{"668629":{"#nid":"668629","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Alum Brings Modernized Vending to the Community","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ECorey Hewitt, co-founder of Gimmer Vending, was a part of the inaugural cohort of CREATE-X\u2019s GT Startup Launch (originally Startup Summer). Through the program, he found a community that he still taps into today.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWhile at Tech, Hewitt studied electrical engineering. He met his co-founder, Evan Jarecki, through an internship with Gulf Stream Aerospace. They had complimentary skills and similar goals, so they decided to go into business together. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat did you think about the way you and your co-founder worked?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIt\u2019s surprised me how much of a superpower it was. That just turned out to be magical.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you and your co-founder decide on what startup to create?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe way that vending machines order food, or the way that grocery stores invoice the people who make deliveries, happens with a super old-school technology called DEX. When we got started, you literally had to carry a guitar jack cord around to be able to plug into these DEX ports to communicate with the mainframe of the grocery store or the control board of the vending machine. The other end of that would be like a Zebra or Motorola PDA, and that\u0027s how you communicate with them. I think it\u2019s bizarre when people learn how old-school information happens in vending and in grocery stores.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy did you join CREATE-X?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EKnowing that it would take both hardware and software kind of raised the bar of what we needed to get this idea off the ground. We knew that instead of just two guys on two laptops working in a garage coding their way to a solution, we were going to need a couple more people with different specialties. Doing those things usually involves cash. CREATE-X means to me an ecosystem and a support system for innovation.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did your startup develop?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe idea definitely got more refined. There was still this process of experimentation and accelerated mini failures that gave us a lot more confidence. Even though we came into the program with an idea of what we wanted to solve, it became a lot more refined through this constant iteration, experimentation, and customer discovery throughout the program.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat were your biggest challenges?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMoney issues were some of the biggest challenges. How do you fund a lot of these initial projects with no budget? There\u2019s this romantic view of being a startup. It\u2019s not as romantic as the movies make it seem.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat gave you confidence despite the challenges?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EOur customers wanted us to be successful because they wanted the solution. That felt so validating, not only that we can solve a problem, but people value it. We used one customer\u2019s investment in us to talk to other investors. That gave a lot more confidence in the ultimate solution that we decided to pursue.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did the Georgia Tech community benefit you during the beginning stages of your startup journey?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWe were getting all the right attention from different people. You\u0027ve got nothing when you make a startup. You don\u0027t have HR. You don\u0027t have legal. You don\u0027t have office space. You don\u0027t have a training manual. You hire the first employee, and you make a bunch of mistakes. All of these things are brand new. I was able to lean on the network at Georgia Tech and ask people through the program, \u201cWho can I talk to who has done this before?\u201d And they would say, \u201cTalk to this guy. He\u0027s either failed at it or he\u0027s succeeded at it. Either way, you\u0027ll learn something.\u201d I think that helped us sidestep a number of mistakes. I would have failed without the help of others. That was the biggest lesson. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give someone who wants to build a startup?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EI\u2019ve noticed that those who try tend to still leave a dent on the world. If you put yourself out there, what I\u2019ve seen is the Atlanta startup community is actually supportive. We have connections to people now.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere are you now with your startup, and what are your plans?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EInstead of being a founder, I want to work with a founder.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EGimme Vending has been named product of the year, 40 Under 40, Tag Top 40, #1 B2B in Georgia, and received other recognition. After almost nine years as CEO, Hewitt will now try something new. He\u2019s leaving his startup this month and is excited about electrification and emerging tech in developing community support. He plans to work with founders in those areas. Hewitt also plans to be a CREATE-X mentor and a mentor in pitch competitions across the state.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESpeak to our next cohort of CREATE-X founders at Demo Day, Aug. 31, 3-5p.m., at the Georgia Tech Exhibition Hall. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/create-x-demo-day-tickets-654262164747?aff=CXNews\u0022\u003ERegister for Demo Day\u003C\/a\u003E today to reserve your spot at this free event!\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ECorey Hewitt, cofounder of Gimmer Vending, started with a problem. Being a part of\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E the inaugural cohort of CREATE-X\u2019s GT Startup Launch (originally Startup Summer), Hewitt\u0026nbsp;found a community that helped him solve that problem and be a part of the network he still taps into today.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Through CREATE-X, Corey Hewitt, cofounder of Gimmer Vending,  and his cofounder, Evan Jarecki, convinced investors to buy-into their product and launch something that revolutionized the vending industry. "}],"uid":"36436","created_gmt":"2023-07-28 14:40:51","changed_gmt":"2023-07-28 19:23:25","author":"bdurham31","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-07-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-07-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"671272":{"id":"671272","type":"image","title":"Corey Hewitt","body":"\u003Cp\u003ECorey Hewitt, cofounder of Gimme Vending, laughs as he mingles at an outdoor event.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1690555052","gmt_created":"2023-07-28 14:37:32","changed":"1690555215","gmt_changed":"2023-07-28 14:40:15","alt":"Corey Hewitt, cofounder of Gimme Vending, laughs as he mingles at an outdoor event. ","file":{"fid":"254297","name":"Corey Hewitt.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/07\/28\/Corey%20Hewitt.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/07\/28\/Corey%20Hewitt.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":380532,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/07\/28\/Corey%20Hewitt.jpg?itok=Ci_Z_nZi"}}},"media_ids":["671272"],"groups":[{"id":"583966","name":"CREATE-X"},{"id":"655285","name":"GT Commercialization"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"139","name":"Business"},{"id":"42901","name":"Community"}],"keywords":[{"id":"137161","name":"CREATE-X"},{"id":"190227","name":"alumni entrepreneurs"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBreanna Durham\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMarketing Strategist\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["breanna.durham@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}