Hi Brandon, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Roog began after I was let go from a startup. That experience forced me to sit down and think about my own goals and where I was devoting my energy. I decided to put my time and efforts towards a mission that I believed in, one that helped improve social and economic outcomes in Black and Brown communities. After conducting my own research through conversations with multitudes of business owners, I began drafting and designing the concept of Roog. Soon after, I moved to Texas to attend the University Texas at Austin for my masters degree in technology commercialization.
While at UT, I was able to connect with amazing professors, alumni, and talented students in my program, and over the next year, we researched the market opportunities for Roog. Now, my current team consists of three of my classmates from UT as well as some awesome individuals I met in the Austin tech scene and beyond. Since graduating from the MSTC program at UT, we have worked to design and build an easy to use product for shoppers to discover local minority-owned businesses in the communities many of us call home. The inspiration behind our name is that Roog represents the idea of a universal God. The lion symbolizes loyalty and we want our customers to be loyal to the idea of supporting minority businesses more often so that we can bring more dollars back to their communities. We launched our app in the Apple Store on September 1, 2020.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The journey of entrepreneurship and launching Roog has been filled with potholes. Some of my greatest challenges were raising enough funds to launch our product while also building a diverse team that reflected our mission. I personally struggled with imposter syndrome for a while and had to learn how to own my expertise from my professional and startup experiences. After all, not many founders looked like me, and I was often challenged by people who simply didn’t understand the necessity of a service like Roog. But, I didn’t let that stop me. I overcame those doubts by connecting with colleagues from my alma mater and forging new connections through the Young Professional Austin Urban League and the Black Graduate Association at UT. In addition, my classmates and the faculty and staff at the McCombs School of Business were instrumental in supporting me and helping Roog come to life.
As you know, we’re big fans of Roog. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Roog is the one-stop shop for buying from minority-owned businesses. We are currently in over 7 markets with more than 250businesses throughout Texas, including Dallas, and counting! On our mobile app, people can explore Black-owned, Veteran-owned or Woman-owned restaurants, health spas and jewelry stores and more. Shoppers can easily explore new businesses based on their selected preferences, tag their favorites, and find special deals.
We drive customers to minority-owned businesses, which is more important than ever for small businesses during these challenging times. Many small businesses have had to adapt to the changes caused by COVID, and we provide a digital platform for new customers to discover them and conveniently order their products and services online. There is no cost to use the app or list a business, and since our launch in September, we are steadily increasing in business and user sign-ups.
What does success mean to you?
Roog has been fortunate to do well in various pitch competitions and technology accelerators like MassChallenge Texas. However, I must say that since our launch in the Apple store, I am most proud of the reception we have received so far from business owners and our mobile users. Our goal was to create a platform for users to shop directly from minority-owned businesses in a safe social and digital environment, and all the feedback we have received to-date has demonstrated we have done exactly that.
However, our journey is far from over, and Roog ultimately measures its success by making things better for the communities we serve. In the over the next five years, we will create 2,500 new jobs. Furthermore, Roog is a Black-owned company supported by diverse investors who are equally committed to our mission of advocating for diversity not just through our platform, but through our own internal hiring processes, strategic partnerships, and our brand. We have many plans not just for our future development, but also for the businesses we serve, our users and our community.
Contact Info:
- Address: Capital Factory: 3102 Oak Lawn Ave, Dallas, TX 75219
- Email: info@roog.co
- Website: https://roog.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roogapp/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoogApp
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Roog_App
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/osf3J7TiqEs
- Other: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/roog/id1518205395
