This piece is part of our NASHtoday Q+A series. Do you know someone we should interview? Nominate them here.
What do $1,000+ tips, a choreographed cowboy variety show, and a themed Airbnb have in common? All three are ventures Lexy Burke took on in the midst of 2020’s uncertainty, which have since grown into something of her wildest dreams. You might best know her as TikTok’s “Serial Tipper.” We asked Lexy nine questions about some of her favorite tips from the last two years and what makes Nashville the perfect place for her endeavors.
Q: Where did the idea for your serial tipping TikTok series come from?
It started during the shutdown, almost. My birthday is in April, and as soon as things opened back up, I wanted to celebrate my birthday again. I was a server back in the day in downtown Nashville. One time, I got a really big tip — a guy tipped me $1,000. I just had always wanted to pay it forward or tip someone big.
I think May 10 was when we’re going to phase two, which was, I believe, minimal restaurant seating. It was just heavy on my heart. I wanted to do what somebody did for me. I wanted to, for my birthday, ask everyone to Venmo me 50 cents to $1 to surprise the server with a massive tip. We raised like $3,000, and everyone said we should go to more restaurants. So, we did.
Q: How can the Nashville community get involved in this outside of maybe donating?
We were tipping almost every day because the amount of money coming in was just crazy. We started doing it a little differently in the last few rounds. We’ll do a GoFundMe for someone to be able to switch it up a little bit. Right now, I do a tip about once every month or two. It’s definitely kind of slowed down. I pulled my Venmo out of my Instagram bio for a while.
I would just say to follow me to keep up and see different opportunities to do different random tips. We just had a recent one where we tipped a kid with lemonade and we did a live tip with that because I only had so much money left from the last year. I try to keep them very random and authentic.
Q: You actually started three businesses around the same time, when many other businesses were actually closing. Where did your inspiration come from?
We had the plan to start my Airbnb before we even knew the pandemic was on the horizon. We went through a rough couple of months because the first weekend we were open, the tornado went through North Nashville, so we had no power for 14 days. We had to cancel our first two bookings. The third weekend we went into the shutdown. We just had to hang on and keep it open because we had no other option.
Starting the Ranch Hands Cowboylesque show was kind of inspired by hosting an all bachelorette Airbnb. I just couldn’t believe since we’re Music City that we don’t have residency variety shows. We actually just opened up a second show in Austin, TX.
Q: Can you pinpoint one to two times you helped a community member via your serial tipping TikTok series that has stuck with you maybe the most?
There was one on Thanksgiving 2020. We ordered just Postmates, and anyone who’s postmating on Thanksgiving, really, really needs it. That one stuck with me a lot and was probably one of my favorites.
The kid we just did, Nico, selling lemonade was so fun. If you’ve ever had a lemonade stand growing up, you could connect with it. He was just such a sweet soul, a hardworking kid. It is so hot right now. So, he was out there in ~105-degree weather for maybe three hours selling lemonade. All of them are so different.
Q: Do you know about how much money you’ve been able to raise for the serial tipping series thus far?
Nico was recipient number 170. We’ve donated roughly $275,000, not including a few GoFundMe accounts and one-off giveaways.
Q: Why does Nashville set the perfect scene to pursue cowboylesque and your serial tipping series specifically?
We are the Volunteer State, so it’s perfect for giving back into serial tipping. We’re also just an awesome city that heavily relies on tourism. When it comes to tipping, hardworking musicians are downtown working on tips, whether they’re actually performing on Broadway or just in another role to support that dream. As for the show, we highlight everything everyone loves about Music City. You learn how to line dance in the show, there’s tons of country music, and choreographed dancing.
Q: You clearly like to foster fun in our city, but what’s your favorite thing to do in Nashville to have a little fun yourself?
Any type of rooftop, I love being on it. The new Fifth + Broadway area, I just love walking around and being kind of in the craziness and going to listen to live music. I’m always out and about. With my husband, we love trying new places like new restaurants. There have been so many new places opening up and I follow a couple food blogs in Nashville, like Slice of Nashville.
Q: Your husband’s goal with the Venmo challenge was to help a kid running a lemonade stand, which, like we’ve discussed, you’ve recently accomplished. Do you already have a new goal filling that spot?
We really want to hit another musician. We’ve tried to do the downtown ones, like at Fifth + Broadway a couple of times, but we would love to get a street performer. We wanted to do street vendors and stuff downtown, but you just can’t hear anything and people want to see and hear a reaction. So, that’s something we’ve had to keep in mind.
Q: You’ve been featured on a national level between Ellen and the Today show among many, many others. How has this impacted the future of the serial tipping series and where do you see that venture and your other businesses headed next?
I didn’t do this to, you know, get any type of accolades or anything. I do love it when I get to partner with a brand that loves to give back, but I do like keeping it on a local level and keeping everything just on a whim and out of the goodness of your heart. I feel like the moment it started becoming a job in 2021 it kind of took away the meaning of it for me a little bit because it was everyday tipping. That’s why I stepped away for a couple of weeks; I just wanted to stay true to why it began in the first place.
That’s what was so special about Nico’s, having people sending in the money and getting excited again about it was really, really special. I really hope it kind of just stays how it is. If we’re able to help out a couple people in a big way a year, at the end of the day, that’s why I started this.
