In December 2022, everything changed for Keith Lee.

Lee had been on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, or federal food assistance for low-income individuals, from 2020 to 2022. He started his TikTok channel by filming videos cooking for himself and his wife when she was pregnant.

“That turned from me making food to me trying local restaurants around me,” Lee tells Entrepreneur in a new interview.

The end of 2022 was the first time Lee started documenting his experience eating at local restaurants on social media. At the time, he was also working as a delivery driver and professional fighter. His days consisted of training at the gym, delivering packages and sampling food.

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In December 2022, Lee went to the 303 in the Cut food truck and Frankensons Pizzeria, both of which are in Las Vegas, to eat and film videos. The next morning, those videos had racked up more than 30 million views.

“My mom woke me up and said we were on the news, and everything changed from there,” Lee says.

Lee had eight million followers on TikTok within a week and went from eight million to 13 million within the next month. He has over 17 million followers on TikTok today.

Lee’s review of Frankensons Pizzeria, which emphasized the owner’s kindness and exceptional food, gave the struggling family-owned business a much-needed surge of customers. After Lee’s review, the once-empty pizzeria had lines out the door.

This impact, which has repeated itself at other restaurants Lee has reviewed, has come to be known as “The Keith Lee Effect.” Lee’s reviews lead to more visibility, customers and revenue for local businesses.

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Now, Lee wants to bring cash to more businesses. He partnered with American Express and Main Street America to launch the Shop Small Grants Program, which will award 250 businesses $20,000 each. The application portal opened on November 29, and the deadline to apply is January 16.

Lee recently met with a recipient of a separate American Express grant. Earlier this month, he visited Drew’s Place Restaurant, a Black-owned business that was one of 50 historic small restaurants chosen to receive $50,000 from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

“I recently just found Drew’s Place,” Lee says. “And not only did they receive a grant, but they also received support from us going. We shot a full video.”

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Lee’s video examined the impact of the grant on the business. The restaurant is planning to use the money to paint a mural to beautify the main entrance, purchase an ice machine and change its lighting.

Lee says that he focuses on going to small, locally owned spots that represent the people within a community. About 90% of the time, it’s a place that invites him. The other 10% are places that followers will recommend he visit on Instagram. “We listen to the locals,” Lee says.

Lee is usually home only three or four days of the month, traveling the rest of the time to test out food at small businesses. He goes to new cities with his wife, their three children aged 5 and under, and their extended family, a group of about nine.

“There’s no downside to it,” Lee says. “I get to enjoy being around my family. I get to eat food with them. We get to travel the world together. I get to see my kids grow up in person.”

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Lee’s philosophy when it comes to reviews is to stay mindful of the “passion of love” that is a small business. He says he’s never intentionally left a negative review, preferring instead to be constructive.

“Small businesses are deeper than just a business,” Lee says. “It’s a family-run spot that not only pours a lot into the community, but has done a lot for people around them. So I would be remiss to go in and do anything that I feel like is intentionally negative.”

Lee says he “eats everything” and doesn’t necessarily have a favorite food. In his day-to-day, he usually eats grass-fed beef, potatoes and vegetables.

Lee’s fighting career is on hold while he pursues social media, but he credits fighting with giving him an entrepreneurial spirit. “As a professional fighter, you’re an independent contractor,” he says. “It has kept me in the mindset of a small business.”

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