📍 my guest today, Kunal Desai, is that, did I pronounce that correctly? All right. He has really he's got such a broad background and so much experience that if I were to try to tell you, I'd butcher it.
So can all can all brings over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, working closely with restaurant owners. Now, this really comes in handy. I used to be a restaurant restaurant owner. Okay, so I know exactly what you're talking about. Kunal, welcome, and why don't you tell us about your background?
Michael, thank you very much for your welcome to our, to your show and for the warm introduction. As Michael mentioned, my name is Kunal Desai. I'm one of the co founders of this global marketplace we launched connecting restaurants and diners called MealDeals. So by simply visiting MealDeals. app in any browser, You instantly connect and find all the local food and drink specials that restaurants are offering for that relevant day and time.
So anybody logging on today we're recording this show live on a Monday. So if anybody wants to go on to meal deals right now, so in Atlanta or in Toronto, they would see everything for Monday lunch. If you were in California, everything you would see right now would be for Monday breakfast. If you're in Europe, everything you're seeing is for a Monday dinner.
So it's really lovely where it doesn't matter where in the world you are, our algorithm automatically updates and filters and shows you relevant information that is useful to you. And since restaurants are location based businesses because they are short of food trucks, most of them tend to be fairly stuck or rigid in where they are because they have a storefront.
The best customers that live That the best customers for a restaurant are those that live and work near them. So, we wanted to build a hyper local messaging platform for restaurants, specifically just for restaurants and hospitality. That would allow them to communicate to people that live and work near them, saying, hey, this is the awesome stuff that we have that's available for you.
And Michael, my journey has been a whirlwind of things culminating to this sort of final objective or purpose. And as you were so kind enough to say, I've had the luxury of a very dynamic background and experience. I have a master's in financial economics from the Rothman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
I worked in capital markets for a little bit in investment banking and portfolio management. And then I got into the entrepreneurship journey, and then in entrepreneurship as well. My first foray into entrepreneurship was in the food trading business. Very high risk, given the perishable nature of the product.
Extremely financially loss making, but very educational. And along the way, you know, I evolved into marketing as something that, given my limited capital and resources, having recognized the failures from the food trading company. I was you know, marketing was something that just I kind of sort of fell into by sheer luck.
I guess I networked with some of my neighbors told them that I was looking for something to do in my life. One of my neighbors happened to be connected with somebody in a telecom company in the marketing division. Next thing I know, within an email, within a week, I'm getting an email for a purchase order for five figures.
And I'm going, hey, you know what? I can actually probably monetize this and make a living out of this. And it all started out of my willingness to just network and ask and connect with my neighbor who, had it been me in a situation or in a setting where I may not have been this desperate. I perhaps may not have thrown that dart or taken that shot.
That's, that's absolutely wonderful. Now, you touched upon networking. Now of course, you know, networking is the basis of this show, but you as an individual, you were just starting out as an entrepreneur. You started by that connection with your neighbor, with your, your networking. How do you network now?
Now we've, this is really a digital age. But what I profess is the one on one networking, the walking into a networking event, the networking between people. What do you do and how do you do it? You know, networking is like anything else in life. There's not just one dimension to it. It's an ongoing and continuous process.
I had, there's a couple of key parts of, you know, some learnings that I've just taken away along the way. One is, I always say this because like this is something that no offense to any cat owners, but I remember I had a business partner one time, an older gentleman, and I'm sure you know what's coming.
There's, you always said, you always told me, Kunal, there's a lot of ways to skin a cat. And you know, I wish I had a better saying for that, because I always, every time I say that statement, I always say, yeah, Phil, no offense to cat owners, because, you know, I don't like any cats. So I wish there was another way to say that in a similar transfer.
So if you have any phrase, I would love for you to share that with me, perhaps use a better example in the future. Well, no, well I'm going to put that aside for right now. Okay. Because you're, you're networking. You have to deal with your, listen, there's a mantra with networking. If they know you, if they like you, if they trust you, then they'll do business with you.
Yes, and that's very important. Now, know you. Well, everybody knows you because you're out there, right? And you've put yourself out there. Now, like you, that now is the feel down a little bit because not everybody's going to like you, but that trust factor that's so important. And you have. What? 30 seconds, a minute, five minutes, 10 minutes, sometimes a half an hour, you have to build that wall, that level of trust and have their wall come down before you can even start doing business with them, because if they don't trust you, they're not going to do business with you.
So with all of that in mind, do you have some key elements for effective marketing or networking? Yes, and. You know, the second part of, so the first part was there's a lot of ways to network. It doesn't take away from the fact that you still have to be genuine, trustworthy, and have that personal liking.
Those are the requirements for successful networking. What I was alluding to is a lot of ways to do it. And Michael, I used to actually have my own podcast called Subject Matter Pros. Where I had the privilege of getting a U. S. veteran on there by the name of Mr. Kevin Snow. And his, one of the coolest experiences he shared with me about networking, the way he looked at networking was not necessarily developing his own network, but just building networks.
So even if that means connecting people that you know that may be benefiting or beneficial for the person you're communicating with. So even though you don't have direct benefit from that relationship, you just happen to know two individuals who could potentially leverage their knowledge or skills or understanding and help create some magic and improvement for overall growth.
And that was a very big mind shift moment for me because Typically and it's commonplace where we, because we're so self centered and focused on how we can improve our well being. We often, we often view things through that lens of, okay, how is this directly assisting me or where do I stand to benefit from this?
And that creates some transaction. Now, anytime you're thinking of benefits for yourself. Unfortunately, most people from most of the world is designed or people use cleverness in a way where if somebody is winning, it comes at the cost of somebody losing. So that creates a little bit of mistrust and it's like, okay, if you're going to win, then what is it that I'm going to lose?
Whereas if you understand that creation is about where the entire system wins. So if you can come up with building that understanding with your audience that, hey, listen, our goal here is to improve the system and when the system wins, we all benefit and the results of those benefits are shared by us.
Sure. The benefits may not be shared equivalently or equally across all the participants, but they all stand to benefit versus any one of them suffering negative consequences completely shifts what the benefits are. And then in order to do that. You know, like anything else in life, so you hear about this all the time, people hear about things exposed over a long period of time.
So sometimes when you're networking, don't go into networking with how can I benefit from being in this room at this present moment? It's more so how can I add value to this room so that all the participants in the room can take away something better, whether or not it is the direct interaction with me or not.
It's irrelevant. It's about enhancing the overall effectiveness of the room. I've had the privilege of being in so many rooms. Where the room has been so effective that by me being a player and participant in that room, I naturally get to pick up the synergies. So that was a very cool shift that was brought into my being as to what networking is.
So now it's not just about connecting myself with other individuals. It's also about connecting people that I know with other people that I think may benefit. And then the second part to your question is how do you network in the digital age? And, you know, I network using and sales is networking of sorts because you're reaching out to people, trying to convince them to do something.
And there's every way from walking and talking. So if somebody interacts with me, I'm one of those, I always joke, I'm like, you make eye contact with me, you're going to know how you're going to get a hello from me, you know? So from in person hellos to digital hellos. Digital reach outs across all mediums and just hoping that, you know, when you're consistent across all channels, because everyone reacts differently to different modes of communication, the goal being, okay, how can I connect with this person in a way where they may relate to the best?
At the end of the day, after all of that is done, that's just the initial. Point of contact. After that, I do personally prefer either a verbal communication or zoom or in person, depending upon the geographical constraints we're faced with, because that definitely helps enhance and optimize the reason for why people connect.
Touch on so many different important aspects of networking and your networking. One thing I want to bring you back to is the act of giving and not receiving. In other words, when you walk into a networking environment, you're looking to say, how, what can I do for somebody else without even looking what you can gain from it?
So one thing that I do in my talks and speeches and my workshops, you know, I say, when you go to a networking event and you sit down with somebody, say, how can I make you? More successful. How can I be a good referral source for you? And that usually blows the other person away. And like, what do you mean?
You haven't even told me what you did yet. And you, you know, I said, I know, but I like what you do. I like how you do it. How can I be the best referral source for you? And then they go along with the conversation. So that's one very important aspect of the network of the in person meeting. You know, ever since the pandemic people lost their minds.
They don't know how to talk to one another. They don't know how to communicate. And all of this is the art of communication. And that's all how we speak to one another. Okay. So, we went over all of your wonderful, good things that you do in networking and everything else. But, what is What mistake mistakes have you made and how did you overcome them?
My biggest mistake I think would be, and I'm still extremely guilty of this still today. It would be an unfair expectation of imposing the same level of urgency that I bring in my communication and expecting that from my target parties. Maybe a networking is something where I've come across so many individuals.
We're an order of scale busier than I am yet. They always have time to respond. So respond thing to me is your decision of whether you want to prioritize an interaction or engagement with someone. It's not so much about you having the time. It's about you prioritizing it. And one of my biggest, and this is something where I'm just a very robust, passionate individual.
So for me, the timing of things is. Very critical. Again, I work best with individuals who are who share that same reciprocity of urgency and when networking oftentimes, especially when you're taking an indirect approach like we shared where you're not necessarily tapping, you're not necessarily providing them the network benefits where you're allowing them to tap into your network for them to realize the benefits and using those long run relationships to see how you can grow synergistically.
Because like you mentioned, when you have trust as a critical part of business relationships, When you can move that, do I trust you, way before anything else, because now if you've helped this individual and done something, it helps build up that little bit of rapport and trust before you've even done anything direct as far as commerce goes with said individual or business or party.
That may help with the process, but I wish I was slightly more patient. In the networking side of things, because not everybody at networking events tends to be that robust in their communication. Not everybody goes there with the same intention. But then the flip side, I'm going, you know, if it's a law of large numbers, if I'm doing more events like this, then by, what I really want also is to meet other passionate individuals.
Who share the same enthusiasm about working together. It doesn't, we don't have to work. Our businesses don't have to have a natural fit, but it's about understanding that we both have that same passion for improving the system. And what can we do with our skill set and our connections that we can use to improve the system because when the system wins.
You are going to win. Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay. So what role does follow up? How does, how, what, what types of ways do you follow up and really what's your system to, to follow up with, you know, your various contacts. Again, Omni channel comes down to how we initiated contact. That's one of the skills that I think I've been lucky enough to evolve through my time of leadership and entrepreneurship is understanding.
How different people like to be motivated. And again, that's the same thing where, you know, there's a lot of ways to skin the cat, that statement, you can apply that to so many use cases of life and availability of information is another one too. Sometimes you may want to call up the person, but if you just don't have the phone number and you can't even pick up the phone and call them.
So we are, you know, limited by what information is available to us. But personally, I love talking to people as I'm sure you've identified in a short period of time and I hope your audience is enjoying my little soliloquies along the way. So if it was for me and I had the luxury to and I had the access to information, personally, I would just pick up the phone and dial.
Then again, everyone is always busy and we're mobile on the go. There's a lot of priorities that need reallocation, so email follow up still becomes a useful way of just, you know, ensuring that there's a written, easily searchable documentation of any communication that may occur. What are your top three strategies for ensuring a networking interaction leads to an actionable result?
That's a very great question. And that's very difficult to answer because That's why I ask. I know. And we're, we're so individual and unique in our, in our being, I think, you know, the top three strategies, they would sort of almost align with what you, you, what you say as far as networking goals, you know, where they're like you, they'll listen to you, they'll trust you, and they'll buy from you.
So I think the first one is, you know, authenticity I think you, you cannot, when there's a natural passion and authenticity to somebody's willingness to connect. That goes beyond the immediate short term financial or connection. And like, I've been in rooms where I know that if I'm in a general networking space where there may be a lot of incumbents, sure, I have very strict boundaries because my time is limited and I have to interact with a lot of people.
So I put up a big guard wall where, you know, it's like, okay, if you don't understand meal deals or if you're not in my wheelhouse, I'm just going to shake your hand, wish you a wonderful evening and move on. Because. I'm constrained by so many minutes and so many other individuals that we have to interact with.
So that genuineness, I think, is something that really helps authentic authenticity and genuine genuineness shines through. Second thing is, I think that willingness for how can you enhance the system and not myself, and that goes to extension of the authenticity of, okay, how can I understand what it is that I'm able to offer this individual in terms of.
Because we're all, when I reflect on my life, I'm just a creature of all the wonderful teachers and professors and mentors and bosses I've had along the way, who've poured wisdom into me, and all I am is just a mosaic of all of their knowledge. And I get to use it piecemeal, based on the situations I'm in.
So, from a networking standpoint, how can I share some of those details with my, with the individuals I'm connecting with? We're hoping that some of this Knowledge transfer may be beneficial to them without me directly being an intermediary in the application of such knowledge. 'cause now I've taken this network and leveraged it.
And then, you know, the third part of that is an extension of this. It's like, how can you make this more than about yourself? So networking is about connecting. You don't have to necessarily be the core point of connection every time. If you can put together a few right people and connect them and have their network grow through.
You'll be surprised at how, who knows, five years, ten years down the line, there'll be such a fond memory of the network that you've helped create in ways that you didn't even know you helped create, that you could pick up, again, all kinds of tangible and intangible benefits from having created such wonderful connections.
Right. Good. Very good answer, by the way. See, it wasn't so difficult. Okay, Humi, what's one essential tip that you would give somebody Looking to help them with their networking or sales skills repetition and don't be shy. I know it's sort of like there are two tips, but in my view, they go hand in hand.
Just keep going. Like it's literally a numbers game. And the more you do it, the better you get at it, you're going to get nose. Anyways, you might as well solicit the nose so it brings you that much closer to the yes and I know these are very like, you know, heuristic sort of. Aphoristic things that I'm saying, almost aphorisms of sorts.
Every no gets you closer to a yes, so on and so forth. But still, like, you know, it's just the truth. Like, that it is still a large numbers game. There's 8 billion of us. Are we going to network with 8 billion human beings? Mathematically, it's not possible. Will our time on planet Earth, will this cease before, will end before we can physically connect with 8 billion people, right?
So when you factor in the limitations of how much time we have. And how many people we can reach with? I think the goal should be just, you know, how can I maximize my outfit? Okay. That's good. So, so with everything you've told me, everything you've said, what's your favorite marketing
Man, I love talking to people. So if I could just show someone you know, and I love helping people to Michael, that's one of my core purposes in life. Our business is built around helping restaurants and people. And if I can do anything surrounding, how can I help somebody I'm winning. So for me, that's been like my number one sort of like motivator is that, as I mentioned earlier, I'm so lucky to have so many individuals.
Share knowledge with me and connect me and enrich enriching my life in so many ways that it's naturally like almost like a humble servitude I have been built into my core being where I must pass forward So it becomes very easy for me and then I love talking to people so if I can, you know Just help someone in whatever way shape and form if I can make an iota of an improvement in their existing being then I've done my job and you know, I know I can do that On an ongoing active basis.
So I take pride in trying to do it as many times as I want. It goes horribly wrongly sometimes. But C'est la vie sometimes, you know, even football stars and Superbowl MVPs throw interceptions and fumble the ball. So that's just a part of life. It's true. That's true. Okay, let's bring this full circle and just give me one takeaway that my listeners can use today.
One takeaway.
I think, Michael, you alluded to that building a trust factor and that trust really is, comes from relationships. So I think, you know, focus on networking as a relationship building tool, and you'll be amazed that, you know, how far you can go when you can truly leverage your network in that way, rather than just going through your Rolodex and saying, how can individual A, B, C help me, trying to figure out, okay, how can A help Z, or how can X help V, and so on and so forth.
And again, it doesn't have to, you don't have to spend time coming up with those benefits. But through enough practice, eventually that'll just become second nature where, because you're constantly connecting the right kinds of individuals and making marketplaces for ideas to sort of. Be born or be actualized to repetition.
That'll just become a natural skill. It's great. Great. Kunal, I, I can't tell you how excited and great this podcast was because we got to hear all about your experience, what you're doing, your energy itself just to, to put forth this extra business. It's just, it's incredible. How could somebody How would somebody get in touch with you if they wanted to know more or invest or be coached by you?
How could they get in touch with you? Thanks, sir. You know, we build meal deals to be a global marketplace. We're already in 53 countries. If there's any restaurant owners or folks who have friends that own restaurants that are listening to this and they would like to add their restaurants to meal deals.
It's very easy. You just go to meal deals dot app forward slash register. So the URL is triple w dot meal deals with an S dot APP forward slash register. And it's a fully automated, simple to use solution that allows you to sign up your restaurant and start announcing anything you want the locals. And if anybody wants to get in touch with us our email address is hello at meal deals dot app.
And yeah, we look forward to areas of suggestions for improvement, enhancements, just any good tips, anything that would help enhance and improve our ability to serve our users. We cherish and look forward to any of those suggestions and recommendations. Very good, Kunal. Thank you so much for coming on to the podcast.
Pleasure to be on your show, Michael. Thank you for allowing me to be a guest, sir.
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Michael is a business networking expert specializing in enhancing professionals' networking and communication skills to drive profitability. As a leading authority in this field, he is highly sought after for his dynamic presentations and workshops. His extensive experience has consistently led to significant improvements in corporate profitability by empowering individuals and organizations to connect more effectively and efficiently.
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