Nine WashU student-lead ventures are finalists set to compete for $22,500 in awards in the 2020 Skandalaris Venture Competition (SVC) later this month. This week, we are publishing Q&A articles to feature each venture team. Today’s featured team is St. Louis Food Angels, a venture formerly known as trEat, which has shifted their focus in response to COVID-19.
About St. Louis Food Angels
Before COVID-19, trEat focused on delivering healthy groceries/ prepared meals for diabetic patients, building connections with hospitals, insurance companies, and prepped-meal companies so that “food as medicine” can be a part of the healthcare system. In response to the crisis, they have applied trEat’s plan to help the most needed populations.
St. Louis Food Angels (STLFA) offers free delivery of groceries and/or prepped meals to senior citizens, at-risk populations, and healthcare providers.
Industry: Food Delivery Service (Non-Profit)
Number of Employees: Nine members of the management team; 50 volunteers and growing quickly
Total Funding: $0
What problem are you solving?
We are currently facing an unprecedented pandemic that has killed thousands and rapidly disrupted the status quo for billions across the world. We have a shared responsibility to decrease the transmission of COVID-19. STLFA has partnered with WashU Med Student Coronavirus Response volunteer team, and is providing delivery for two cases: (1) the delivery to individuals’ homes from food hubs where the food is already purchased (prepared meals and unprepared foods) for existing charities (e.g., non-profit organizations) that need assistance in getting food individuals’ homes; and (2) providing grocery shopping or pickup services (currently we are only able to pick up pre-purchased grocery orders). For the latter case, STLFA is assisting those without internet access to help them place their orders online by taking information over the phone.
About the team
Mike Pieper: Co-President, CEO of Mode Health
Kay Park: Co-President, 1st year MD/Ph.D. student at WUSM
Abdalla Bani: Director of Finance, Masters student studying Data Analytics and Statistics at WashU
Joanne Song: Director of Communications, MPH student at WashU
Nishkala Shivakumar: Co-Director of Volunteer Logistics, 4th year MD/MBA student at WUSM
Michael Olufawo: Co-Director of Volunteer Logistics, 3rd year MD student at WUSM
Reyan Coskun: Director of Volunteer Engagement, 1st year MD/Ph.D. student at WUSM
Stephanie Yoo: Director of Volunteer Recruitment & Engagement
Hamza Alvi
What has been the biggest lesson learned since starting the venture?
Kay Park: The value of flexibility in devising solutions to diverse problems, the importance of having a conviction when applying those solutions.
What do you love about being an entrepreneur?
Mike Pieper: I love knowing that success or failure falls on my shoulders as the leader. Launching a company really tests one’s ability to focus on addressing the most immediate thoroughly. In the case of St. Louis Food Angels, it’s also provided the opportunity to creatively find solutions that don’t just help the people we directly contact, but also make existing support organizations more efficient in this new challenge of social distancing. Our goal is to lift the entire support system for those at risk and in need in the St. Louis community to more efficiently serve the community, and we’ve thus far working excellently as a team to iteratively tackle each challenge in scaling up our processes step-by-step. It’s been a great experience thus far, especially because we believe we’re laying the groundwork for something that can very soon have a big impact on helping a lot of people through the COVID crisis.
Kay Park: Meeting and working with amazing people from different walks of life who share the same passion.
What words of advice do you have for those interested in starting a business?
Kay Park: Surround yourself with competent people who share your passion; learn to be flexible to adapt to new changes; believe what your heart tells you!
Website: www.stlouisfoodangels.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stlfoodangels