Two Sawyer Business School alumni, Jamie Manning, MBA ’11, and Adriano Varassin, MBA ’10, launched Snagastool, the first and only app that lets you reserve your seat at the bar, early this year.
The two got their first break in early June, 2014. SnagaStool was one of three local businesses that were picked to compete for funding on the A&E television network’s show, Project Startup Live. Manning and Varassin were given only five days to prepare for their pitch for A&E.
“Luckily for us, this wasn’t our first competition. We had already pitched at several events across Boston, including the TechCrunch Pitch-off and Boston New Technology,” Manning said.
But this time, the two had to present on camera in front of a large audience and a panel of judges.
“Of course, it was a little nerve wracking. But once I started talking about SnagaStool, my anxiety disappeared because I was so excited,” Manning said.
The team says SnagaStool is like OpenTable, but for bar stools. They market it as an ideal app for dates, big games, after-work drinks and trivia night. “Just log in, pick the date and time, the number of bar stools and you’re done,” Manning says.
SnagaStool won a $2,500 seed investment front the event and also a mentorship from Brian Mecee, the CEO of the crowd funding website RocketHub. The Sawyer Business School has also played a key role in SnagaStool’s success.
“They connected us with Suffolk’s entrepreneur network and today, we’re leveraging that network to build a group of advisors within the hospitality industry to help our service expand into more bars and restaurants,” Manning said.