Inphlu

LunchTable, formerly named Inphlu, is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based brand amplification and fan activation platform. The product is designed to help sports teams build online communities by converting passive spectators into social media advocates who share team and sponsor content. It combines gamification, exclusive content and two-way interaction so that fans generate organic posts on behalf of teams and commercial brands, and it supplies teams with data on fan demographics, avidity and preferences.

The company's earlier incarnation, Inphlu, was a digital technology startup that automated social media marketing for small businesses and nonprofits on a monthly subscription basis, and later operated as a platform that turned a company's employees into brand ambassadors. In June 2024 the company rebranded to LunchTable alongside a seed financing round, refocusing on the connection between fans and sports teams.

Founding story

Founder Joshua Reid, a Cincinnati entrepreneur, previously ran Operation DRIVEN, a nonprofit operating after-school programs focused on childhood obesity and academic performance, and then DRIVENOPTICS, a social media marketing agency. Seeking a more scalable model that would not depend on grant funding, he conceived a service that automated social media marketing through an affordable monthly subscription and named it Inphlu, derived from "influence." Reid studied economics and electrical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and electrical engineering at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and worked more than four years at a Fortune 500 company before leaving to start his own ventures.

Business model

The platform is sold to sports teams and brands, which use it to activate fans as content creators and advocates; sponsors can pay for exclusive content that reaches targeted audiences within a team's fan base. The predecessor Inphlu business offered automated social media marketing to small businesses and nonprofits for a monthly fee.

Subscription-style monthly fees were used by the predecessor Inphlu social media automation service; the LunchTable platform monetizes through teams and sponsored content targeted at engaged fan audiences.

Traction

Completed pilot partnerships with the Cincinnati Reds, FC Cincinnati, the University of Toledo and the University of Cincinnati; the Reds and FC Cincinnati pilots were running ahead of a commercial launch. The company reported around 7 employees and is in the 1-10 employee range.

Latest developments

In June 2024 the company closed a $2.4 million seed round led by JumpStart Ventures and simultaneously rebranded from Inphlu to LunchTable, with a commercial launch planned in the following six months.