Cherian Thomas is the Co-Founder & CEO of Spotluck Inc. Cherian took Spotluck from a Georgetown University Master’s capstone to the #1 “dining” app on the iTunes App Store. Spotluck brings dynamic pricing to the restaurant industry by providing real-time discounts that fluctuate based on day, time, and weather. Spotluck’s gamified spin on "deciding where to eat" makes the app fun for users, while their proprietary software maximizes restaurant occupancy and profits through smart discounts.
Spotluck has raised nearly $10M in venture capital funds and partners with over 1,200 restaurants throughout Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, Philadelphia, Delaware, New Jersey and New York City. Spotluck has been featured on NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS, Bloomberg, MSNBC, and several other media outlets throughout the U.S.
In addition to co-founding Spotluck, Cherian founded the Georgetown WASTENOT Initiative in Cape Town, South Africa in 2013; a GU legacy project that links poverty-prone areas to local manufacturers through recycling buy-back centers. In 2016, he co-founded Ridecentive, a location-based advertising platform utilized amongst ridesharing drivers throughout Philadelphia.
Cherian has been a keynote speaker at the Apple Store in Georgetown, D.C. and several universities including University of Maryland, Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, UPenn’s Wharton Business School, University of Cape Town (South Africa), American University’s Kogod School of Business, and several other campuses throughout the east coast.
Cherian received his M.B.A. from Hood College in 2012 and competed his second Masters in Leadership from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, where he currently serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence. Recently, Cherian delivered the 2017 Graduate School Commencement speech at Hood College and received an honorary Doctorate for his entrepreneurial and socially-responsible impact within the community.
Cherian is on the Board of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance and is an active member of the Board of Associates at Hood College. He advises several early-stage tech companies and non-profits throughout the region in domains specific to tech, mobile marketing, fundraising and corporate social responsibility.
Cherian commutes to work via his Spotluck green electric skateboard (hey, those Bethesda hills are tough) bringing equally electric enthusiasm while running meetings or working with his team. Pop in for a visit at Spotluck HQ and Cherian will certainly issue you a challenge in ping pong, cornhole, foosball, or virtual reality. He is the husband to Catherine Thomas, his beyond-supportive wife and Architect at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The couple recently had their first child, Devassy, who has stolen the attention from Osito, their ridiculously smart (and cute) therapy dog.