Scott Goodfriend, a former Meta employee, traded his $200,000 salary and corporate life for the exciting world of food tours. He built his company, Ultimate Food Tours, from the ground up, starting with weekend tours for friends and eventually turning it into a full-time business that generates more than $145,000 in annual revenue. Goodfriend’s journey demonstrates how passion, dedication, and a willingness to embrace risk can lead to both financial and personal fulfillment.
Scott Goodfriend, a former Meta employee, traded his $200,000 salary and corporate life for the exciting world of food tours. He built his company, Ultimate Food Tours, from the ground up, starting with weekend tours for friends and eventually turning it into a full-time business that generates more than $145,000 in annual revenue. Goodfriend’s journey demonstrates how passion, dedication, and a willingness to embrace risk can lead to both financial and personal fulfillment.
Key Takeaways:
- Former Meta employee, Scott Goodfriend, turned his passion for food tours into a successful full-time business, generating over $145,000 in annual revenue.
- He started by offering tours to friends, embracing a "little goals to challenge me" mentality, and eventually launched his company, Ultimate Food Tours, on Airbnb Experiences.
- Goodfriend emphasizes the importance of providing a genuinely enjoyable experience, focusing on "origin stories" and the history behind New York’s iconic foods.
- He leverages social media and personal storytelling, including a series called Origin Stories, to build brand awareness and attract new clientele.
Ethnic food was a constant in Goodfriend’s life
Growing up in Calabasas, Los Angeles, Scott Goodfriend was immersed in a vibrant food culture. His parents, a mortgage broker and a UCLA medical center employee, instilled a love for diverse cuisines in their children, frequently taking them out to restaurants offering Persian, Japanese, and other ethnic dishes. This exposure to different cultures and their culinary traditions shaped Goodfriend’s passion for food and ignited his curiosity about the stories behind the dishes.
A journalism graduate from the University of Colorado Boulder, Goodfriend ventured into reality television, spending time in both Los Angeles and New York City. He found a fast-paced environment in reality TV, constantly shifting from one project to another, reflecting his inherent dynamism. He then transitioned to the renowned PR company Edelman in 2016, where he honed his skills in Web3 and virtual reality.
In July 2022, Goodfriend reached a career milestone when he landed a job in the augmented reality wing of Meta, earning a hefty salary of $200,000 per year. However, despite this corporate success, his heart was drawn to something more fulfilling.
Ethnic food was a constant in Goodfriend’s life
Growing up in Calabasas, Los Angeles, Scott Goodfriend was immersed in a vibrant food culture. His parents, a mortgage broker and a UCLA medical center employee, instilled a love for diverse cuisines in their children, frequently taking them out to restaurants offering Persian, Japanese, and other ethnic dishes. This exposure to different cultures and their culinary traditions shaped Goodfriend’s passion for food and ignited his curiosity about the stories behind the dishes.
A journalism graduate from the University of Colorado Boulder, Goodfriend ventured into reality television, spending time in both Los Angeles and New York City. He found a fast-paced environment in reality TV, constantly shifting from one project to another, reflecting his inherent dynamism. He then transitioned to the renowned PR company Edelman in 2016, where he honed his skills in Web3 and virtual reality.
In July 2022, Goodfriend reached a career milestone when he landed a job in the augmented reality wing of Meta, earning a hefty salary of $200,000 per year. However, despite this corporate success, his heart was drawn to something more fulfilling.
Friends sent ‘little goals to challenge me’ to make tours
While living in New York, Goodfriend indulged his curiosity by exploring different neighborhoods and immersing himself in their unique food scenes. These independent excursions transformed into a passion project when friends started requesting his expertise in navigating the city’s culinary landscape. These requests, fueled by a desire to challenge him and experience his discoveries firsthand, planted the seeds for what would become Ultimate Food Tours.
"They were sending me little goals to challenge me to make these food tours," he recalls. Goodfriend embraced the role of unofficial tour guide, sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with friends, venturing into areas like Borough Park’s Hasidic community and Sunset Park’s diverse Chinese population.
For eight years, Goodfriend indulged in this passion without monetizing it. He relished the joy of sharing his discoveries with friends and the freedom of avoiding the complexities of running a business. However, a pivotal moment arrived in the fall of 2019 when a friend suggested that he explore the platform of Airbnb Experiences, an outlet for selling local tours. Recognizing the potential, Goodfriend posted his first tour, "Chinatown Food Tour," marking the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey.
"The first dollar I made from my Chinatown Food Tour was in October of 2019," he says, reflecting on the moment his passion project intertwined with commercial success.
Friends sent ‘little goals to challenge me’ to make tours
While living in New York, Goodfriend indulged his curiosity by exploring different neighborhoods and immersing himself in their unique food scenes. These independent excursions transformed into a passion project when friends started requesting his expertise in navigating the city’s culinary landscape. These requests, fueled by a desire to challenge him and experience his discoveries firsthand, planted the seeds for what would become Ultimate Food Tours.
"They were sending me little goals to challenge me to make these food tours," he recalls. Goodfriend embraced the role of unofficial tour guide, sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with friends, venturing into areas like Borough Park’s Hasidic community and Sunset Park’s diverse Chinese population.
For eight years, Goodfriend indulged in this passion without monetizing it. He relished the joy of sharing his discoveries with friends and the freedom of avoiding the complexities of running a business. However, a pivotal moment arrived in the fall of 2019 when a friend suggested that he explore the platform of Airbnb Experiences, an outlet for selling local tours. Recognizing the potential, Goodfriend posted his first tour, "Chinatown Food Tour," marking the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey.
"The first dollar I made from my Chinatown Food Tour was in October of 2019," he says, reflecting on the moment his passion project intertwined with commercial success.
