Alecia Manderson: Creating Hungry At 25, Centering Small Businesses, And Expanding The Focus

Alecia "Lee" Manderson is the founder of Hungry@25, an online platform centered around uncovering affordable go-to restaurants, bars, boutiques, and events. She's inspired to bring attention to small businesses so that as a community we can support and invest in each other. Having just launched the site in December of 2016 Alecia has already hosted a successful event and has her sight on expanding her company to major cities across the U.S! Keep reading to learn more about the inspiration behind Hungry@25, her future plans, and the main take away of her site. 

What was the inspiration behind Hungry @ 25? 

It stemmed from necessity. My friends and I like to go out and be social, but it got to the point where our outings just weren't cost effective. I also noticed that lists on "places to go" were all basically the same thing. They were all corporate roof top bars and that's just not the vibe people are looking for all of the time. In search of places to go, I had to be very specific and tedious, so I figured why don't I just create a platform that other people can use to find places they would actually want to go to and doesn't require them to spend an arm and a leg.

Is highlighting small businesses a key element to your site? 

Yes! When in search of affordable places to go I discovered a lot of small businesses and couldn't believe there were so many out there that I just didn't know about. I want to make it less difficult to find these places so that we can begin to intentionally invest in our own communities. Supporting small businesses also ties into not spending as much money because a lot of these spots sell everything we've been buying, just less expensive.

Is your platform catered solely to New York? 

For now, it's for New York, New Jersey, and Philly.

Do you hope to expand your site to other cities in the future?

Absolutely, I want to expand to all major cities.  

Is the goal to ultimately become a directory of all the spots you've vetted? 

Yes! I found myself always being the person people would go to for recommendations, so now they can just go on the site and find cool things to do.

What do you consider to be affordable? 

Anything less than $20.

How often do you update your website?

I try to do it every week. It's been hectic because I just started a new job and I have other commitments but this is important to me so I try to stay on top of it as much as I can. 

I want people to know we can afford to still go out, eat at cool restaurants, have fun, and be our authentic selves.

Are there any other platforms you look to for inspiration? 

I love Urbandaddy, Thrillist, and Time Out.

What's the main thing you want your audience to take away every time they visit your site? 

I want people to sense support. I want us all to save money, but invest it in each other at the same time. The site is for people who are "hungry" to enjoy life without having to sacrifice so much of their money to do so. I want people to know we can afford to still go out, eat at cool restaurants, have fun, and be our authentic selves.

Where do you see this platform going in the next 5 years? 

Oh, I have so many ideas. Initially, this platform had the purpose of uncovering cool inexpensive spots to save people money but it's evolving into something bigger. I want Hungry@25 to host events that bring people and businesses together in a meaningful way and I want to encourage community support.

If there was one message you could get out to the world, what would it be? 

Remember to love, support, and invest in yourself. That's the only way we'll be able to care, love, and support others.

Look out for her upcoming Black Excellence Network by heading to Hungryat25.com. Follow @hungryat25 on Instagram