BRENDAN SWEENEY of Popmenu on How Ego is the Root of All Evil (Restaurant Influencers - RI024)

When co-founding Popmenu, CEO Brendan Sweeney knew to do things differently. The first rule? No corporate bullshit or egos. Watch this interview to learn about building a positive user experience for customers, the state of restaurant technology, and the importance of providing answers.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN on this episode of the Restaurant Influencers podcast, sponsored by the Toast point of sale and restaurant management company? Let us know by leaving a YouTube comment below!

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CHAPTERS:

[01:44] - Popmenu 2-Minute Drill

[02:33] - Founding Popmenu

[08:54] - Popmenu at Conferences

[13:09] - UX for Restaurants

[23:59] - Popmenu Answering AI tool

Brendan Sweeney is a Restaurant Influencer —

Digital technology has grown to become an integral part of the restaurant industry. One of the leaders in the digital hospitality movement is Brendan Sweeney, the CEO and a cofounder of Popmenu. As its tagline states, the restaurant tool is “designed to turn more first-time guests into regulars.”

“Popmenu is giving control and simplicity back to restaurants, helping them navigate this crazy digital world, put their best foot forward, attract, engage and transact with their guests in a way they've never been able to do before and simplifying their lives,” says Brendan Sweeney to Restaurant Influencers host Shawn Walchef of

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That user experience is what drives Popmenu to provide increasingly efficient mechanisms for their partners to use. With a background in product and marketing, Brendan has a keen understanding of how potential customers shop with their senses prior to walking into the door and making the decision to become regulars. Years of research also helped the Popmenu team employ the strategy of a fairly well known business — Amazon.

“It does feel like an Amazon product page when you come to a regular menu on Popmenu,” says Brendan Sweeney. “You can see what does this dish look like? The chef could put as many pieces of text as they want about it. Tell the whole story. The reviews are directly there. The ratings, the social validation. It's all in one place.”

That harmonious experience is paramount for Popmenu to provide to their restaurant partners and ultimately to the consumers. Harmony is also a cornerstone on which the Popmenu culture is built.

“We decided to try to do it differently,” says Brendan Sweeney about founding Popmenu. “So we, from the beginning, said, number one: no corporate bullshit. And what that ends up really meaning long term is trying to keep ego out of it as much as possible.”

NOMINATE A RESTAURANT INFLUENCER — Do you know someone or a restaurant who is great on social media? Let us know by emailing influencers@calibbq.media or sending the @calibbqmedia team a DM on social media.

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Popmenu Answering for Restaurants

Not answering the phone is one of the quickest ways for your restaurant to lose a potential

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EPISODE LINKS:

• Popmenu Signup

• Digital Hospitality Podcast

• Brendan Sweeney on LinkedIn

• Restaurant Technology Discussion

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ABOUT POPMENU (@popmenu):

Popmenu specializes in transformative online and on-premise technologies that help restaurants increase brand visibility, guest engagement, revenue and profitability. The company is a leading innovator in digital marketing and ordering technology that works with over 10,000 independent restaurants and hospitality groups.

ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS:

Welcome to the Restaurant Influencers podcast series. Every week host and restaurant owner Shawn P. Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) talks with leaders in restaurant and hospitality about their secrets to Smartphone Storytelling and how to show up and engage where customers are spending time online.

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RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS IS PRESENTED BY TOAST:

Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience.

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