When these guys started their own company, they knew very little about the business they were entering into — but a whole lot about the power of social networking.
The two men are Douglas Quint and Bryan Petroff, and their business is operating an ice cream truck. The truck itself is called the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, a name that came about because its owners believed, “it’s boring to just have a regular ice cream truck.”
With very little experience, Quint and Petroff turned to social-networking to launch their business.
They started a Facebook group, a Twitter account and a blog that chronicled everything from researching ice-cream topping ideas (Big Gay Ice Cream Truck combines “plain-old soft serve” with unorthodox toppings like ginger syrup and sriracha sauce) to getting a mobile food vendor license.
The social networking presence helped the business gain an avid following and an array from media attention from sources such as the New York Daily News, the New York Times, Time Out New York, NBC, ABC and NPR.
Quint says the business would not have been possible without social networking and continues to regularly update fans/customers via Twitter. The Big Gay Ice Truck is embarking on its third summer in business this year.
