Secret to Gaining 500k followers as an Italian chef & restaurant owner | Gero DiMaria (Kucina SG)

Gero DiMaria knows what it means to go truly viral.

He's an Italian chef & owner of Kucina - Singapore's first authentic halal food restaurant.

But he's also a bona fide Italian culinary superstar with over 500k followers on social media - 256k on Instagram & 252.6k on TikTok!

He took the world by storm with his recent series of viral reels on choosing the best pasta/cheeses in grocery stores, and that had a real trickle down effect on his business.

So we dig into all the juicy stuff, including:

❓ What does it mean to actually go ‘viral’?
❓ What kind of measurable impact has social media had on his business?
❓ What is his advice for leveraging social media for businesses?
❓ What have his toughest moments been?
❓ And who exactly is Gero?!

The goal: To understand the role of social media today, what it really means to go viral & how one can leverage on that social media reach to build your own business.

Highlights:
0:00 Introduction
0:54 Growing up in a Sicilian household
3:17 Classical homemade Italian dishes
5:13 People in Asia Aren’t taught to think about food!
6:09 What should we be eating?
10:58 Entering the food industry, to his family’s surprise!
13:33 Your first job sets the bar
14:47 That nightmare English breakfast shift
16:52 When did Gero know that F&B was for him?
17:33 How do you cook the perfect pasta?
17:33 Moving from London to Singapore
21:58 His first job at Pasta Fresca in 1996
23:19 What is an authentic halal Italian restaurant?
25:59 Chefs can’t run businesses!
29:43 Wasting $3000 on marketing
31:22 Turning point
32:29 Content creation strategy
35:19 What does it mean to go truly viral?
37:53 How does Gero decide on what collaborations to accept?
40:00 Splitting identity as Gero v Kucina the restaurant
41:24 Behind-the-scenes of Gero’s content creation process
42:36 Advice for other entrepreneurs
44:06 Have you found your why?
45:25 What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?
46:15 What do you think are the most important qualities of a successful person?


🎙️Show notes/transcript for this episode: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/144

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WHO AM I:
I'm Ling Yah, a Malaysian lawyer & host/producer of the So This Is My Why, where I interview inspiring people about how they found their why, and their blueprint for turning that why into a reality. I’ve interviewed Olympians, Michelin-starred chefs, top entrepreneurs, VC founders, Hollywood actresses, and more.

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