How Monica Wood built an omni-channel recipe platform connecting brands, retailers with consumers

In this episode of Tales from the PROS, my awesome guest here is Monica Wood, who is the Co-founder and CEO of Myxx. Which is an innovative recipe solution that connects personalized recipes to consumers, retailers and brands. We chat about starting up a company and being a mother of three, and receiving funding. We talk about working with large brands in the food industry, sales and marketing strategies, overcoming struggles, building a technology platform, and more.  Questions Asked: I heard a bit of your story on why you started Myxx, and I loved that you were able to lose 100 pounds by eating healthier and cooking at home. Can you tell me more about that story? Was building a successful startup something you always dreamed of doing or did it just happen because of your change in a healthier lifestyle? I love how you built an omni-marketing platform connecting brands, retailers with consumers by using customer recipes and that data. How were you able to solidify the idea as a proof of concept? I know you received funding from some local investors like David Gardner's 'Cofounders Capital', but what was the funding process like?  How difficult was it to pitch and sell to huge brands and retailers? Which one was the hardest? It seems that you have essentially filled in a gap or grey area for brands to measure whether their marketing activities actually brought people to buy their products in the grocery stores. So, now with all the data and metrics your collecting, I am sure you guys are thinking about incorporating AI technology as well? Where do you feel the food industry is going in technology? Should food retailers and brands be scared? (Amazon is definitely a threat I would say) Do you see any sort of competition or noise from healthy meal prep delivery brands like Blue Apron or HelloFresh? To get to this point in your company, what do you foresee as the future of Myxx? What were some of the toughest struggles you and your team had to go through during this entire journey? Do you have a certain approach or process that aspiring entrepreneurs and new startups need to take and be successful? What tips would you give to current and future business leaders and what they need to avoid or be aware of? I always ask the THREE HOW'S: How do you define failure? How do you define entrepreneurship? How do you define success?   Follow Monica Wood on all her social channels and website here:  https://www.talesfromthepros.com/interviews/monica-wood/