Antoine’s Names First New Executive Chef in Nearly 50 Years and Tech Investments

This edition of MRM’s News Bites features  7shifts, Chowbus, DoorDash, Antoine’s, Starbucks and Uber Eats, OpenTable, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Arcos Dorados, Eat Here Brands, PourMyBeer and Toast, Cerity, Washington Hospitality Association, bellagreen and Swish.

Send news items to Barbara Castiglia at bcastiglia@modernrestaurantmanagement.com.

7shifts Closes $10 Million Funding Round

7shifts closed a $10 million USD Series A funding round to accelerate growth and bring more automation and labor compliance to restaurant chains. The financing was led by Napier Park Financial Partners (“Napier Park”) with participation from Teamworthy Ventures, existing investor, Relay Ventures and former CEO of Snag (Snagajob), Peter Harrison.

7shifts has scheduled nearly 100 million shifts for the 16 million restaurant workers in the US, and collectively saved restaurateurs over $200 million in labor costs. The rapidly growing platform is used by more than 250,000 restaurant professionals and 10,000 restaurants, including large, growing franchises such as Bareburger, Panera, Honeygrow, &pizza, and Smoke's Poutinerie.

“As someone who grew up in a family of restaurant operators, I know first-hand the pain points restaurant managers face in managing staff,” said Jordan Boesch, CEO at 7shifts. “From the beginning, 7shifts has been intently focused on delivering innovative products to make life easier for restaurants, managers and employees alike.”

7shifts gives restaurant operators and employees  software that makes tasks like scheduling, team communication, and shift feedback simple and transparent. The company plans to use the funds to strengthen 7shifts’ leadership position in scheduling automation and machine-learning technology for restaurants, while adding enterprise functionality and statewide labor compliance features.

Boesch continued, “It’s one thing to predict labor needs, but it’s another to fill the shift with an available and qualified worker– both need to be met for restaurant operators to be successful. Our predictive scheduling algorithm leverages machine learning to enable managers and operators to automatically create data-driven and labor-optimized schedules that exceed the accuracy and trustworthiness of manually generated schedules, while also adhering to state-wide labor regulations. By leveraging POS integrations for real-time data, 7shifts can accurately project future sales with up to 95% accuracy given historical sales, seasonality, weather trends and other external factors. From there, we use machine learning to accurately predict future labor needs and create optimized schedules.”

The 7shifts platform is comprised of a number inter-operable labor management tools that work together to help restaurants create and maintain schedules from either a desktop or smartphone. The platform offers powerful tools for independent and multi-unit operators that help restaurant leaders gain better visibility into their businesses and ensure compliance with labor regulations.

Paul Zarmati, Director of IT for New York City-based Bareburger, added, “The 7shifts team are true partners – they listen to feedback and promptly implement changes that positively affect all levels of our organization, from labor to communications. As we’ve grown past 40 locations, features like the enterprise dashboard have allowed us to get a holistic view of store performance across the board.”

As part of the transaction, Dan Kittredge, a Managing Director at Napier Park, will join the 7shifts Board of Directors.

“Napier Park has a track record of backing dynamic companies that are well positioned to capitalize on long-term growth opportunities in large markets, and that is exactly what we see with 7shifts,” said Dan Kittredge of Napier Park. “7shifts will continue to have a tremendous impact not only on restaurant owners and operators, but also on the millions of staff they employ. We are excited to partner with Jordan and team on their next phase of growth.”

“Filling the schedule is not only the single biggest cost but also the single biggest pain point for almost every restaurant yet optimizing quality of service, expense and compliance has never been harder. This is a problem ripe for machine-learning and for tighter integration with the on-demand economy,” says former Snag (Snagajob) CEO, Peter Harrison. “I believe 7shifts is better positioned than anyone to capitalize on these trends and to solve a growing problem for operators large and small.”

Chowbus Secures $4 Million Funding

Chowbus secured a $4 million round of funding led by Greycroft Partners and FJ Labs, with additional investment from Hyde Park Angels, Fika Ventures, and individual investors. This new funding helps the company further invest in developing the platform and expanding to new markets.

“This investment confirms the value of giving consumers and independent restaurants a better food-ordering solution — one that, unlike any other platform, supports the restaurant’s business and enables food discovery.”

With its mobile app, Chowbus operates as a food-discovery platform, connecting diners with small, local restaurants’ top-rated dishes. Unlike other food-ordering platforms, Chowbus provides restaurants with not only logistical support, but marketing and technology support as well. Chowbus helps restaurants showcase their best dishes by creating dish-centric menus with high-quality photography and user ratings, which in turn helps diners explore new cuisine.

“When I first came to the U.S., I realized that it’s difficult to find authentic Asian cuisine, and it quickly became apparent that many restaurants I liked weren’t on the major delivery platforms,” said Linxin Wen, co-founder and CEO of Chowbus. He added, “This investment confirms the value of giving consumers and independent restaurants a better food-ordering solution — one that, unlike any other platform, supports the restaurant’s business and enables food discovery.”

Fabrice Grinda, founding partner of FJ Labs, a Chowbus investor, commented, “Chowbus’ vision to help people explore authentic food is ambitious and meaningful. The team is hard-working, scrappy, and passionate. They know how to build a world-class product and provide consistent service to customers. And it’s working — their repeat and retention rates are incredibly impressive. We are excited to join them on this journey.”

Last year, Chowbus achieved a 300 percent year-over-year revenue growth rate, and projects that the new funding will lead to expansion in 15-20 new markets in the upcoming year. The company currently operates in Chicago, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Champaign, IL, and Lansing, MI, and its services include an online marketplace to order food via pickup and delivery, as well as a Chowbus Shuttle, which delivers food on efficient routes. In addition to expanding geographically, Chowbus plans to onboard several key team members and build a number of value-adding features that benefit the user experience for both restaurants and consumers.

DoorDash Goes National, Adds to Lineup

On the heals of  DoorDash being the first on-demand destination to reach a national audience, the company welcomed Ryan Sokol as Vice President of Engineering, He joins the company from Uber, where he led and scaled UberEats from its inception and served on the UberEats executive team. 

He will lead DoorDash engineering, including product, infrastructure and data science, reporting to CEO Tony Xu.  Sokol was previously head of engineering at Voxer and has served stints at Genentech, IBM and smaller technology consultancies including his own.

According to XI, Sokol comes to DoorDash at a critical inflection point  In 2018, the company 5xed its geographic footprint from 600 to 3,300 cities and tripled in valuation to more than $4 billion. DoorDash doubled the engineering team to 200+ last year, working on a variety of problems from machine learning applications to logistics to personalizing consumer experiences. This year, they plan to double the team again.

"I’m joining DoorDash to help an amazing team reach new heights," said Sokol. " All of my interactions and diligence with those I trust would lead me to believe that DoorDash is poised to be one of the most influential companies on the planet. I’m most looking forward to learning from some of the best and applying my accumulated knowledge to help DoorDash fast forward its tech to the future and realize its full potential as soon as possible."

DoorDash saw 300- percent year-over-year growth in 2018, tripling business in annual sales. The company also made several key leadership hires over the past nine months, including CFO Prabir Adarkar, VP Strategic Finance Ravi Inukonda and CPO Sarah Wagener.

Changing of the Guard at Antoine's 

Antoine’s in New Orleans announced  that Chef Rich Lee will serve as the restaurant’s newest executive chef, stepping into the role that Executive Chef Michael Regua commanded for the last 47 years. Chef Regua is currently helping transition Chef Lee until his retirement later this year.

“I am honored to continue the next chapter of Antoine’s legacy as executive chef. To serve at the helm of this legendary restaurant is a dream come true for me, as it would be for any chef,” said Chef Lee. “I am looking forward to continuing Antoine’s tradition of French-Creole fine dining while also working with the team to establish some new features, menu items and specials. We can’t wait to serve our guests in 2019 and beyond.”

Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Chef Lee began his career in the U.S. Coast Guard, stationed in Panama City, Florida. After his time in the service, Chef Lee pursued his love of all things culinary and served as line cook and kitchen manager in the Panama City hospitality industry. His first big cooking opportunity arrived when he served as an executive steward for the U.S. Merchant Marines, sailing around the globe as the solo cook aboard his ship.

There he discovered his passion for all different types of cuisines as the ship would pull into each exotic port. He would buy provisions, visit the local restaurants and markets, and incorporate each region’s fresh produce, seafood, meats, spices and seasonings into the ship’s daily menu. His career blossomed after becoming a land-dweller again, rising to the rank of executive chef over the next decade in the finest restaurants, hotels and resorts in the Florida Panhandle.

After opening, creating the menus, and leading the teams at establishments such as the Saltwater Grill and the Boardwalk Beach Resort, Rich chose to broaden his culinary knowledge in the “front of the house”. Over the next 12 years, he worked in various management positions at high‐volume corporate restaurants in the Carolina markets.

He then moved to  New Orleans and was hired as a chef and trainer for Sodexo’s corporate division. He was quickly promoted to executive chef for Sodexo’s Energy and Resource division and ultimately served as senior manager of culinary development.

During his seven years with Sodexo, Chef Lee led a North American Chefs Council of Canadian and American chefs, creating menus and establishing relationships with Sodexo’s global teams in Trinidad and Tobago, Australia, the Bahamas, and Canada. He also served as Sodexo’s lead chef of their Mindful brand, which provides a healthier approach to a client’s standard menu offering.

“Determining who would assume the position of executive chef of Antoine’s after having our beloved Chef Mike with us for 47 years was a challenging, multi-year process that we did not take lightly,” said Antoine’s fifth generation CEO and Proprietor Rick Blount. “We interviewed incredible chefs and invested much time and effort into ensuring that the person who fills this role is truly up to the task and the right fit for our unique restaurant. Chef Lee impressed me not only with his extensive culinary knowledge, including his passion for French-Creole cuisine, but his understanding of high volume cooking and enhanced customer experience. While he has already mastered our classic dishes, we are excited to see where he will go with the menu. We could not be more excited to have him lead the kitchen at Antoine’s.”

Starbucks Delivers Expands

Starbucks Coffee Company expanded its Starbucks Delivers pilot to an additional six cities across the United States. The expansion, in partnership with Uber Eats, began in San Francisco, the first of six new markets to offer the service to customers. Following an initial test in Miami, the company remains on track to bring Starbucks Delivers to nearly one-quarter of U.S. company-operated stores, with planned expansion to select stores in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., in the coming weeks. In total, Starbucks Delivers will be available in seven U.S. cities this spring.

The U.S. expansion of Starbucks Delivers follows success of the test in Miami that began in fall of 2018. The test, also powered by Uber Eats, saw strong demand, including repeat business throughout the day and positive feedback from customers. This expansion coincides with the kickoff of a new pilot, due to begin later this month, which will see London chosen as the first European city to trial Starbucks Delivers, powered by Uber Eats.

“We know we have untapped customer demand for Starbucks Delivers in the U.S. and starting today, we’re expanding our best-in-class experience to our customers both in and out of our stores,” said Roz Brewer, group president and chief operating officer for Starbucks. “We’re building on key learnings from past delivery pilots and by integrating our ordering technology directly with Uber Eats, we’ve unlocked the ability to bring Starbucks to customers for those times when they’re not able to come to us.”

The global online food delivery market currently represents a $95 billion opportunity and is projected to grow by more than 11 percent annually through 2023*. Starbucks now offers delivery service in eleven of the company’s global markets and expects to trial delivery pilots in other countries this year.

Customers will be able to access Starbucks Delivers through the Uber Eats mobile app, available on iOS and Android devices. Key features of the Starbucks Delivers experience include:

 With approximately 95 percent of core menu items available directly from the Starbucks menu, customers will be able to customize their orders just as they would when ordering on Starbucks® mobile apps. Delivery orders will come with an initial $2.49 booking fee.

“At Uber Eats, we’re always looking for new ways to offer people the widest selection of food they love. That’s why we’re so excited to deliver Starbucks fans their favorite food and beverages in a way that’s as easy as requesting a ride,” said Jason Droege, Vice President and Head of UberEverything. “Be it breakfast delivered straight to the soccer field or afternoon lattés to the office, we know this partnership will delight our customers.”

Starbucks Delivers was first announced in August 2018 in China through a partnership with Alibaba and on-demand food delivery service Ele.me. By the end of 2018, delivery services had expanded to 2,000 stores across 30 cities in China, while also being introduced to select stores in Tokyo and Miami. The limited pilot in London will be the first of its kind for Starbucks in Europe and will see a small number of company-operated stores to test and learn from the experience as it looks to scale this option to licensees. Additional global markets with delivery initiatives include India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico, Colombia and Chile.

OpenTable Open Points

OpenTable announced that OpenTable Dining Points can be used for hotel savings. U.S. diners can easily redeem their points to save anywhere from $20 to $200 at over 400,000 participating hotels available on KAYAK. From boutique properties to international favorites, diners can use their points to save on the perfect hotel.

OpenTable Dining Points are received by making and honoring reservations at participating restaurants, and can be redeemed for Dining Rewards, which can be used toward meals at over 20,000 participating restaurants on OpenTable, and now, hotel savings. Diners can maximize their rewards by redeeming points for discounts on participating KAYAK hotels; for example, 2,000 points can be redeemed for a $40 discount on hotel bookings. The more points you have, the more diners can save on travel.

“OpenTable diners are avid travelers, so we are excited to offer a Dining Reward that will help them save on their next trip,” said Steve Hafner, CEO, KAYAK. “KAYAK and OpenTable are both Booking Holdings’ brands and creating shared value for our respective users – diners that love to travel and travelers that need to eat – is a priority.”

“This will be the first of several additional ways that OpenTable users will be able to redeem their Dining Points,” said Joseph Essas, Chief Technology Officer, OpenTable. “We’re looking forward to rolling out more options in the near future to further enhance the Dining Rewards program.”

New CEO at Tropical Smoothie

Tropical Smoothie Cafe appointed Charles Watson as its new Chief Executive Officer. Watson will lead the brand through its next phase of strategic growth. As CEO, Watson’s goal is to achieve $1 billion in sales and more than 1,500 cafes by 2023.

“Charles has the tenacity, vision and passion this brand needs to continue our upward trajectory and will ensure the success of our franchisees is at the center of every decision we make,” said Scott Pressly, Chairman of the Board, Tropical Smoothie Cafe. "He has been instrumental in developing the culture of Tropical Smoothie Cafe and earning the trust of our franchisees. We look forward to realizing Charles' vision for the company."

Watson has more than 10 years of experience with Tropical Smoothie Cafe and led the company’s franchise development efforts since 2010. He has been the Chief Development Officer since 2015 and directly responsible for selling more than 800 franchises during his tenure with the company.

"I am overjoyed to have the opportunity to lead such an incredible brand that has truly become a part of my DNA over many years," said Watson. "I am forever grateful to our franchisees, support center team and our Board of Directors for their confidence in me as the leader who can guide Tropical Smoothie Cafe into a new era."

Arcos Dorados Expands Employment Opportunities

Arcos Dorados, the world’s largest independent McDonald's franchisee, expects to employ more than 55,000 individuals in Latin America and the Caribbean during 2019, an increase of eight percent over the number employed in 2018.  The company is positioned as a catalyst for change through its commitment to labor inclusion and reduction of inequality for young people.  Arcos Dorados is one of the region’s largest formal employers of youth between the ages of 17 to 25, providing training and development opportunities. 

"We are proud to be among the companies that generate the most formal job opportunities for young people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.   It is young people in whom we entrust our business to bring quality food, flavor and extraordinary dining experiences to millions of customers in the region every day," said Sergio Alonso, Chief Executive Officer of Arcos Dorados.

In 2018, Arcos Dorados provided 52,000 jobs for young people throughout the region. This represents almost 4,500 youth per month who entered the workforce, or an average of 140 jobs per day. The Company provides opportunities to learn norms and methodologies of teamwork in a highly challenging environment, valuable skills that contribute to securing future professional development opportunities.

Over the last three years, Arcos Dorados provided approximately 150,000 employment opportunities for young people.  For many of them, the experience was their first in the workplace. Arcos Dorados’ commitment to work inclusion is supported by partnerships with prestigious institutions in the region that are also dedicated to helping young people formally integrate into the working world.  The company signed agreements in recent years with the primary foundations dedicated to eradicating youth unemployment in each country of the region, including Instituto Ayrton Senna (Brazil), Cimientos (Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay), Forge (Chile, Peru), NEO (Colombia) and the International Youth Foundation (Global), among others.

"At Arcos Dorados, through public-private partnerships, we contribute to the development of our communities by attacking one of the region's main social challenges, youth unemployment. Through our programs, we assume the responsibility of actively collaborating to reduce the barriers to access a first formal job, " said Alonso.

Arcos Dorados promotes the inclusion of vulnerable groups, offering them an opportunity for formal work that contributes to their development and independence and supports greater social integration.  "All are welcome at Arcos Dorados. We promote a culture of work that is characterized by respect, inclusion and equal opportunities.  We provide adequate training and career development to all young people in the countries where we operate and are committed to furthering the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of reducing inequality,” concluded Alonso.

Eat Here Sells Stake in Table 100

Eat Here Brands, owner of eight Babalu® restaurant locations, sold its stake in Flowood, Mississippi restaurant Table 100 to Bill Latham and Al Roberts on December 31. Latham and Roberts, the co-founders of Babalu®, Table 100 and Eat Here Brands, both remain actively involved on Eat Here’s board of managers. The sale is part of Eat Here’s strategy to shift its focus to growing Babalu®, its core asset.

“Table 100 is a great, high-performing restaurant with a well-established and loyal customer base,” said Abe Ruiz, CEO of Eat Here Brands. “As creators of the brand and outstanding restaurateurs, Bill and Al were the logical buyers, and we are delighted they are assuming ownership.  Under their stewardship, I am confident that Table 100 will continue to flourish.”

“We’re excited to take the reins of Table 100 and to ensure that it continues to serve Flowood and the Jackson metro area communities,” Latham and Roberts said. “We are also excited about the prospects for Eat Here Brands and Babalu®. We look forward to helping both continue to grow and thrive in the coming years.”

Eat Here Brands, headquartered in Roswell, Georgia is the owner and operator of Babalu®, with locations in Atlanta; Birmingham, Alabama; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi; Lexington, Kentucky; and East Memphis, Memphis and Knoxville, Tennessee.

PourMyBeer and Toast Team Up

PourMyBeer is partnering with Toast. With the integration, PourMyBeer clients who use the Toast POS can track beer sales more efficiently, leading to increased revenue from beverage sales.

PourMyBeer allows guests the freedom to pour their own drinks, and get charged by the ounce – and in return, this technology lowers operating costs for restaurants by saving on labor, wait times and wasted goods. Restaurants and tap houses that use the PourMyBeer self-serve beverage systems provide customers with an RFID card to track each ounce poured. Now, all of those transactions will flow seamlessly into Toast, making it an easier and quicker sales process for both the restaurant and the consumer. For operators, it eliminates an extra step of converting the PourMyBeer data into Toast. For customers, they can basically self-serve anything on tap, close their tab instantly, and get an email or text receipt of their transactions.

“We want to set our customers up for success in every possible way, which is why we partnered with Toast,” says PourMyBeer founder & CEO Josh Goodman. “Now when you open a tab in Toast, you connect the PourMyBeer RFID card to that tab and all the information flows back and forth like it’s one system.”

Cerity Launches

Cerity launched to enable small business owners to quickly and easily protect their team, their assets and their livelihood through an online workers’ compensation solution. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are over 29.6 million small businesses in the U.S. and that number is climbing. Many traditional insurance models were not built with a focus on small businesses, but it’s these owners who often need the most guidance and support as they look to properly and affordably protect their team while growing their operation. Cerity was designed specifically for small businesses and freelancers to be able to quickly input information, generate a quote, and purchase a policy, so that they can get back to what matters most – their business. 

“Cerity is completely reinventing workers’ compensation for small businesses,” said Dennis Dix, SVP and Chief Operating Officer at Cerity. “We are transforming the entire process – from purchasing and maintaining coverage, to filing a claim – to be simple, fast, and easy, enabling owners to secure coverage for their team within minutes.”

Powered by a complex algorithm, Cerity’s proprietary pricing model provides tailored quotes that address the individual needs of business owners. Cerity has more pricing tiers than most insurance companies – up to 100 – making quotes more precise.

“Our digital solution was built from scratch, exclusively to meet the needs of small businesses.  Every aspect of what we do is anchored to the small business perspective.” said Tracey Berg, President of Cerity. “Cerity’s predictive pricing model has up to 100 price points, making each quote as unique as the businesses we protect. Customers can rest easy knowing they are getting the right coverage for the right price.” 

Cerity is backed by Employers Holdings, Inc. , an industry veteran with over 100 years of experience in workers’ compensation. “With its team, technology and vision, Cerity is uniquely positioned to quickly become a major player in the industry,” said Douglas D. Dirks, President and Chief Executive Officer of Employers Holdings, Inc.

Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking

The Washington Hospitality Association Education Foundation is partnering with the nonprofit Businesses Ending Slavery & Trafficking (BEST) to increase access to human trafficking awareness training for the state's hotel employees.Starting this month, which is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, BEST's training will be offered to the 6,500 Washington Hospitality Association members and their teams free of charge.

Both the association and BEST participate in the Washington State Task Force Against the Trafficking of Persons, and both organizations have been instrumental in positioning Washington state as a national leader in human trafficking prevention.

Human trafficking networks rely on legitimate businesses, like hotels, to sustain their operations and infrastructure. BEST reports employees who have frequent contact with hotel guests are in a unique position to spot the warning signs of human trafficking when they are trained in what to look for.

"We are woven into the fabric of the daily lives of our guests and team members," said Anthony Anton, president and CEO of the Washington Hospitality Association. "As a result, hospitality industry leaders are recognizing the important role we play in preventing and ending this crime. Hotels take profound pride and responsibility in serving and protecting all guests."

American youth are being exploited by human trafficking, said Mar Brettmann, PhD, executive director for BEST. The typical age of entry for youth into the sex trade is 13-15 years old, and many trafficking victims are runaway teens or survivors of other forms of abuse.

"When hotel employees are trained to recognize and report potential human trafficking situations, it can make all the difference in the life of someone who is being trafficked," Brettmann said. "For this reason, BEST is thrilled to announce our new partnership with the Washington Hospitality Association. This partnership will allow us to train thousands of hotel employees in Washington, and it will make our region even more proactive in preventing human trafficking." 

BEST's program is a 30-minute training that can be taken by individual hotel employees or in a larger group setting. The training is available in English or Spanish, and it has been proven to increase hotel employee reporting.

bellagreen Cuts Plastic Footprint

bellagreen™ celebrated Earth Week last year with a pledge to cut its plastic footprint in half by March 2020. The brand is proud to announce that this promise has been fulfilled 14 months early, further advancing bellagreen’s mission to make life and Earth more beautiful with every meal.

As of January 1, 2019, all eight bellagreen restaurants offer only paper straws and to-go bags, effectively reducing its plastic footprint by 50 percent. The American bistro believes the positive impact on the Earth is more than worth the incremental $40,000 annual investment. 

“At bellagreen, we are committed to contributing to a better world for the communities we serve by using high-quality foods and sustainable environmental practices,” said Jason Morgan, CEO of bellagreen. “We couldn’t be more excited to start the new year off even greener than the last. We’re proud to make Earth more beautiful each day we operate.”

As Houston’s first Certified Green Restaurant™, bellagreen strives to help its guests “Eat Well & Tread Lightly.” In addition to reducing plastic waste, bellagreen decreases its ecological footprint through water conservation, alternative power, pollution reduction, sustainable sourcing practices, and upcycled furnishing and building materials to maintain harmony with the environment.

Since 2008, bellagreen has served hand-crafted American bistro favorites including a variety of scratch-made appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, tacos, burgers, pizzas, pastas and desserts. The brand was founded to provide great-tasting options for guests with dietary restrictions including gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and vegetarian. bellagreen recipes use the freshest and finest organic ingredients including chickpeas, spinach, flours, tomato sauce, quinoa, coffee and teas. The menu offers Best Aquaculture Practices (“BAP”) certified seafood, locally-sourced Texas angus beef and an extensive selection of Sustainability In Practice (“SIP”) certified wines. 

Swish Debuts

The creators of Facetune launched Swish, a new tool for food and restaurant professionals. Swish, by Lightricks, is a video content creating app that allows users to create short video ads with no editing experience necessary. The  app gives small and large businesses the ability to create dynamic videos to help them compete with the big dogs. With foolproof templates users are guaranteed to be able to create a beautiful video every time — on-the-go, from the palm of your hand. Videos from Swish can take as little as two minutes to create.

Targeted to small businesses and creators on-the-go, Swish capitalizes on the company's goal of empowering everyday individuals to unleash their creativity. Swish provides an easy-to-use resource for small businesses looking to make an impact online and more effectively market their brands without hefty graphic design or video editing fees.