Building Boss Ladies: Meet the First Cohort of the FIU Venture Miami Opportunity Program | FIU News

Tech superstar ⏩ Tech Entrepreneur

What better way to promote a hot new spot than with a digital menu? That’s when Sophronia McKenzie discovered in ’09 that that kind of menu didn’t exist.

“You work in technology – why don’t you build menus like this yourself?” she thought.

And then a lightbulb went out and visuEats image solutionsthe unique mobile app for restaurants and customer experiences, was born.

Born in Jamaica, McKenzie immigrated to the United States on just $100, hungry for a fresh start. McKenzie found a job as an IT project manager, which sparked her passion for technology. Now she works as Senior IT Project Manager by day and visuEats Imagery Solutions developer by night.

“As a project manager, I had to develop the discipline to organize and manage tasks from start to finish,” said McKenzie. “With this discipline, I was able to build my startup from scratch; Create milestones, work on monthly goals and strategize to build the business from the ground up.”

visuEats Imagery Solutions aims to improve the dining and customer experience by presenting photos of a restaurant’s menu in a mobile app. Some features of the app include CrowdPlease, a feature that makes suggestions to customers by showcasing popular items; alertEat, which allows customers to filter the menu based on their food preferences or restrictions; and dineDime, which filters menus based on their budget.

“Our goal with visuEats is to make customers hungry as they look at each menu item,” said McKenzie. “We work with professional photographers to bring out the best in our partner restaurants’ menus and provide customers with a unique and delicious dining experience.”

“Being a part of the FIU-Venture Miami Opportunity Program’s Spring 2022 cohort affords me the privilege of access and support,” adds of the FIU-Venture Miami Opportunity Program. “I’m really excited about the doors and opportunities that lie ahead!”