Veggie Set Go

What?

Veggie Set Go is a business I started in 2012 and have grown it over the years.

It is a website and iPhone App with a global database of vegetarian friendly restaurants so vegetarians and carnivores can dine out Together- Anywhere!

Why?

Have you ever found yourself looking for a restaurant with veggie-friendly options that isn’t ONLY for vegetarians?

Or do you have a friend, family member or hot date that doesn’t eat meat, but you do – and you want to find an awesome place that you’ll both love?

If so, Veggie Set Go is for you.

My Process

Step One: Research

The idea came to me while I was checking out a few new restaurants in Los Angeles and noticed that some really nice restaurants, places that were known for their meat dishes, actually had some great vegetarian options.

It got me to thinking that there might be more places like this and that people might want to know about it.

With a bit of research I found that there were a bunch of spots where there were sufficient options for a vegetarian without there being compromise.

I really like the idea of everybody being able to still dine out together no matter their dietary preference.

Instead of people having to settle to please the person they are with… either a meat eater at a tofu spot or a vegetarian at a steak house eating a small salad; it was time to bring people together.

Competitors

Step Two: Design

I set out to try and figure out how to get a website built and learned that it could be really expensive if I had somebody else build it for me.

I also wanted to know enough that if I worked with a developer, I could speak their language.

I then found Woo Themes and they had a Theme that worked with WordPress and gave me the database search tools I needed.

I thought it would be a great place to start and test my idea.

Below is how the theme looked when I started with it:

How the site looks today:

Here is what one of the listings looks like:

Map showing all of our listings around the world:

Marketing Tools

After the site was built it was time to start on marketing with Social Media as well as a few physical products.

Window stickers that are in restaurant windows around the globe:

And other items for mailings or events:

Events

I’ve done a couple different promotional events around Los Angeles including a few cooking demo’s at Whole Foods Market:

vino-event

 

Step Three: Make an App

Native App

Once the website was live and the marketing was set, I wanted to embark on making a native app and started with one for the iOS. I did a bit of research and learned that I would need a developer on this part, and sought one out.

During our preliminary talks the following wireframes were created to get us on the same page.

We worked closely on the functions and design and here are a couple of screen-shots from the live version that can be found in the Apple Store today

Tools: