If you know anything about Sage Corps, you know that what makes our program so unique is the invaluable experience our fellows have interning with startups. That being said, it’s about time we start highlighting some of our favorite startup affiliates!
First up: Let’s Eat, Grandma.
FOUNDING STORY
Matthew and Chris Villanueva, brothers who studied Business & Hospitality at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, co-founded Let’s Eat, Grandma back in 2014. From their experience working in their school’s career services department, they began to realize the importance of providing professional resources to both students looking for jobs and internships, as well as working professionals.
To get their business off the ground, Matt, co-founder & President of Operations, and Chris, co-founder & CEO, began marketing themselves on Fiverr and selling their services for $20 (about $3 per hour, Chris emphasized). Since then, they have partnered with a website designer, a team of 10 writers, and have been able to grow their company, developing their reputation as online resume professionals.
Why the name “Let’s Eat, Grandma” you ask?
“We never wanted to be a boring resume service. So we chose the name Let’s Eat, Grandma because as writers — we have an appreciation for grammar jokes and wanted to bring a little humor into the resume writing world.” – Chris Villanueva
Since their days at Cornell, the brothers have taken their business to the Capital Factory in Austin, Texas. Austin’s startup culture has helped Let’s Eat, Grandma immensely, providing Matt and Chris with other entrepreneurial connections that have offered both mentorship and inspiration. Matt added that the availability of “meetups,” public lectures, and other educational resources in Austin have also helped them to grow and expand Let’s Eat, Grandma in the Lone Star state.
WHAT THEY DO
Let’s Eat, Grandma provides a variety of online resume services. Chris explains,
“We write resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles for job seekers. We write for nearly every industry and for professionals in any stage of their career. We write for the young college graduate — and the seasoned professional who is about to take their final job before retiring. We write resumes for busy moms about to return back to the workforce. We write for veterans looking to break into the world of tech. Essentially, we write for anyone who is a true go-getter looking to make a positive impact in their career.”
Let’s Eat, Grandma connects their customers with business-writing professionals, providing them with trained help that can increase their credibility.
According to Matt, Let’s Eat, Grandma’s mission is to “empower job seekers and improve their lives through easing and demystifying the job search process.” They aim to be the #1 resume writing service, and want to serve as many clients as possible. To date, they have served 1000+ professionals in every major industry, and on every continent.
WHY WE LOVE THEM
This past summer was the first time that we sent a cohort to Austin, TX – and our first summer partnering with Let’s Eat, Grandma! One of our fellows, Melvin (Mel) Stack, ended up being a perfect match, and spent eight weeks as a marketing intern for them.
Throughout his eight-week internship, Mel’s tasks ranged from podcast, video, and blog production, to handling search engine optimization, keyword research, and data analytics, to incorporating social media marketing initiatives through platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Quora, Soundcloud, and iTunes.
Regarding Mel’s internship performance, Matt shared,
“Mel, our Content Marketing Intern, has provided Let’s Eat, Grandma more insight regarding content marketing, social media, data analytics, and SEO keyword planning and research in the past 8 weeks than we have had in the last 4 years as a company. Specifically, the content that he created and the quantifiable impact he left on us was immense.”
Chris added that Mel was a “dream come true marketing intern.”
Some of Mel’s best work includes this video recap of one of Let’s Eat, Grandma’s LinkedIn workshops, this two-part negotiation podcast (Part 1, Part 2) with Professor Tony Simons from Cornell University, as well as blog posts like this one.
Mel explained that the reason he loved his internship so much was largely due to the direction he received from both Chris and Matt. Specifically, he acknowledged their clear expectations set for him, the hands-on experience that he was provided, and their ability to be both welcoming and helpful.
After reflecting on his summer internship, Mel shared,
“It is amazing how much of an impact one internship can have on you. I will always look back fondly on my internship with Let’s Eat, Grandma, as I now feel empowered to overcome any marketing-related challenge presented to me, moving forward.”
Chris explained that they will be keeping Mel on their team as a part-time marketing analyst to assist them in their next growth phase. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Let’s Eat, Grandma, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for the company, and for Mel!
“I am extremely grateful to Chris and Matt for taking a chance on me. Prior to interning through Sage Corps, I did not have a tremendous amount of marketing experience, but this program allowed me to feed my curiosity about the industry. Looking ahead to the future, I now plan to incorporate marketing into my career.
Thinking you could benefit from Let’s Eat, Grandma’s services? Check out their website to learn more about all that they have to offer!
STUDENTS: THINK YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES? APPLY NOW
STARTUPS: WANT AN INTERN LIKE MEL? SIGN ME UP!
