CEO Spotlight: Sean Li, CEO of CaterCow- Building a Unique Catering Marketplace and Leveraging Lunch & Learn Meetups

Sean Li and his team at CaterCow believe in the vision of enhancing workplace efficiency through meals. Leadership is a crucial management function and is the driving force behind the organization’s successes or failures. Effective leaders understand the importance of community building and cooperation. The sole responsibility of bringing the team together lies on the shoulders of the leader. And that determines the future of an organization.

Working in a corporate environment is not a pleasurable experience- at least for the majority and leaders are constantly required to develop ways to enhance workers’ productivity. Sean Li believes lunch and learn meetups are extremely valuable within the organization setting to enhance positive work culture. They are also helpful externally when you are trying to market in corporate circles outside and engage with other leaders. 

Improve Workplace Culture

Coupling purposeful meetups with lunch is a great way to cross-train employees. It allows workers of different sectors to come together, bond, and learn from each other’s niches. It’s a great platform to empower employees and learn from each other. According to Sean, lunch and learn greets also allow newbies and fresh employees to acquaint themselves with workplace culture. It also allows employees to explain their roles goals and present new initiatives other than in a conference room setting. 

Tool for Marketing

These meetups can also be used to market your product across other organizations. Along with building workplace culture, lunch and learn are great marketing opportunities. These are also effective ways for new businesses to launch and make connections. 

Increases Morale, Knowledge, and Efficiency 

The relaxed atmosphere and lighter conversations at lunch and learn have scientifically proven to motivate employees and improve morale. It allows workers to view their job as more than just that. And also provides them training on topics not explicitly related to their jobs, enabling them to possess and develop more knowledge. 

Encourages Teamwork 

According to Sean, lunch and learn settings provide an ideal opportunity to encourage teamwork. This is one reason leaders have used these engagements to enable employees to intermingle and build stronger relationships and teams. 

Sean Li’s Background Story

After leaving his investment banking job, CEO and co-founder of CaterCow, Sean (Xueyang) Li, ventured into building a catering and delivery service app. His life had revolved around numbers and spreadsheets. He craved human interaction and desired to be in the shoes of the founders he worked for. “In finance, you’re reading just one chapter of the book of the company you’re advising. You’re just riding along for a brief leg of the journey, but I wanted to be the one writing the entire book of a company!”

Sean is an immigrant from China who moved to the States at the age of five in the ’90s. Growing up watching his parents work hard and pursue dreams alongside dealing with life’s responsibilities, he always knew that was the way of life. It helped him exit places that did not serve his ambitions and make hard choices like venturing into entrepreneurship. 

What Sets CaterCow Apart?

CaterCow is an online catering marketplace that partners with local restaurants, bakeries, caterers, and food providers with offices or places that require catering for groups. The aim is to provide a smooth experience of finding reliable catering of good taste and quality that helps build a positive workplace culture and promote community building. 

As more hands-on than a traditional tech CEO, Sean (Xueyang) Li is full of innovative ideas to improve office culture and outshine CaterCow’s competitors with improvisations that evolve with the market requirements. 

Under his leadership, CaterCow survived through the pandemic, despite business plunging to 99%. He associates his constant urge to be present at the ground level of the company that helps him recognize the flaws or glitches and come up with possible solutions faster. 

CaterCow issues that cooperate lunches are no more drag, and CEO Sean is adamant about bringing variety and innovation to the meals through his partnerships with premium food providers and promotes Lunch and Learn meetups. The company was launched in NYC but has extended its services to eight other areas; San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Washington DC, and Dallas. 

CaterCow’s customer service is also one of the best things, and Sean takes immense pride in it. “Sure, every company can say this, but we really mean it. When customers reach out, we sometimes respond within minutes! No canned responses or AI robots here. Customers say we have heart and soul.”

With CaterCow expanding its services across America, and offices restored to their maximum capacity after the stressful period of the pandemic, Sean is set to build his catering marketplace further and stronger, making sure that employers are able to benefit from the positive aspects of coming together for work, learning and food.

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