How Camille went from a simple idea to building the world’s largest culinary experiences community.
There’s no doubt about it, our co-founder and COO Camille Rumani is a real life wonder woman. After creating Eatwith (then VizEat) in 2014, Camille has taken Eatwith to become the world’s largest culinary experiences platform in just a few short years. She has gone from starting from scratch and learning to code in her apartment to leading a talented team of 45 full-time staff in six cities worldwide and continues to develop new features and opportunities to bring people together through food. This International Women’s Day, we’re proud to introduce you to the woman behind the Eatwith you know and love!
Why did you start Eatwith?
My co-founder Jean-Michel Petit and I created Eatwith five years ago while on a trip abroad. We were traveling in cities where millions of people were living but we never actually met any of them. We felt very disconnected from the places and the cultures we were visiting so we wanted to create a platform to facilitate the connection between travelers and locals by serving up great food and great company in an intimate atmosphere.
What advice would you give other aspiring women entrepreneurs?
The advice that I would give to other women entrepreneurs is to really get your hands dirty. When you’re a woman, especially in tech industry, people don’t expect you to know exactly what you’re talking about, whether it’s code, programming or other complicated technological subjects. When I first started, I took a lot of tech and coding classes and tried every possible way to have a deep understanding of my product. For example, I would go and meet my users, use the product myself, and really put myself in a user’s shoes. I was also a host and I continue to host every now and again, and I attend lots of different events to improve the quality of my product. It’s really important to grasp every detail from A to Z and to know what you want to achieve with your platform.
How does Eatwith empower women in and out of the kitchen?
I think Eatwith truly empowers women because it helps them tell their stories about who they are, what they want to achieve, their culture and tradition, and their abilities and creativity. Being a part of Eatwith community helps them spread these stories and messages to people from all around the world who come to dine at their tables. I think Eatwith has done a good job in making women more confident and empowering them to do what they love and go after their dreams.
What are you most proud of?
It has been five years since we founded the company and my Eatwith team is what I’m proud of the most. We are a team of 45 people from 17 different nationalities in six different countries, coming from all backgrounds and cultures. For me it’s definitely a great achievement and I’m super happy to share this success with them.
What will you be doing for International Women’s Day?
I will be celebrating International Women’s Day with my team at Eatwith and also with my friends. We will be enjoying a good glass of red wine and discussing our next projects and what we want to achieve this year!
Feeling inspired? Check out some of our top women hosts who are pursuing their passions and book your seat to dine at their table.
Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to discover more incredible Eatwith experiences!
