What prepares someone to spend two and a half years creating and perfecting a startup for a restaurant app—one that lands $2 million in seed funding?
In the case of Bradford Sayler, it was George Mason University’s School of Law.
The law degree from George Mason, Sayler said, “100 percent prepared me” for the rigors of what it takes to build a new company. “For me, law school was one big test in time management and project management—you have a lot of to-dos on your list every day. A lot of my day [at Spotluck] is very similar to that.”
Sayler, JD’ 09, and Cherian Thomas, CEO, launched the Spotluck app in June 2014 after several months of kicking around ideas in the dynamic field of collaborative marketing platforms. They finally settled on tackling the problem of yield management in the restaurant space—in short, helping restaurants fill more seats during slow times.
The resulting app appeals to consumers as well as restaurateurs: Users benefit from preferred pricing at hundreds of local restaurants and “spin” a roulette-like wheel that chooses a nearby restaurant for them; wherever they land, they are rewarded with a bonus discount at that restaurant. The app also boasts a number of other restaurant-related features.
After graduating from the University of Delaware, Sayler spent two years in public accounting in Philadelphia before applying to law schools. Mason’s proximity to Washington, D.C., and the school’s strong rankings, he said, definitely played into his decision.
“But the biggest thing I appreciated about it was that most everybody who goes there had work experience,” he said. “It made for a much better academic experience. It made for much better classroom discussions.”
In fact, Sayler stays in touch and consults with his Mason cohorts on business matters—relationships that he says are important to him.
As for the $2 million in backing, “that’s a nice fundraise,” said David Miller, who teaches entrepreneurship at Mason’s School of Business.
Mason management professor Patrick Soleymani agrees.
“Two million dollars in seed funding for a bootstrap tech startup in today's day and age in the Washington metro area is quite impressive,” he said. “It goes to show that this region's innovative minds can command the types of investments usually reserved for Silicon Valley-based ventures.”
Spotluck has more than 300 client restaurants in 23 neighborhoods around Washington, with new neighborhoods coming online at regular intervals.
Sayler stays laser-focused on the future, something he said Mason and his legal work experience helped develop.
“I was doing a lot to help clients in driving their futures and pursuing their dreams,” he said. “I quickly realized I have visions, I have dreams, and I can do the same for myself.”