Comstock's magazine 0919 - September 2019

n SEED ROUND: MEET THE FOUNDER CHRISTY SERRATO PAIR ANYTHING Despite eclipsing $70 billion in value in 2018, the U.S. wine industry still was missing something — and Christy Serrato believes she found it: technology. Her Davis-based startup, PairAnything, has a platform in the works to help wineries connect with cus- tomers beyond the tasting room by guiding customers on wine and food pairings. “Discovering that magical combination of two different tastes when combined to- gether … create a balance between components of a dish and characteristics of a wine is truly magical,” she says. Serrato says food and wine pairings enhance the dining experience, and the clas- sic ones (e.g., blue cheese with port, lobster with chardonnay) represent the wisdom of history. But most of the industry is made up of small to midsized, family-owned wineries that haven’t yet tapped into the marketing power of digital tools. Serrato, a former banker who daylights as a program director at the Sacramento Entrepreneur- ship Academy, used her expertise to create algorithms that provide consumers with recommendations on wine and food pairings based on their preferences. For instance, if you enter lasagna into the platform, you’ll get three personal- ized wine recommendations that pair well with this dish (if you’re not a white wine fan, you won’t receive white wine options). The platform will then also refer you to the sponsoring winery for potential purchases. PairAnything, run by an eight-person team, won the $10,000 Food + Agriculture Sector Award at the 2019 Big Bang Business Competition at UC Davis. Pair It. (“When I tested the name, My backup name for the startup was.......................................................................... for some people, it begged the question, “Pair What?!?”) ........................................................................................................................... personal responsibility A startup can’t be successful without....................................................................... “The Art The book that best represents my approach to business (and life) would be..................... of Happiness” by the Dalai Lama .......................................................................................................................... I do not deliver value to the My biggest fear about launching was........................................................................ customers .......................................................................................................................... innovate If I could give my younger self a word of advice, that word would be............................. HAS IT BEEN CHALLENGING TO RAISE MONEY? “It’s hard to raise venture capital. It’s hard as a woman — that’s not an excuse. Instead of bootstrapping, I call it ‘heel-strapping’ because that’s what women do. I’m exploring how to run a campaign for equity crowdfunding and looking to raise $50,000, which will go toward developing the platform and accelerating customer acquisi- tion. By (September), we expect to have completed the equity crowdfunding campaign.” WHY WOULD WINERIES WANT TO CHANGE IF MARKET VALUES ARE GOING UP? “Small win- eries rely on direct-to-consumer sales, where 60 percent of sales come from tasting rooms and wine clubs. Success comes from loyal customers, but retir- ing baby boomers are being replaced by millennials, and younger people don’t want to commit to a wine club. PairAnything helps extend the experience be- yond the tasting room.” 106 comstocksmag.com | September 2019 For more on PairAnything, read Russell Nichols’ Startup of the Month column at comstocksmag.com.

Comstock's magazine 0919 - September 2019 | Page 106