Profiles in Success
Christy Serrato | PairAnything
On a mission to create enjoyment where food meets beverage
Throughout her career, Christy Serrato has made her mark in Northern California—and especially at UC Davis and in Sacramento. Serrato is the founder and CEO of Pair Anything Inc., an angel investor and a startup advisor to new majority founders.
PairAnything is her journey to combine her technology expertise with her passion for food enjoyment. Coming from a nonwine culture, she was curious what wine to enjoy with Filipino food. As she could not find any good solutions, she created one that can match the right beverage with any dish from any cuisine… truly Pair Anything!
Serrato obtained a B.A. in economics from UC Davis and later returned to campus to compete in the 2019 Big Bang! Business Competition, taking home the $10,000 Food + Agriculture Sector Award. Most recently, she is the national recipient of The Entrepreneurial Spirit Fund by SIA Scotch supporting entrepreneurs of color in the food and beverage industry.
Briefly, what is your venture?
PairAnything Inc. is the pioneering WOC-founded software company for retail, hospitality and online marketplaces to connect customers to the right food and beverage pairings to increase sales.
We are working with Target Stores to elevate the wine shopping experience. Target recently featured PairAnything in its order pickup booklet, distributed in over 2,000 stores.
Wine Industry Advisor highlighted the PairAnything partnership to elevate private chef-prepared dishes with wine pairings featuring Scott Harvey Wines. The right pairing is now made possible with the PairAnything App to increase the diner’s confidence in their selections—knowing that the food and wine they chose will work well together.
How does your innovation make the world a better place?
PairAnything is fast-tracking digital transformation for the food and beverage industry, which is experiencing a period of reinvention with rising costs, ever-changing customer expectations and a challenging labor environment. As demographics shift, we answer the wake up call for the industry to grow sustainably and serve a wider community—by offering a digital tool that offers unlimited pairing possibilities that appeal across cultures and generations.
With a diverse workforce that reflects our society, PairAnything is creating inclusive prosperity through innovation and entrepreneurship. We improve access to careers in tech for women and BIPOC students, as well as those with financial need through the UC Davis Work Study program.
As I continue to grow personally and professionally, I’m able to take my own growth and be able to apply it for everyone's benefit. To be of service to others, that's success to me.
What was most valuable about participating in the Big Bang?
I value the extensive network I developed by participating in the competition, and still continue to build. Because of the Big Bang! connection, I landed my founding customers and trusted advisors. It was an honor to return to the Big Bang!—on the other side, as a 2021 judge. I continue to serve as a speaker and an advisor to support the next generation of Aggie Innovators.
What are PairAnything's key milestones?
We achieve the unexpected every day since the Big Bang! We raised a F&F round, won nondilutive grant awards and have grown our team to be a 100% distributed workforce. To scale myself and PairAnything, I participated in the University of California’s LAUNCH accelerator, as well as programs with the Bâtonnage Forum, Impact Ventures and FourthWave.
What's next for your startup?
We are well-positioned to close a Pre-Seed round, launch with retailers, restaurants and marketplaces nationally, and build out our food and beverage genome. We are now working with Target to elevate the wine shopping experience. Check out the recent Target booklet that spotlights PairAnything. Within five years, PairAnything innovation will sit inside wherever “food meets beverage" around the world.
What's your single best piece advice for Aggie Innovators?
You have to fail. Failing is how we get better. Because if you're doing things that seem easy, then you’re not really solving a big problem. You have to approach a problem that’s too hairy and too complicated and no one has ever attempted to address it. Be open minded when you see a problem: is it calling you to solve it?