation within a matter of four days.  I was so thankful to have such a great group and that we all worked so well together.

Feastly Company Visit

On Tuesday, August 16, we met with Noah Karesh, co-founder of Feastly.  I did my individual project on a Feastly experience in Washington DC so I was really looking forward to this company visit. 

Feastly is a meal sharing company that was started and piloted in Washington DC in 2012 and officially launched in San Francisco in 2013.  The idea came about when Noah, the co-founder, and his girlfriend were traveling in Guatemala looking for authentic, local cuisine.  They could not find what they were looking for until a young, local avocado farmer invited them to his mother’s house for an authentic Guatemalan home cooked meal.  Feastly has hosted 50,000 meals, has 8,000 chefs on the platform, and most recently launched in Los Angeles, California.

Noah was extremely charismatic and spent a lot of time explaining how Feastly came to be and the challenges they are currently facing.  He also answered our many questions very openly and honestly.  It was fascinating to hear how the chef on-boarding process worked and what kinds of methods Feastly is using to recruit chefs in new cities.  The company is unique in that they have two different customer categories: chefs, and diners.  They provide a lot of services to the chefs including insurance and basic business tools as well as spaces to host their events.  Noah explained that there are three reasons why chefs come to Feastly: passion, the ability to make money, and to build their brand.  It was great to hear how much emphasis was put on the importance of the chefs and how Feastly is there to help them build their brand to launch their careers.

Feastly Dining Experience

On Sunday, August 15, the dining group attended its first meal sharing experience of the week. Using Feastly, we had English afternoon tea brunch with Chef Mystical in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco. Booking the event through Feastly was incredibly easy and straight forward. Feastly kept in contact with each of us via email and sent us reminders for the upcoming event. They also provided all location information which made it very simple for us to find. I would absolutely recommend using Feastly as I have only had great experiences using their website and attending their events.

The location itself was called “The Lab,” which Feastly rents out so different chefs can cook and host their events in that space instead of their homes. It was a beautiful location in a great neighborhood. The only drawback to this was that the experience felt more like dining at a restaurant. It did not feel as intimate as my Feastly experience in Washington DC where we dined at the chef’s home.

Chef Mystical and her food were the highlight of the event. She was knowledgeable and personable, explaining each and every course. She also gave a lot of background information and history on some of the courses we were served. I learned a lot about English tea traditions and etiquette so it was truly a unique experience. Our drinks were constantly refreshed and there was plenty of food for each and every guest. We also met a few of the other guests at our table and had a great interaction with them. We did not meet or speak to all of the guests as there were two separate tables just like in a restaurant.

Overall, the experience was excellent and I would attend another event hosted by Chef Mystical. I would also highly recommend her English tea brunch to others. Feastly made the experience seamless since we could book and pay through the website.