CheaprEats is one of several startups that can be found in The Hub at UTSC. As social media specialist at The Hub, I recently got the chance to touch base with Ralph Maamari, the CEO of CheaprEats, to see just what he and his business are all about.
Amanda Taylor: So, to start off, how would you describe your business?
Ralph Maamari: CheaprEats is a mobile application for university students to order food right from their mobile phone.
AT: How exactly does it work?
RM: It works by allowing university students to download the app right onto their mobile phone, opening the app and then viewing and browsing the stores on campus and then just selecting a meal and
paying for it right on their phone.
AT: What inspired you to make it?
RM: What inspired me to make it was to give university students the ability to order food that’s affordable, convenient, and saves them time.
AT: How has the Hub helped you throughout this process?
RM: The hub has helped us in many ways. Primarily, I'd say, from a motivation standpoint -- just keeping us alive as entrepreneurs. The Hub really helps us stay motivated throughout the entire roller
coaster journey of being an entrepreneur.
AT: What was the development process like?
RM: First, we raised a couple thousand dollars from competitions from the local area. We also spent a lot of our own time, as developers, creating the product.
AT: What does the big picture look like?
RM: Ideally, at the end of the day, this app will become a platform for vendors and students to facilitate orders between each other, but also hopefully to provide vendors with enough value so they
can increase their efficiency of running their businesses day to day.
AT: What would you say is your biggest motivation to keep going?
RM: The biggest motivation for the startup is to help as many uni students as possible have as much cheap food as possible so they have more money at the end of the day for academic expenses.
Be sure to check out The Hub on social media in order to stay up to date on all the details via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Article by Amanda Taylor