Our new series, The TR Feed, kicks off featuring one of our co-workers and Tech Ranch® companies. Lisa Howe and her business partner, Murray McKerlie, started Kitchen Table Passport in order 
to help ignite curiosity about other cultures. As Lisa puts it, “We have been lucky enough to travel to many (and each live in several) countries for both work and vacation, and wanted to bring the experience of visiting another country to Americans, without the need for a plane ticket.”
About Kitchen Table Passport:
| Explore the World from Your Kitchen Table!An international box of the month, Kitchen Table Passport is a great way to get together and see, taste, smell, hear, and touch another culture – from people who have actually been there!Each month, you’ll get a box featuring a different country,including: *10 double-sided cards with amazing photography and interesting “who knew?” information *Personally-curated recipe for a local dish *Unique herb & spice mix for the dish *Shopping list for basic ingredients (chicken, onions, etc) *Local mementos – such as incense from the oldest maker in Kyoto, or charms made from a local artisan on an island in Greece *Playlist |
All of the site’s content is from people who have been to the country personally, and the box engages ALL five senses – which is the next best thing to actually being there! We asked Lisa to share some of her entrepreneurial insights with us in a section we call…
“Three Things”
Hardest things about being an entrepreneur:
- Resources – so much to do, only two of us, and we are bootstrapping so we don’t have a lot of money to spend.
- Data – compared to working at large companies, we have to work with very little data to make decisions.
- Focus – with limited resources and data, need to stay focused!
Advice for entrepreneurs (new or seasoned):
- Focus, per above. 🙂 with limited resources, need to stay focused! Pivot when it makes sense, of course, but then re-focus.
- Test demand for your product early – before optimizing the product. Ensure you are meeting a need in the market and can position your product at the right price point appropriately before spending time fine-tuning your product.
- Learn from others. There is a great community of folks who are willing and able to share experiences.
Of course we have to ask…words to describe Tech Ranch® 🙂
- Friendly
- Accessible
- Community
Fun Facts
- Favorite Word: Foodie
- Favorite Activity: Travel
- Something we don’t already know about you? I was in Tent #1 camping out for basketball games for 3 of 4 years in undergrad at Duke University. Blue Devils!
Finally, please share with us any news or exciting opportunities for our readers regarding Kitchen Table Passport:
| We just got another great review from Creative Family Fun a few days ago: http://snip.ly/v8Ns .Our May box (each month is a surprise 🙂 ) will ship in late May – and is a country that I’ve been to several times and love! Order by May 20 to get it! |
