After winning the grand-prize in the Johnson & Wales Shark Tank competition modeled after the ABC television series, CEO and 2011 JWU graduate Tim Silva and his team utilized the JWU Entrepreneurial Center and the social networking/funding platform website Kickstarter to fund their mobile restaurant.

Kickstarter is a social-media entrepreneurial website that promotes itself as a funding platform for creative projects and where cutting-edge ideas are brought to life through direct support from friends, family and complete strangers who support the entrepreneur’s vision. Since its launch, Kickstarter supporters have brought to life more than 30,000 creative projects that have ranged from music, art, technology, films, games and a plethora of foodservice ideas. These creative projects have received direct support totaling more than $350 million in pledges from more than 2.5 million supporters.

On April 5, 2012, the students realized their Kickstarter goal by receiving financial support from 95 backers who pledged almost $10,000. They utilized some of the Kickstarter funding to refurbish a truck they had already obtained so that it would meet health-code requirements and other state regulations. The rest of the funding went to the purchase of a commercial hood system, a flat-top grill, plumbing and wiring costs, a commercial refrigerator and to the overall décor and ambiance of the truck.

According to a September 27, 2012, Forbes article, the cost of starting up a food truck can range from $50,000 to $200,000, although the article also states that to open a reasonably priced, reliable truck, one should expect to pay around $60,000. An additional $10,000 will be needed to cover the start-up costs such as fuel, maintenance, business permits, kitchen equipment purchases or rental expenses, food supplies, insurance, advertising dollars and any employee expenses.

Compare that to the costs to opening a traditional restaurant with a physical space in one venue, which will typically range anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000 depending on the size and location of the restaurant. Both the mobile food truck and the fixed-location restaurant have a niche in the foodservice industry based on the needs and desires of their clienteles. In fact, many restaurateurs in Providence now have both a fixed-location restaurant and a mobile food truck.

The unique vision of RADISH’s founders was to be a hub for artists, musicians and adventurers in the community by promoting their work through the truck. Imagine a mobile gallery space that doubles as a place to get amazing, feel-good food you can eat with your hands.

Shortly after winning the Shark Tank competition, the RADISH team conducted a guerilla-marketing campaign by posting black and red oval stickers throughout the city of Providence that contained a picture of a radish and the slogan, “the farmer’s food truck.” They also created “Where is RADISH?” accounts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and then started to promote pictures of future menu items on Pinterest.

To learn more about RADISH, visit http://whereisradish.com.

Douglas D. Stuchel, MAT, CHE, is an assistant professor at the Center for Food & Beverage Management at the Hospitality College at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I.