A small business story, rooted in family

NextMe’s origins began when brothers and co-founders James and John Yi experienced a long wait for a table at a local brunch spot. While the pain point of waiting as a customer was clear, the Yi brothers were determined to help service based businesses including restaurants significantly improve their customer experience during dreaded wait times…

A mother’s advice

Anna, their single mother who immigrated from Korea, taught the brothers the importance of customer service at an early age when she started her own small business – a beauty salon located in the basement of a high-rise building in Chicago. 

While their mother was busy with customers at the salon, the Yi brothers would help out at the front-of-house and manage her waitlist of customers. They were responsible for everything from greeting customers at the cashier to up-selling complementary goods and services to customers to help their mother make some additional income – including their own dog walking service. 

Anna in her beauty salon.

Our mission

NextMe’s mission is simple – to help businesses make waiting more meaningful for everyone.

Similar to how the Yi brothers helped their mother’s small business, NextMe is passionate in helping local businesses leverage software to create amazing experiences and first impressions at the front of the house that nurture lasting customer relationships.