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Key Takeaways In December 2022, two of food influencer Keith Lee’s videos went viral on TikTok, causing him to gain millions of followers seemingly overnight.
Lee’s reviews spotlight local businesses, leading to more customers and revenue, a phenomenon known as “The Keith Lee Effect.”
Lee is partnering with American Express and Main Street America to launch a new grants program awarding 250 small businesses $20,000 each.
In December 2022, everything changed for Keith Lee.
Lee had been on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, or federal food assistance for low-income individuals, from 2020 to 2022. He started his TikTok channel by filming videos cooking for himself and his wife when she was pregnant.
“That turned from me making food to me trying local restaurants around me,” Lee tells Entrepreneur in a new interview.
The end of 2022 was the first time Lee started documenting his experience eating at local restaurants on social media. At the time, he was also working as a delivery driver and professional fighter. His days consisted of training at the gym, delivering packages and sampling food.
Related: He Went From Food Stamps to Co-Founding a $9.3 Billion Startup. Here’s Why He Walked Away.
In December 2022, Lee went to the 303 in the Cut food truck and Frankensons Pizzeria, both of which are in Las Vegas, to eat and film videos. The next morning, those videos had racked up more than 30 million views.
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