Meet The Disruptors: Ani Torosyan Of DishDivvy On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
“Never take no for an answer”: This one comes from my mom, a fierce boss lady who quite literally never takes no for an answer. As an immigrant woman in Silicon Valley in the 80s and 90s, my mother was able to navigate her way from a minimum entry-level job to a 6 figure income in the field of engineering. She taught me always to learn, grow and ask questions because, in her own words, “the worst someone can tell you is no.” (which, of course, to us means ‘find another way’ =)
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ani Torosyan.
Ani is the Co-Founder and CEO of DishDivvy, a platform that empowers home-based culinary creators to leverage their skillset, coupled with the resources of their home kitchen, to share delicious home-cooked meals with their local community. Based in Los Angeles and serving communities throughout California, DishDivvy connects people with authentic, homemade food available on-demand through pick-up or delivery.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Like many entrepreneurs, my career path has been somewhat windy, but definitely by choice. After graduating from USC in biomedical engineering, I started in the corporate world, working in the medical device industry. Although I loved the impact my job was making on peoples’ lives, I was looking for a more fast-paced industry and somewhere I could build things from the ground up. After leaving the corporate world, I embarked on my journey as a serial entrepreneur, from opening my first brick-and-mortar business to launching my web/app development consultancy, where I gained a ton of experience and insights into the mobile tech world, specifically food tech. As I kept a close watch on new food trends, such as meal kit services or on-demand food delivery, I kept thinking to myself that these options were not really solving the ‘dinner dilemma’ so many people like myself, a busy working mom, were experiencing on a daily basis. During this time, I would also observe my mother-in-law, a retired grandmother and an amazing cook, who makes enough food to feed an army on any given weekday. And I kept thinking to myself, ‘Why can’t people in her neighborhood get access to the amazing food she is making?” That was the light bulb moment, so to speak, when DishDivvy was born and I started looking into the team and resources needed to launch such a concept.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
We’re disrupting traditional commercial food and on-demand food delivery, which was initially only about the most convenient way to solve the “What’s for dinner?” dilemma. The traditional restaurant model is unbundling, accelerated by the effects the pandemic has caused on the industry as a whole. We’re seeing hospitality workers leaving their jobs, never to come back, as they represent a large segment of this ongoing ‘Great Resignation.’ Folks cite the desire for more flexible hours, better wages, better working conditions and creative freedom as their top reasons for declining their previous positions. At DishDivvy, we not only embrace these changes in the food industry but have built a platform that empowers and celebrates the future of work and the rise of the very talented culinary creator.
Unlike asset-heavy models in the space that need to cover storage facilities, delivery fleets, and multiple employees, DishDivvy’s tech stack enables efficient asset utilization with limited additional overhead costs. Our innovative seller tools empower home cooks to create and serve ready-to-eat, freshly prepared food on-demand through pickup or delivery.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
First and foremost, my parents, who have sacrificed so much to give my brother and me a better life in the land of opportunity. My family fled the violent Islamic revolution in Iran as Armenian-Christian refugees when I was just two years old. With their toddler children in tow, my parents left everything behind to start a new life in California. My parents both had engineering degrees but began their careers in America with entry-level minimum wage jobs. Yet, they quickly worked their way into upper management tech positions in Silicon Valley during the dot-com boom. As a parent myself now, I realize how incredibly challenging and difficult these years must have been for them, yet they never once stopped to complain about the situation. Instead, they always taught my brother and me to put in the hard work and be the best in everything we attempted.
At DishDivvy, my team and I are beyond proud to be building a platform that helps anybody with a talent and a dream launch a home restaurant. So many of our HomeCook partners are folks from underrepresented labor groups, such as immigrants, women, and minorities, who have largely been left out of the commercial food space, especially in management or ownership positions. My own immigrant history and experience are a driving force behind my desire to help democratize the future of commercial food.
Can you share three of the best pieces of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
- “If it can be done, you can do it better”: Growing up, my father always gave me this advice. It was actually part of his parenting style, as he pushed me always to be the best I could be and I pretty much grew up knowing this as my reality. As a result, I’m highly competitive (never LET my kids beat me in anything, although now they certainly CAN) and am always looking to improve.
- “Consider the source”: Early on in my startup journey, I would let every little thing get to me. It’s in my personality and work ethic/style to be obsessed with the project I’m working on, but you also have to realize that everyone’s ‘advice’ or ‘opinion’ doesn’t hold the same weight. So now I always ‘consider the source’, which is something my husband taught me. These days, I try to apply actual value to a bit of advice if it’s coming from someone who has some authority or experience on the topic, and let all else just roll off.
- “Never take no for an answer”: This one comes from my mom, a fierce boss lady who quite literally never takes no for an answer. As an immigrant woman in Silicon Valley in the 80s and 90s, my mother was able to navigate her way from a minimum entry-level job to a 6 figure income in the field of engineering. She taught me always to learn, grow and ask questions because, in her own words, “the worst someone can tell you is no.” (which, of course, to us means ‘find another way’ =)
We’re sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
There is so much to do in the homemade food space and creator economy, so my team and I are super excited for the future. In the short term, we are expanding into new markets: Austin, Baltimore / DC, Charlotte, and Chicago. We’re also growing our team and bringing in amazing people all the time, so going from a super small early-stage group to an expanded team of experts is an exciting time for me as a CEO and founder.
Our vision to connect communities through food is at the center of every decision we make and leads to our vision of helping anyone with culinary talent, anywhere in the world, launch and grow a thriving home kitchen business.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
I love the podcast ‘How I Built This’ by Guy Raz. Listening to other founders, their struggles, their ups and downs, and most importantly, their learnings, is not only fascinating to me, but also like therapy as I deal with many of the same challenges in my own startup journey. Great things aren’t built overnight, and of course, persistence and patience are key, but sometimes you need to hear similar war stories from other founders to keep yourself motivated and focused.
The book Zero to One by Peter Thiel: Building something that changes the status quo is hard, but why not dedicate your life and talents to something hard and revolutionary?
And The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho: Pursuing your ‘Personal Legend’ takes a lot of sacrifice, passion, and perseverance, but if you don’t pursue that dream, are you okay with living with regret and disappointment?
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote” and share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I don’t remember who said it, but it’s about “choosing your Hard.” Life is hard, jobs are hard, relationships are hard, finances are hard, everything is hard. So when we choose to dedicate ourselves to something every day, regardless if it’s in the business world or one’s personal life, let’s try to ‘choose our Hard’ and enjoy the process and journey.
How can our readers follow you online?
I’m on LinkedIn or feel free to follow us on the DishDivvy Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
