Startup Corner: Hector Cruz, Let’s Do Lunch LLC

Minimally viable product …
Let’s Do Lunch is a mobile application that serves as a personal assistant solely focused on helping you follow up and invest in the relationships that are important to you – all while breaking bread together. It assists you in efficiently scheduling lunch with contacts at the click of a button.

Problem solving …
We all have those personal and professional relationships that we want and need to invest in. These are people we want to see in-person outside of our news feeds. Face-to-face interaction is much more meaningful and profitable, and we want to help people be intentional, organized and actually follow through when they say, “Let’s do lunch!”

Seed money …
Through a competitive application and interview process, we were one of five companies selected into The eFactory Accelerator Program [cohort No. 2]. With that came a $30,000 initial investment, which has served as our startup capital.

Hurdles overcome …
While also working on starting this company, I have a wife and three kids and work full time at Evangel University. I actually finished the application for the accelerator program back in November while lying in the hospital room with my newborn daughter on my chest and a laptop on my lap. Time was never going to be on my side, but even in that moment, my wife was extraordinarily encouraging. She’s made all the difference.

Next phase …
We plan to have a beta version of the app ready by mid-April to conduct preliminary testing. We plan to launch the live version of the app in May in the App Store and Google Play.

Pivot …
The original logo was designed by a friend of mine at the last minute before the program started (payment was a Jimmy John’s sub). Since then, we have refreshed the logo with a much more comprehensive approach in mind. We’ve also been exploring different revenue models as we work through the concept phase of the app.

Greatest need …
We need beta testers. Go to LetsDoLunchApp.com and sign up to be a beta tester on the Join Us page. We are building this app for people to add depth to their networks. LinkedIn is great for breadth, but we want to help you see those people to add depth in a more meaningful way.