Dave:
Hey everyone, Dave here with another episode of the Philly Tech Connect podcast. Today, I’m speaking with Max, a born and raised Philadelphian who first fell in love with startups when he was in Boston, pursuing his education and early career. But now, he’s back home. On the heels of the pandemic, he set out to build his first venture, Fynd. Fynd is a local event discovery platform aimed at bringing a much-needed boost to local bars and restaurants that play a critical role in making our communities feel like home, by making it easier than ever to discover what’s going on in each of them every day.
Today, Fynd features over 270 local businesses, has showcased over 6,000 events and counting. And in his spare time, he makes sushi and plays semi-professional roller hockey. Is he not the coolest guy on the planet? Max, how are you doing, man?
Max:
Stop it, stop it, stop it. Yeah, happy to be here, Dave. Thank you so much for having me, man. This is awesome.
Dave:
It’s good, yeah. We connected some months ago at a Philly startup leaders event and I got to learn more about Fynd and your journey. I really appreciated that—you were just telling it how it is, the ups and downs, in-betweens. But tell us a little bit about how you got started with Fynd and how the idea has evolved over time.
Max:
Yeah, absolutely. That’s a big question, but a good one. How I got started with Fynd… I tell people this was a pandemic project that spiraled wildly out of control. My co-founder and I got pretty bummed out around the same time about how many bars and restaurants were shutting down during COVID. At one point, there were newspaper clippings with estimates as high as 50% of local bars and restaurants having to close their doors for good.
Like a lot of people back then, we had some time on our hands and thought, “Maybe there’s something we can do to help these businesses that we care about.” We started by just going to bar and restaurant owners and managers—who, unfortunately for them but fortunately for us, also had time on their hands—and asked, “How can we help?”
We heard a lot of the same answers: “We believe in what we do, we do it well, but we need butts in seats.” Naturally, we asked, “What are you doing to get people in the door?” They’d say things like, “We’ve got happy hour Monday through Friday, trivia on Tuesdays, karaoke on Thursdays, live music with brunch on weekends.” When we asked how people find out about these things, that’s when they’d clam up and say, “Well, we post on Instagram, we’ve got flyers in the bathrooms, maybe a chalkboard out front.”
That’s when it dawned on us that, aside from the chalkboard, these businesses had no way of reaching new customers who didn’t already know they existed. So we built a platform to aggregate this information and make it easier to find out what’s going on at local bars and restaurants in the neighborhood every single day.
Dave:
That’s cool. I don’t want to ask you your favorite bar in the city—that’s a loaded question. But are there any that you’ve found that maybe aren’t as well known, or ones you particularly like, like hole-in-the-wall spots?
Max:
Oh gosh, that’s easier to answer for restaurants. But one bar I love is Lloyd Whiskey Bar on Gerrard Avenue in Fishtown. It’s fantastic. The whole place is made to feel like the living room where the owner grew up. The staff is great, the whiskey is great, the food’s great. Plus, they have awesome happy hour deals.
Across the street, you’ve got Meyer’s Brewing Company and Humble Parlor Brewing, two great local microbreweries with local owners who are often there. It makes those places feel like home. Frankfurt Avenue is probably my favorite area right now. There’s also Say No More in Kensington and Four Humors, another great whiskey bar nearby. I could go on, but I’ll stop!
Dave:
Yeah, I sense that! I’m seeing a pattern with whiskey here. Philly is lucky to have so many spots like that. Let’s shift gears a bit—back to startup life. You’re the CEO, and you’re responsible for a lot, including business development. How do you manage your time, priorities, and stay motivated and creative?
Max:
As far as motivation, I joke that being a startup founder is self-inflicted work. You wake up every day doing this because you love it, not for a paycheck, especially in the beginning. If you don’t want to do it, no one is forcing you. There’s beauty in that simplicity. So motivation has never been an issue for me.
As for managing time, every day is different. I’m always doing things I’m not technically qualified to do, but they get done because they have to. Creativity comes from open-mindedness, from being willing to try new things and connect ideas in ways that make sense for everyone. That’s my version of creativity.
Dave:
Sounds a lot like my day-to-day! Speaking of surprises, has there been anything unexpected about launching a tech startup?
Max:
A positive surprise—if you want to restore your faith in humanity, start a business! I’ve been amazed at how generous people are with their time, advice, and resources. People are so willing to help you out. It’s been inspiring. I’ve been able to learn a lot more quickly thanks to people who have been there before and are willing to share their experiences.
Dave:
You mentioned spending time in Boston. Any thoughts on how Boston compares to Philly for startups?
Max:
Boston’s ecosystem is more developed, and the resources are easier to find. Philly makes you work harder to find the right people, but they’re out there. The quality of the people here is just as high as in Boston.
Dave:
Let’s talk leadership. How do you approach leadership while growing Fynd?
Max:
Leadership is everything. I might be the CEO, but titles don’t matter at Fynd. We keep it flat so that everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas, no matter their role. My job is to clear roadblocks and make sure people have the resources they need to be effective.
Dave:
I’d follow you, man! Before we wrap up, any sneak peeks at upcoming product enhancements?
Max:
We’ve been mobile-only so far, but we’re close to launching a web platform. That’ll help with growth, even though it’s not the most exciting new feature. We’re also working on Fynd Premium, or Finders Club—name is still in the works! For around $6-7 a month, members will get exclusive deals at participating bars and restaurants. We want to make it easy for members to recoup the cost in value.
Dave:
That sounds great! Where can people learn more about you and Fynd?
Max:
Download the app on iOS or Android—FYND. And feel free to reach out on LinkedIn or through the support email in the app, which goes directly to my inbox!