Waitr founder Chris Meaux and Business Report founder and columnist Rolfe McCollister have partnered to launch a new tech venture: QiMana.
The company has a stated goal of “revolutionizing entrepreneurship.” Its flagship product, Solomon, combines AI technology with human mentorship to offer entrepreneurs access to personalized guidance from experienced business leaders.
Meaux, who has spent years advising startups, tells Daily Report that the Solomon platform is aimed at helping founders bridge the gap between business ideation and success.
“We want to give all businesses an equal opportunity for success by giving them access to the people, the resources and the wisdom they need to succeed,” he says.
So, how does Solomon work?
Unlike traditional AI chatbots or large language models, Solomon integrates the expertise of seasoned business leaders, referred to as “luminaries.” Luminaries contribute their knowledge to Solomon by feeding the platform their expertise in various formats—direct dictation, videos, written content and the like. A personalized AI “brain” is then built within Solomon for each luminary.
Meaux says that while AI tools like ChatGPT often provide generic, paint-by-number responses, Solomon delivers personalized insights based on the real-world experiences of its luminaries. For example, if a user asks how to turn a startup idea into a successful business, Solomon won’t just provide a simple checklist. Instead, it might offer anecdotes and actionable guidance from a successful entrepreneur who has gone through the same process in the same industry.
Solomon also allows users to interact directly with human luminaries. Entrepreneurs can book one-on-one consultations—either in-person or virtual—with business leaders who have contributed to the platform.
And if you’re wondering if luminaries get paid for contributing to Solomon, they do. When a luminary’s insights are used in AI-generated responses, they earn a share of QiMana’s revenue, similar to how Spotify pays an artist for each stream of a song. Luminaries can also set fees for one-on-one consultations, and they have the option to donate their proceeds to charitable causes.
QiMana’s name is derived from the Chinese “qi,” meaning “energy,” and the Polynesian “mana,” referring to a supernatural force that permeates the universe. For QiMana, “qi” represents entrepreneurs’ “internal energy and passion,” while “mana” represents “external impact and influence.”
“Less than 1 percent of all startups ever get the opportunity to go through an accelerator program, yet those that do have a 20 percent higher likelihood of success,” Meaux says. “We want to democratize access to that kind of support.”
According to Meaux, the idea for Solomon originated from a conversation that he had with McCollister in 2021. McCollister, whose title with QiMana is co-visionary, saw a need for a platform that could connect entrepreneurs with experienced mentors. The idea sat dormant for some time, but last year, Meaux woke in the middle of the night to find that he had arrived at a way to turn McCollister’s vision into a reality using emerging technology. McCollister, who has advised numerous startups over the years, will also be a board member and investor.
“If you want just one sentence to explain it, it’s the world’s largest business accelerator,” Meaux says of the platform he envisioned.
Solomon will operate on a subscription model, with a free tier available alongside two paid plans priced at $30 and $200 per month. The three tiers will offer varying levels of access to Solomon’s resources.
Solomon’s beta is set to launch in February, with a full public rollout planned for April. QiMana is initially targeting entrepreneurs and business leaders in Louisiana but plans to expand nationally and then globally over time.
Waitr was an online food ordering and delivery platform that got its start in Lafayette in 2013 and eventually rebranded as ASAP. Once considered a Louisiana success story, the company filed for bankruptcy last year. Meaux is also a financial backer of Mallard Bay, an online marketplace for hunting and fishing trips that was launched in 2021 by a group of LSU students that included his son Logan.