Ep 144: Going viral with 500k following as an Italian Chef | Gero DiMaria Mohammed Omar (Kucina)

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: 1:55 Italian childhood 4:11 What do Italians eat every day? 5:38 People in Asia aren’t taught to think?! 10:58 Entering the food industry 12:13 Work hard to earn your money 13:33 Your first job sets the bar 14:49 That English breakfast shift 16:52 Knowing that the F&B world was for him 17:33 How to cook the perfect pasta 20:04 Moving from London to Singapore 21:58 First job at Pasta Fresca 23:19 What’s an authentic halal Italian restaurant? 25:59 Chefs can only be chefs, they can’t run a business 29:43 Going into marketing & the lost $3000 31:22 The turning point 32:39 Content strategy 35:14 Going truly viral 36:18 Acting debut 37:58 Why accept collaborations? 40:00 Separating his personal brand from his Kucina restaurant 41:24 The content creation team 42:48 Advice for entrepreneurs 44:06 Do you feel like you’ve 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: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/144 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062 ✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442