319: Reconnecting over Food & Social Media with Sophia Rascoff

Summary: Welcome to another great episode of Startup Junkies! On this episode, hosts Caleb Talley, Jeff Amerine, and Victoria Dickerson sit down with Sophia Rascoff, the co-founder of Recon Food, a social media app that allows users to research, recommend, and reconnect with friends through a common love of food. Sophia explains how Recon Food was designed to be a space where individuals can share photos, recipes, and experiences with their social network without all the stressors that come with a more mainstream media platform. Throughout the episode, Caleb, Jeff, Victoria, and Sophia discuss the rise of vertical social platforms and how Recon Food aims to combat the toxicity of social media.    Show Notes: (1:12) Introduction to Sophia (1:21) About Recon Food (7:00) Navigating the Toxicity of Social Media (9:59) Being a Young Entrepreneur (12:44) Three-year Forecast (17:04) Monetizing Recon Food (18:57) Product Placement Opportunities (21:29) Advice to Younger Self (25:19) Closing Thoughts   Links: Caleb Talley Jeff Amerine Victoria Dickerson Sophia Rascoff Recon Food   Quotes: “Social media as an entire concept has become very stressful as of late due to the bad news you encounter on it. It’s not really a fun place anymore. So the goal of this was to be a space where people could talk without having to be bombarded with everything else.” - Sophia Rascoff, (1:29) “On the receiving content side of Instagram, it’s a highlight reel where you’re left comparing the best of what you see to your entire life, which isn’t accurate and is not a great reflection, but it’s what happens.” - Sophia Rascoff, (8:50)  “...everyone says just get off social media, but I don’t think for my generation that's really a viable solution. It’s such a powerful tool I know we can do so much with. It’s just about optimizing it and making sure it’s used in the best way.” - Sophia Rascoff, (15:58) “My favorite piece of advice, which I would give someone else and also which I wished I had discovered sooner, is that in this day and age, if you have the ability to just go do it, why not start?” - Sophia Rascoff, (21:29)