Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Schroeder.
Hi Alex, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started DevourDC in 2020 without really knowing what it was going to be. I was between jobs, and like everyone else, I was looking for ways to get out of the house during COVID. For me, that meant going on runs around DC, exploring different neighborhoods, and always ending at a local café to grab a coffee and a pastry. I’ve always loved making videos and highlighting small businesses, so I started filming quick clips of these stops and posting them to TikTok, to zero followers.
Within two months, I had about 40,000. That told me people wanted this kind of content, so I took it seriously and built it into the DevourDC brand. Nearly six years later, DevourDC has grown into one of the premier food and lifestyle accounts in Washington, DC.
The advice I always give people is this: if you have something you’re passionate about, post about it. Share it wherever makes sense for you, whether that’s social media, a blog, or a newsletter. Building a personal brand matters, and you never know where it might lead.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Like most things worth doing, it hasn’t been a perfectly smooth road. The biggest challenge early on was that I didn’t really know what I was doing. I’ve always worked in digital marketing, but building my own personal brand on social media was completely new to me, and it took a couple of years before I started taking it seriously.
Once I did, a whole new set of challenges came with it. I formed an LLC and had to figure out whether the brand could be monetized and how, along with everything that comes with running a digital business: accounting, invoicing, pitching myself to brands, pricing, branding, and overall business strategy.
And I’ve had to learn all of it on my own. To this day, I’m still a one-man show. It’s taken a lot of trial and error to build processes that actually work and to run the business in a way that makes sense for me. That learning curve has been the hardest part, but it’s also been one of the most rewarding.
As you know, we’re big fans of Devour PR. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Devour Public Relations is the boutique PR firm I launched in 2026. It builds on everything I learned growing DevourDC, only now I’m putting that experience to work for local businesses, mostly restaurants, bars, and cafés, managing their social media and PR.
It’s been a completely different challenge, but a really exciting one. Seeing digital marketing from the perspective of a brick-and-mortar business has given me a whole new understanding of what owners are up against every day.
What sets Devour PR apart is that it’s a content creator-led firm. I know what it takes to build a successful brand and cut through the noise on social media because I’ve done it myself. I also know how creators and other storytellers think and how to approach them, because I am one. That means I don’t run the same tired, copy-and-paste playbook that a lot of traditional PR firms still rely on. I take a fresh approach, focusing on placing stories in the spaces where people actually get their information today.
It’s a fresh take on PR, and I’m excited to keep growing it.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’d describe myself as a calculated risk-taker. For me, risk has looked more like a series of smaller bets, each one built on what the last one proved.
The first real risk was simply putting myself out there. Posting videos to zero followers in 2020 felt vulnerable, and it would have been easy to stop before anyone was watching. Then came taking it seriously: forming an LLC, pricing my work, and pitching myself to brands, all without a roadmap. Most recently, launching Devour Public Relations meant stepping into a completely new role, where my reputation is tied to my clients’ success, not just my own content.
I’ve also built all of this while keeping a full-time career in digital marketing. Some people might see that as playing it safe, but I see it as what made the risks possible. Having that foundation let me experiment, make mistakes, and grow the business on my own terms.
The way I think about it, the biggest risk is usually not trying at all. If something is starting to show promise, take the next step and see where it leads.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.devourpr.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devourdc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Devourdc-100082124495492/
