Dan White of Localvore

July 13, 2020 thetechtribune

An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Dan White, the founder and CEO of Localvore, which was honored in our:

Tell us the origin story of Localvore – what problem were you trying to solve and why?

The origin of Localvore dates back to the experience I had at Groupon in 2010-2011, where I introduced the first Daily Deal model to local businesses in Ohio, Michigan, and Seattle, WA. The social mission of keeping more local capital in local economies through this vehicle was missing from the original brand messaging and approach, so I moved to Vermont, the only state in the country Groupon didn’t sell into locally. In 2012, Localvore, Inc. was launched and since then over $5 million of gross consumer sales and even more capital has been driven to small businesses and local economies throughout New England.

What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?

Fundraising for a consumer technology company in one of the most rural economies in the country is really challenging. There’s no access to growth stage capital locally. It makes it that much more difficult to scale the business.

What does the future hold for Localvore?

The future for Localvore is social. We want to unite food lovers and local business lovers with a freemium socialized directory, which you can see elements of in our new app, Localvore Passport. We also see consumer subscriptions and keeping the fees out of small businesses as the solution to supporting “Main Street” and consumers.

What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in Burlington?

I love the startup scene in Burlington. It’s a great place to do early-stage development and build a product-market fit for your business. From there, you have to figure out how to grow your business outside of Vermont, because it’s simply too small to make a big return for yourself and your investors.

What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

My best advice would be to look at your endeavor to set your expectations of how long it will take. It’s going to take longer than you think. Think 10+ years out, and try and be comfortable going through the process so you don’t lose sight of the longer term goals. The experience itself is valuable, so don’t stop taking steps forward.