10 Questions: Interview with Start-up company Gratafy

1. What are your names? Brian Erke and Ryan Halper 
2. What are your titles: Brian Erke, CEO. Ryan Halper, COO
3. Company Name & URL: http://gratafy.com
4. Elevator Pitch:
   Gratafy is a new experience-based social gifting platform that lets you send specific foods and drinks from local restaurants, bars and nightlife venues to Facebook friends as gifts. It’s a quick, easy and instant way to send a personalized gift to celebrate a special occasion. It also allows our merchant partners to finally offer merchandise outside of their four walls through social media.
5. How did you come up with the idea of Gratafy?  We noticed a trend in social commerce and an opportunity to carve out a niche in instant, experience-based gifting. How many times have you wanted to celebrate a birthday or special occasion with a friend but couldn’t be there in person? Gratafy was created to solve this problem. We started with the places most conducive to celebrations: restaurants and nightlife establishments. Our goal is to ultimately make sharing experiences through gifts something that people can do easily and on the go every day.
6. What is your vision of the Company?
   Our vision is to simplify the previously difficult or impossible practice of purchasing an experience for someone as a gift. We’ve started by partnering with local popular restaurant and nightlife venues, and taken the time to do point of sale integration properly allowing us to provide an end-to-end gift experience almost as enjoyable as the experience itself. Initially, we are focusing on food and drink, but see Gratafy expanding to things like concert tickets, rounds of golf, and other experience-based gifts outside of the shipped goods market.
7. Why should someone sign-up for Gratafy?
   If you’ve ever wished you could buy a friend dinner or a drink for their birthday, but couldn’t make it to their party, now you have an answer! There are literally dozens of uses ranging from celebrations to just checking in to say hello, to rewarding your employees for a job well done. We offer real gifts that have been handpicked by restaurateurs and bar owners that can be redeemed instantly, anytime in venue by smartphone; Gratafy is not a PayPal cash transfer with a generic picture of a cocktail slapped on top.
8. How can someone find out or learn more about Gratafy?
   Visit our website at www.gratafy.com to download the app, learn more about the product, and check out the team.
9. What's your favorite quote you live by?  “A life, Jimmy. You know what that is? It’s the [stuff] that happens while you’re waiting for moments that never come.” – Det. Lester Freamon, The Wire
10. What's one piece of advice you would give to someone interested in entrepreneurship?
    There’s a tendency to start really broad in the startup ideation phase because as an entrepreneur you see so much opportunity, and you dream big. But in reality the more you try to do early on, the harder it is to finish your MVP, release your beta, and get that precious feedback you need to rapidly iterate and tweak your product. Also, the more you focus, the less chance there is of colliding with a competitor. Start dead simple, measure your feedback, and learn from it.