{"id":46467,"date":"2023-10-20T15:50:07","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/sydney-startup-launches-platform-aimed-at-all-the-reality-cooking-show-enthusiasts-among-us-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:50:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:50:07","slug":"sydney-startup-launches-platform-aimed-at-all-the-reality-cooking-show-enthusiasts-among-us-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/sydney-startup-launches-platform-aimed-at-all-the-reality-cooking-show-enthusiasts-among-us-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney startup launches platform aimed at all the reality cooking show enthusiasts among us – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"WelcomeOver<\/div>\n

Fans of reality cooking shows like My Kitchen Rules and MasterChef who have hidden culinary talents of their own now have a platform to share these with the public thanks to Sydney startup.<\/p>\n

Founded by entrepreneurs Johan Schyberg, Nelson Hidalgo and John Welander, WelcomeOver helps cooking enthusiasts convert their homes into pop-up restaurants, allowing them to offer dine-out experiences without having to actually own a restaurant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe connect dinner guests with people hosting dinner,\u201d Schyberg tells StartupSmart.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe concept is not new \u2013 it has been around the world for a long time but the platform to connect them has been missing in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n

WelcomeOver lets users set up personal accounts as a guest or host.<\/p>\n

Hosts then create in-home culinary experiences and invite groups to try their meals for a monetary \u201ccontribution\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can sign-up and register as a host, say what you\u2019re planning on cooking, what dates and how much you\u2019d like them to contribute to dinner,\u201d Schyberg says.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the ultimate social network for those who dream of owning their own restaurant, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can test out your culinary skills and make a bit of money on the side,” he says.<\/p>\n

Focusing on the big markets<\/h3>\n

The beta site can now be accessed anywhere in Australia but Schyberg and his team are focusing on the Sydney and Melbourne markets first.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very easy to use the platform now as a guest, when you find something you like you just book it for that date,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

So far, the site has 14 registered hosts across Sydney offering a range of culinary experiences including \u2018Arepas in Bondi\u2019, \u2018Mexican Markets\u2019 and \u2018Singapore Hindian Food\u2019.<\/p>\n

Pricing ranges from $25 to $60 per head.<\/p>\n

From complementary sparkling to \u201chighly interesting conversations\u201d, each host adds their own personal touches, Schyberg says.<\/p>\n

For quality assurance, the WelcomeOver team is making an active effort to visit each Sydney-based host in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a fairly large number of potential hosts pending approval,\u201d Schyberg says.<\/p>\n

As they expand across Australia, he says they will look at bringing on quality assurance ambassadors to help them with this process.<\/p>\n

Every host is also screened with a police check and guests can score their host on the quality of the dining experience, which is displayed through a public ratings system.<\/p>\n

Where ratings are notably low, Schyberg says they will be investigated.<\/p>\n

Discovering the idea<\/h3>\n

The idea for WelcomeOver came after Schyberg discovered an online platform in Asia where people could share different services like hiring guides and drivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey also had home-cooked meals so we took that little part out of it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

With Australia demonstrating a strong appetite for new and creative culinary experiences, Schyberg and his fellow co-founders decided to start building the platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our first startup – it\u2019s a rollercoaster,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has taken us over a year to develop the platform and test it.\u201d<\/p>\n

While they\u2019ve had their bumps and knocks along the way, Schyberg says he is happy to finally see their product out in the market.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very grateful [that] it\u2019s all come together, that being said \u2013 no time to relax,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

As they work to build the WelcomeOver community, Schyberg and the team will later add a commission on the host contribution fee.<\/p>\n

He says this will be pre-calculated on listings so the price on the site is all the guest will pay.<\/p>\n

With hopes of WelcomeOver becoming a household name, Schyberg and his team are now focusing efforts on achieving critical mass in Sydney and Melbourne before actively rolling out across Australia and, eventually, the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be the name associated with this type of dining experience similar to Airbnb and Uber for their respective services,\u201d Schyberg says.<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter,<\/em>LinkedIn <\/em>and <\/em>SoundCloud.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fans of reality cooking shows like My Kitchen Rules and MasterChef who have hidden culinary talents of their own now<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46467"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}