Envisioning Tomorrow: visuEats widens the door for restaurants and eCommerce profitability
Despite facing many challenges as a young, African American/black and female software engineer, the owner of visuEats, Sophronia Mckenzie, the Caribbean's first global marketplace for restaurants says it is now on track to close 2024 with 4 per cent market share in Jamaica. The app, also, is conservatively projected to capture 40 per cent of the island’s eatery market share by year end 2025 says its owner
Sophronia Mckenzie is the founder and CEO of the platform which also hosts visuknock.
visuknock operates similarly to the US's UberEats with private individuals able to use their own vehicles to make deliveries. This element is supported via lynk which pays its driving couriers automatically.
Caribbean Money Daily
The visuEats’ product provides diners with a visually, immersive easy-to-use platform that fulfills the online revenue-generating, front-of-house, and marketing needs of restaurants. It is available for free download in the Google Play and iOS App stores.
The technology which evolved was reportedly groundbreaking. Accordingly, McKenzie notes, “we will be morphing into visuTech.”
The global restaurant industry TAM (Total Addressable Market) comprises approximately 15 million restaurants, valued at around US$3.6 trillion. Jamaica's TAM represents about 0.0033 per cent of the global market.
The visuEats’ product is targeting all local eateries in Jamaica to start i.e., restaurants, grocery stores and more.
McKenzie asserts, “We will be rapidly expanding in other Caribbean countries beginning in Q3 2025. visuTech targets commercial businesses in multiple sectors including Entertainment and manufacturing.”
McKenzie’s journey began in Kingston, Jamaica. In October 2013, she moved to South Florida with just US$100 in her pocket, but quickly landing a commission-based job as a door-to-door sales agent.
In 2015, she transitioned into the tech industry, becoming a software project manager—a role that sparked an inner passion for innovation.
Today the company is run by the solo entrepreneur. It is registered as visuEats Imagery Solutions, Inc. in Florida.
The entrepreneur explains, “We are a virtual company with teams spanning Jamaica, India, Colombia, Egypt and the United States, where I am currently based. I am a solo founder and currently the only person sitting in a C-Suite position. Ian Neita, is my mentor and Managing Director for our Jamaican subsidiary, visuEats Limited. “
visuEats idea was born from a happy hour conversation Mckenzie was having with a friend one Friday evening in June 2018.
She recalls, “I needed to see pictures of the menu items and have a similar experience like I do on Instagram i.e., drool over food, get excited and ready to order. But that didn’t exist at restaurants, so instead of hearing me complain all the time, my friend encouraged me to solve my own problem since I was already working in the tech industry as a software project manager.” visuEats was launched in Jamaica in March 2023.
McKenzie has over a decade of software project management experience with products/companies like Microsoft, AWS, Hitachi, PairSoft and dv01 leading custom software development from to US$50,000 to US$2M in project size.
Companies collaborated with range from large corporations to startups, which she says, “provided me with the level of agility and expertise I harness daily to operate visuEats.”
McKenzie stated, “In this market and the current stage of our company, our competitive advantage right now is visuFam, my team and I. The technology we’ve created with the resources we’ve had, is unmatched. We didn’t just build a technology to monetize it, we built software which disrupts the industry.”
eCommerce solutions are among the most in-demand services in the Caribbean market, particularly for small-to-medium sized businesses (SMEs).
McKenzie says, “More than 70 per cent of SMEs in the Caribbean are not leveraging online commerce due to affordability, limited infrastructure and overall awareness. In this untapped and underserved region visuEats’ technology has a golden, offering instant payouts to the merchants at a very low commission per transaction.”
There have been challenges aplenty, but the entrepreneur has persevered. “The first challenge I experienced was being a woman in the tech industry, which is currently a male dominated industry. The second and biggest challenge was being a woman of color within said industry. I’m immediately seen as inexperienced and not knowledgeable. For example, I’ve had instances where people automatically assume I do not know what a word means during a conversation, so they stop to explain it.
“The third challenge I’m experiencing is not only am I a woman of color, but I am a Jamaican. Within the Jamaican community. There is a lack of awareness, so this does feel like I’m trying twice as hard to gain access to resources and funding.”
She explains, “The approach I have taken is to apply and participate in various accelerator programs to network within the black community. These programs have provided the platform for black female founders to showcase their companies and credibility to the wider public. This has opened doors and opportunities for visuEats.”
Primary financing sources are angel investors and revenue, with a strong focus on leveraging technology to unlock new revenue streams to reduce reliance on external financing.
Since startup, the entrepreneur has invested half million US dollars in visuEats. Ballpark visuEat's size is currently between the US$10,000 to $100,000 range by potential annual revenue. She expects to recoup this investment in 2025.
McKenzie says, “Thankfully, our profitability is increasing. visuEats experienced three per cent growth in 2024 and it is projected to achieve 36 per cent growth in 2025.
Focus in 2025, she says, will be on three main initiatives to drive growth and initiate 10 times 2024 performance: These are curating strategic partnerships; leveraging visuEats’ technology in other industries; and expanding to another Caribbean country.
Reducing debt is also on the cards. McKenzie explains, “We plan to reinvest a portion of our growing revenue into debt repayment while maintaining operational efficiency in order to be effective with our debt management.
The entrepreneur concludes, “There are so many gems that I have gathered over the years. I will group them in three areas: Spiritual: I’ve learned that being an entrepreneur is a spiritual journey. Wealth creation is spiritual, and it is important to have a real relationship with God. Tap into your higher self, not the ego.
“Technical: I’ve learned it would have been easier to start with a website first, monetize the site then reinvest the revenue from the site to build the mobile app. I would have gotten to the proof-of-concept phase much more quickly.”
Finally, she notes that in the sphere of the physical, “I have learned to ensure you exercise to minimize compromising your health. Ensure you stay active and healthy is vital to building your company.”
Photo caption: Sophronia Mckenzie, founder and CEO of the visuEats platform
The technology which evolved was reportedly groundbreaking. Accordingly, McKenzie notes, “we will be morphing into visuTech.”
The global restaurant industry TAM (Total Addressable Market) comprises approximately 15 million restaurants, valued at around US$3.6 trillion. Jamaica's TAM represents about 0.0033 per cent of the global market.
The visuEats’ product is targeting all local eateries in Jamaica to start i.e., restaurants, grocery stores and more.
McKenzie asserts, “We will be rapidly expanding in other Caribbean countries beginning in Q3 2025. visuTech targets commercial businesses in multiple sectors including Entertainment and manufacturing.”
McKenzie’s journey began in Kingston, Jamaica. In October 2013, she moved to South Florida with just US$100 in her pocket, but quickly landing a commission-based job as a door-to-door sales agent.
In 2015, she transitioned into the tech industry, becoming a software project manager—a role that sparked an inner passion for innovation.
Today the company is run by the solo entrepreneur. It is registered as visuEats Imagery Solutions, Inc. in Florida.
The entrepreneur explains, “We are a virtual company with teams spanning Jamaica, India, Colombia, Egypt and the United States, where I am currently based. I am a solo founder and currently the only person sitting in a C-Suite position. Ian Neita, is my mentor and Managing Director for our Jamaican subsidiary, visuEats Limited. “
visuEats idea was born from a happy hour conversation Mckenzie was having with a friend one Friday evening in June 2018.
She recalls, “I needed to see pictures of the menu items and have a similar experience like I do on Instagram i.e., drool over food, get excited and ready to order. But that didn’t exist at restaurants, so instead of hearing me complain all the time, my friend encouraged me to solve my own problem since I was already working in the tech industry as a software project manager.” visuEats was launched in Jamaica in March 2023.
McKenzie has over a decade of software project management experience with products/companies like Microsoft, AWS, Hitachi, PairSoft and dv01 leading custom software development from to US$50,000 to US$2M in project size.
Companies collaborated with range from large corporations to startups, which she says, “provided me with the level of agility and expertise I harness daily to operate visuEats.”
McKenzie stated, “In this market and the current stage of our company, our competitive advantage right now is visuFam, my team and I. The technology we’ve created with the resources we’ve had, is unmatched. We didn’t just build a technology to monetize it, we built software which disrupts the industry.”
eCommerce solutions are among the most in-demand services in the Caribbean market, particularly for small-to-medium sized businesses (SMEs).
McKenzie says, “More than 70 per cent of SMEs in the Caribbean are not leveraging online commerce due to affordability, limited infrastructure and overall awareness. In this untapped and underserved region visuEats’ technology has a golden, offering instant payouts to the merchants at a very low commission per transaction.”
There have been challenges aplenty, but the entrepreneur has persevered. “The first challenge I experienced was being a woman in the tech industry, which is currently a male dominated industry. The second and biggest challenge was being a woman of color within said industry. I’m immediately seen as inexperienced and not knowledgeable. For example, I’ve had instances where people automatically assume I do not know what a word means during a conversation, so they stop to explain it.
“The third challenge I’m experiencing is not only am I a woman of color, but I am a Jamaican. Within the Jamaican community. There is a lack of awareness, so this does feel like I’m trying twice as hard to gain access to resources and funding.”
She explains, “The approach I have taken is to apply and participate in various accelerator programs to network within the black community. These programs have provided the platform for black female founders to showcase their companies and credibility to the wider public. This has opened doors and opportunities for visuEats.”
Primary financing sources are angel investors and revenue, with a strong focus on leveraging technology to unlock new revenue streams to reduce reliance on external financing.
Since startup, the entrepreneur has invested half million US dollars in visuEats. Ballpark visuEat's size is currently between the US$10,000 to $100,000 range by potential annual revenue. She expects to recoup this investment in 2025.
McKenzie says, “Thankfully, our profitability is increasing. visuEats experienced three per cent growth in 2024 and it is projected to achieve 36 per cent growth in 2025.
Focus in 2025, she says, will be on three main initiatives to drive growth and initiate 10 times 2024 performance: These are curating strategic partnerships; leveraging visuEats’ technology in other industries; and expanding to another Caribbean country.
Reducing debt is also on the cards. McKenzie explains, “We plan to reinvest a portion of our growing revenue into debt repayment while maintaining operational efficiency in order to be effective with our debt management.
The entrepreneur concludes, “There are so many gems that I have gathered over the years. I will group them in three areas: Spiritual: I’ve learned that being an entrepreneur is a spiritual journey. Wealth creation is spiritual, and it is important to have a real relationship with God. Tap into your higher self, not the ego.
“Technical: I’ve learned it would have been easier to start with a website first, monetize the site then reinvest the revenue from the site to build the mobile app. I would have gotten to the proof-of-concept phase much more quickly.”
Finally, she notes that in the sphere of the physical, “I have learned to ensure you exercise to minimize compromising your health. Ensure you stay active and healthy is vital to building your company.”
Photo caption: Sophronia Mckenzie, founder and CEO of the visuEats platform
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