There Was No Twitch or OnlyFans for Chefs. Then the Founders of Kittch Cooked Up a Great Idea. Kittch CEO Brian Bedol discusses monetizing food content and innovative digital storytelling in the culinary world.
By Shawn P. Walchef •
Key Takeaways
- The Twitch of Cooking: When the pandemic caused shutdowns, Brian Bedol was surprised that there was not an online platform devoted to helping chefs make money online with digital storytelling. And thus, Kittch was born.
- The Power Storytelling in Sales: Creating a bond through genuine conversation and connection is better for businesses and their customers.
- Building Community by Doing What You Love: Loving what you do for a living has a ton of benefits. Bedol takes it a step further to say if you truly want to love what you do, you have to create a business you love.
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Kittch is a platform for culinary creators unlike any before. By giving a place for chefs to livestream content and connect with a community of fans, CEO Brian Bedol and Kittch are helping food entrepreneurs make more money while building their brands.
Think of Kittch as a mix of Twitch and OnlyFans but for the culinary industry.
Brian Bedol found inspiration during the COVID-19 pandemic when restaurant operators and others were reaching out anxious about the impact of shutdowns on their businesses.
In response, Bedol with co-founders Elana Karp and Douglas DeLuca created Kittch, a platform aimed to connect chefs and culinary creators with consumers, providing a space to share and monetize their skills.
Brian Bedol is a TV pioneer and media entrepreneur who previously founded Classic Sports Network and College Sports Television to great success. He knows the power of storytelling firsthand.
"I figured there must be a platform like we had built in sports for chefs and culinary creators," says Bedol to Restaurant Influencers series host Shawn P. Walchef of Cali BBQ Media. "Kittch was just the Twitch of Cooking. We're surprised that it didn't exist."
Kittch, from its inception, was positioned as a platform for stories, allowing chefs to share their experiences, inspirations, and aspirations online. These bonds with local and global communities are a foundational aspect of Kittch's development.
For Bedol, the key to successful business lies in storytelling and building emotional connections. He believes the best salespeople aren't merely focused on selling a product but engaging customers in meaningful conversations.
"The best salespeople are not salespeople. They're people who engage you in a conversation and make you feel like you're privileged to buy something," explains Bedol.
Brian Bedol approaches business from the standpoint of passion. He emphasizes the importance of loving what you do as a way to get others to love it as well.
You should create a business that you adore and focus on seemingly small niches in your industry to allow for more personal and authentic connections with customers.
"I'm one of those people who believes that to really love the business that you're doing, you need to create a business that you love," says Bedol. "If you love it, it becomes much easier to help others understand what you love and to help them love it."
From sports media to livestreaming, Brian Bedol knows the things that resonate most with people come down to one idea: "It's about storytelling."
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