‘Why Didn\u2019t This Exist Before?’<\/strong><\/p>\nThirty-nine Chick-fil-A restaurants have already signed up for Swipestorm\u2019s mobile app called Restore. \u201cEverybody who uses it loves it. They all say, \u2018Why didn\u2019t this exist before?\u2019\u2019\u2019 says Catapano, a communications major. \u201cIt\u2019s a great solution to an old problem; an easy sell.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen something goes wrong with a restaurant order, it is very frustrating for the customer and for the manager,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cPeople may be late for work or late to pick up their kids. You want to make it right. You\u2019re flipping through the binder, trying to find their name and figure out what they were promised, and they\u2019re standing there watching you. It is tricky because you don\u2019t want customers to think you\u2019re not taking their issue seriously, but you can\u2019t give away free food either.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThe delay in resolving the problem can ruin the customer-recovery experience,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cAlso, it pulls the manager away from the team and the team may be falling behind, the line may be getting longer, and the fire is burning behind you.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cRestaurant owners are not able to be there every second and I want to give them the tools to navigate analytics and business insights,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cA restaurant\u2019s profit is the owner\u2019s salary, so it is vital to be on top of these things.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Catapano says he believes his software will be well received among the 300,000 chain restaurants in the United States. There are two other competitors in the industry, but their software is not specifically designed for restaurant customer \u201crecovery\u2019\u2019 and both require considerable customization.<\/p>\n
And while Catapano\u2019s initial product addresses issues with customer orders, he\u2019s well on his way to developing additional services.<\/p>\n
\u2018Let\u2019s Give It A Go!\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\nCatapano saw himself as an entrepreneur as early as middle school, when he would build LEGO sets and dreamed of owning his own construction company. By age 12, he was creating video games. As a high school student, Catapano, a native of Wallingford, got a job at Chick-fil-A and that created a new avenue of interest. By 2021, he was beginning to think about creating Swipestorm.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really loved it there, especially working with a great team. I\u2019m a very positive person and I like making people\u2019s days better,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cThe owner was very hands-on and invested in leadership development. If you had a new idea, he\u2019d say, \u2018Let\u2019s give it a go!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Although he is the first entrepreneur in his family, Catapano credits his parents \u2013 his dad an accountant and his mom a nurse\u2014for teaching him the value of hard work. \u201cThey\u2019ve always been very supportive of whatever I\u2019ve been interested in,\u2019\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n
Subhead: Summer Fellowship Program Prepared Swipestorm to Grow <\/strong><\/p>\nSwipestorm was one of nine startups to participate in the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation\u2019s (CCEI) Summer Fellowship Program this year. The eight-week program assists and advises new company founders as they become ready for the marketplace, assisting with everything from business strategy to funding sources.<\/p>\n
During the program, Catapano drew advice and mentorship from experts and a sense of camaraderie from his peers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the biggest Summer Fellowship takeaway for me was learning to improve my business pitch. It is so much better than when I started, I\u2019ve learned better ways to communicate my business and what we do,\u2019\u2019 he says. He wants to hire a team of software developers to expand the business while he focuses on acquiring new customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the entrepreneurs that I worked with this summer have extremely great ideas,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cI think what makes me a strong candidate in the Wolff competition is that I\u2019m currently in the market, my product exists, and now I just need to scale it. I think I\u2019m off to a strong start and I have ideas about how to grow from here.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Wolff New Venture Competition will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 17 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the School of Business\u2019 GBLC, Second Floor, 100 Constitution Plaza, Hartford. All are welcome. Please pre-register at https:\/\/ccei.uconn.edu\/wolff-new-venture-competition<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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