Meet Conrad DeMasi | Co-Founder, CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Conrad DeMasi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Conrad, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
In college, I found myself cooking the same things over and over again. Anytime I would go to learn a new recipe online, I would find a) inauthentic recipes that b) never turned out like the picture and c) drove me crazy because I had to scroll through their entire life-story before getting to a recipe that was also filled with ads.

I started cooking more and more recipes I saw from social media – either shared by my friends or made my food influencers. A new source for recipes that was more personal and authentic than the top recipes that would appear on Google. That’s when it hit me, social media wasn’t just a place to consume content of friends, it was becoming its own kind of search algorithm, where you could quickly learn anything you wanted to in the world, especially when it came to food.

I started a Facebook group called Provecho in July 2020 and began inviting my friends to share their recipes. It grew to a couple thousand people, folks were posting multiple times a day, for a second it seemed like we were on to something.

Instead of creating yet another recipe app, I realized we could create a tool that could be used within the social platforms that people were already cooking in (IG, TT, YT, etc.) This way we could give it to a select few food influencers, and leverage their existing fanbase to begin monetizing for them (and us) right away. This is when the wheels really began to turn. Link-in-bio’s, plug-in’s, widgets, etc. are what WIN! They exist within an already established universe and their sole purpose is to enhance the experience for everyone around them.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We’re probably the only recipe company that doesn’t try to draw people in.

Where other companies focus on getting eyeballs, downloads, email lists, etc…we’re focused on designing the best possible recipe experience, making it available wherever creators and fans already live (Instagram, their website, Beacons.ai, etc.), all while helping creators earn an income doing what they love.

Hell no it hasn’t been easy…but it has been fun in sort of that twisted laborious way. Provecho’s positioned so that we don’t need 100’s of thousands of people posting recipes in the beginning. Instead we need a small number of influential recipe developers. So basically, we’re pitching to celebrities all day. The cold outreach can certainly get old, but it makes every win that much sweeter. The best part is, we’ve become really good friends with the creators we work with each day. It makes the daily work fun, has led us all across the country/world visiting folks, and helps us make an even better product since we understand the people using it on such a personal level (and they feel comfortable telling us when something could be improved.)

With TikTok, Reels, Shorts, etc. everyone is seeing a pretty intense shake up of how people consume and create media. The terms are no longer dictated by TV companies and media brands…instead the focus has shifted to the individuals behind each piece of content. We don’t believe the next Food Network, Tasty, etc. is even a branded media company. It’s a group of individual creators, each with their own cuisine, niche and shtick. Our dream is to build the tools and community around them to help them succeed, making it easy for their fans to recreate each meal in the process.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We just moved here recently, but so far some standouts: Santa Monica farmer’s market Wed mornings, popup dinners with Sara Tane @saratane and Sara Frost @spooningwithsara. LA seems to really be kick-starting pop-up dinners and these two Sara’s are among the best. The food is 10/10 with the best local ingredients and crazy creative dishes like a Cheez–it trifle. I also love Quarter’s KBBQ if you’re feeling extra hungry.

Beyond food I’d take the to Santa Monica to play pickleball and down to San Onofre to camp/surf – the rugged coastline down there is second to none.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ll always be “shouting out” Delaney and Shelby Yates from Yessidothecookingg the food channel on TikTok. They were literally the first food influencers that I talked to when Provecho was just an idea. I still remember reaching out to them with this embarrassing video I recorded of myself explaining the concept to them. But hey, it worked and here we are!

Since then, they became the first ones to use the product, advocate with other creators, etc. so we really wouldn’t be here without them. It’s pretty amazing to watch their careers take off over the past year or so. Both sisters are now full time food creators, I couldn’t be more stoked for them!

Website: https://www.provecho.bio/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/provechoeats/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conrad-demasi-19a230152/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thegringotico

Image Credits
Aaron Alterman