1 00:00:03,430 --> 00:00:05,989 Sean Aylmer: Welcome to the Fear And Greed Daily Interview. I'm Sean 2 00:00:05,990 --> 00:00:10,190 Sean Aylmer: Aylmer. Technology is transforming pretty much every sector, whether it's 3 00:00:10,190 --> 00:00:14,280 Sean Aylmer: by improving efficiency, reducing costs or providing direct access to 4 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,790 Sean Aylmer: customers. And in some cases, tech is making it easier 5 00:00:17,790 --> 00:00:20,960 Sean Aylmer: for small and medium sized businesses to compete with larger 6 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:26,510 Sean Aylmer: players. Take hospitality, for example. FoodByUs is an online marketplace 7 00:00:26,510 --> 00:00:31,080 Sean Aylmer: connecting restaurants, cafes and caterers with food suppliers. Ben Lipschitz is 8 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:34,210 Sean Aylmer: the co- founder and managing director of FoodByUs. Ben, welcome 9 00:00:34,210 --> 00:00:34,950 Sean Aylmer: to Fear And Greed. 10 00:00:35,250 --> 00:00:36,030 Ben Lipschitz: Thank you for having me. 11 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:39,339 Sean Aylmer: Take me through how FoodByUs works and I'll tell, FoodByUs 12 00:00:40,110 --> 00:00:44,400 Sean Aylmer: is all one word, capital F- double o- d- capital- B- y- capital- U- s, FoodByUs. 13 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:45,450 Sean Aylmer: Tell us about it. 14 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:50,770 Ben Lipschitz: Yeah, sure. So independent hospitality venues, restaurants, cafes and the like, they 15 00:00:50,770 --> 00:00:53,010 Ben Lipschitz: have this big problem, which is that pretty much every day, 16 00:00:53,010 --> 00:00:56,190 Ben Lipschitz: they've got to order from so many different suppliers. One 17 00:00:56,190 --> 00:00:58,310 Ben Lipschitz: for meat, one for seafood, one for fruit, veg and 18 00:00:58,310 --> 00:01:01,610 Ben Lipschitz: so on. So what FoodByUs does is allow those is 19 00:01:01,610 --> 00:01:05,350 Ben Lipschitz: venues to order from essentially a one stop shop where 20 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:07,840 Ben Lipschitz: they can take any supplier they'd like, order through the 21 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:10,660 Ben Lipschitz: one cart, through the one experience and basically save a 22 00:01:10,660 --> 00:01:13,009 Ben Lipschitz: whole bunch of time, have a whole lot more clarity 23 00:01:13,010 --> 00:01:14,810 Ben Lipschitz: on what's going on, save a bit of money as well. 24 00:01:15,260 --> 00:01:19,610 Sean Aylmer: Okay. So your clients are both the restaurants and the suppliers, 25 00:01:19,610 --> 00:01:20,110 Sean Aylmer: is that right? 26 00:01:20,569 --> 00:01:23,619 Ben Lipschitz: Yeah. We're the connector, I suppose, between the two sides. 27 00:01:23,910 --> 00:01:26,940 Ben Lipschitz: Our customers would be the restaurants, we're actually allowing them 28 00:01:26,940 --> 00:01:29,259 Ben Lipschitz: to make payments through our platform and what we do 29 00:01:29,260 --> 00:01:31,930 Ben Lipschitz: for the suppliers is really get them more business. We're 30 00:01:31,930 --> 00:01:34,840 Ben Lipschitz: out there sort of prospecting for them and feeding in all 31 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:37,140 Ben Lipschitz: these restaurants to purchase directly from them, yeah. 32 00:01:37,459 --> 00:01:40,220 Sean Aylmer: Such a simple but smart idea, Ben. 33 00:01:40,780 --> 00:01:44,250 Ben Lipschitz: Yeah. It's one of those ideas that the more we 34 00:01:44,250 --> 00:01:47,190 Ben Lipschitz: talk about it and the more we're out there, everyone says either, " 35 00:01:47,870 --> 00:01:51,930 Ben Lipschitz: God, I should have thought of that," or, "I did think of that," or, "I've been waiting for that." 36 00:01:51,930 --> 00:01:55,740 Ben Lipschitz: So yeah, it's really getting traction. We're really pleased with 37 00:01:55,850 --> 00:01:56,680 Ben Lipschitz: all the reception we get. 38 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,180 Sean Aylmer: Yeah. I mean, friends of mine who are in that 39 00:01:59,180 --> 00:02:02,730 Sean Aylmer: business chasing suppliers, particularly at the moment, it's such a 40 00:02:02,730 --> 00:02:06,030 Sean Aylmer: tough challenge. And in a sense, they're offloading some of 41 00:02:06,030 --> 00:02:07,010 Sean Aylmer: that to you guys. 42 00:02:07,490 --> 00:02:10,829 Ben Lipschitz: Yeah. A hundred per cent. I mean, a lot of people went into hospitality 43 00:02:10,830 --> 00:02:13,820 Ben Lipschitz: because they love people or they love food or they 44 00:02:13,900 --> 00:02:17,060 Ben Lipschitz: love the idea of entertainment and it's not often that 45 00:02:17,100 --> 00:02:19,799 Ben Lipschitz: they went in to be really good at procurement or 46 00:02:19,900 --> 00:02:22,840 Ben Lipschitz: to focus on procurement, so that's where we really come in, 47 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,180 Ben Lipschitz: to look after the back of house and help everything align a 48 00:02:26,180 --> 00:02:26,590 Ben Lipschitz: lot better. 49 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:29,010 Sean Aylmer: Okay. So how does FoodByUs make money? 50 00:02:29,490 --> 00:02:31,530 Ben Lipschitz: Yeah, sure. We just take a clip of the ticket. 51 00:02:32,550 --> 00:02:36,050 Ben Lipschitz: When a restaurant orders through any of our suppliers, we 52 00:02:36,050 --> 00:02:40,380 Ben Lipschitz: take the payment, the supplier delivers and then we remit 53 00:02:40,380 --> 00:02:42,900 Ben Lipschitz: the money to the supplier a very short time later, 54 00:02:43,169 --> 00:02:43,990 Ben Lipschitz: less a small fee. 55 00:02:44,350 --> 00:02:46,840 Sean Aylmer: Okay. How big are you, how many customers do you 56 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:47,470 Sean Aylmer: have at the moment? 57 00:02:48,060 --> 00:02:51,530 Ben Lipschitz: We're operating in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. We've got over 58 00:02:51,530 --> 00:02:54,190 Ben Lipschitz: a thousand venues using us every week and we've got 59 00:02:54,190 --> 00:02:57,370 Ben Lipschitz: thousands of suppliers that we work with. And then, within 60 00:02:57,370 --> 00:03:00,690 Ben Lipschitz: those thousands of suppliers, there's a core range of about 200 61 00:03:00,690 --> 00:03:03,440 Ben Lipschitz: preferred suppliers and those are the ones that we really 62 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,130 Ben Lipschitz: work in very tightly with, get the best pricing and 63 00:03:06,130 --> 00:03:06,500 Ben Lipschitz: so on. 64 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,060 Sean Aylmer: Okay. And is it primarily a technology solution? It's a platform 65 00:03:10,060 --> 00:03:11,709 Sean Aylmer: which both sides go to? 66 00:03:12,090 --> 00:03:15,530 Ben Lipschitz: Yeah, one hundred per cent. I would say our strength is technology. 67 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:19,210 Ben Lipschitz: We were relative outsiders coming into the hospitality and in 68 00:03:19,210 --> 00:03:23,400 Ben Lipschitz: particular the wholesale supply side of hospitality, but we've learned 69 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,790 Ben Lipschitz: along the way by listening to suppliers and customers, but really, 70 00:03:27,110 --> 00:03:30,100 Ben Lipschitz: what we see ourselves as offering both sides is that 71 00:03:30,100 --> 00:03:30,960 Ben Lipschitz: technology piece. 72 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,060 Sean Aylmer: Okay. But you didn't actually launch, originally, when you launched 73 00:03:34,060 --> 00:03:36,730 Sean Aylmer: in 2016, I think it was about Uber Eats for 74 00:03:36,730 --> 00:03:38,930 Sean Aylmer: home cooking, wasn't it? It wasn't quite where you've evolved 75 00:03:38,930 --> 00:03:40,440 Sean Aylmer: to. Tell us about that journey. 76 00:03:40,900 --> 00:03:44,260 Ben Lipschitz: Absolutely. Yeah. Quite a funny journey in that we had 77 00:03:44,260 --> 00:03:48,720 Ben Lipschitz: experience building marketplaces, MenuLog was a previous business of some 78 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:51,280 Ben Lipschitz: of the founders, so we knew marketplaces and we thought 79 00:03:51,820 --> 00:03:53,500 Ben Lipschitz: it would be so good if people could buy and 80 00:03:53,500 --> 00:03:56,570 Ben Lipschitz: sell homemade food from one another. But as we grew 81 00:03:56,570 --> 00:03:59,119 Ben Lipschitz: that business, and as much as the technology was working, 82 00:03:59,550 --> 00:04:01,740 Ben Lipschitz: it turns out that a lot of these home based 83 00:04:01,740 --> 00:04:04,340 Ben Lipschitz: food makers, they just couldn't pump out the volume that 84 00:04:04,340 --> 00:04:06,080 Ben Lipschitz: was going to make it a scalable business, that was 85 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:08,620 Ben Lipschitz: going to make it a successful business. So we quickly 86 00:04:08,620 --> 00:04:12,300 Ben Lipschitz: pivoted to the wholesale side where the suppliers there, they 87 00:04:12,300 --> 00:04:14,180 Ben Lipschitz: don't mind volume. In fact, they love it. The more 88 00:04:14,180 --> 00:04:16,849 Ben Lipschitz: orders we gave them, the happier they were and it 89 00:04:16,850 --> 00:04:18,940 Ben Lipschitz: turned out that we were solving a real problem on 90 00:04:18,940 --> 00:04:21,270 Ben Lipschitz: the restaurant side, on the buy side, so it was 91 00:04:21,270 --> 00:04:23,669 Ben Lipschitz: the exact same technology, still a marketplace so we were 92 00:04:23,670 --> 00:04:26,349 Ben Lipschitz: connecting the two sides, but then, we applied it to 93 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,730 Ben Lipschitz: the wholesale marketplace and yeah, the rest just grew from there. 94 00:04:30,260 --> 00:04:33,610 Sean Aylmer: Wow. You're obviously entrepreneurial, Ben. Is the trick with some 95 00:04:33,610 --> 00:04:36,130 Sean Aylmer: of these sorts of business to follow the customer, in 96 00:04:36,130 --> 00:04:38,360 Sean Aylmer: a sense, work out where the demand is and be 97 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:40,960 Sean Aylmer: happy to drop what you thought was a great idea 98 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:42,010 Sean Aylmer: for a better one? 99 00:04:42,570 --> 00:04:46,070 Ben Lipschitz: Yeah. Entrepreneurs are funny people because they're so dogged about 100 00:04:46,070 --> 00:04:47,130 Ben Lipschitz: what they're trying to do- 101 00:04:47,630 --> 00:04:47,630 Sean Aylmer: Yeah. 102 00:04:47,630 --> 00:04:49,520 Ben Lipschitz: ... until they realise, actually, there's a better way of 103 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:49,791 Ben Lipschitz: doing it. 104 00:04:49,791 --> 00:04:49,911 Sean Aylmer: Yeah. 105 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:52,280 Ben Lipschitz: And then they're equally as dogged about the next idea, 106 00:04:52,529 --> 00:04:56,130 Ben Lipschitz: but absolutely, in those early stages, I think it's really 107 00:04:56,130 --> 00:04:58,919 Ben Lipschitz: important to be open minded about what the data is 108 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:01,910 Ben Lipschitz: showing you, what is your reorder rate, how much are 109 00:05:01,910 --> 00:05:04,300 Ben Lipschitz: your suppliers actually able to generate in terms of volume, 110 00:05:04,610 --> 00:05:07,340 Ben Lipschitz: how much volume are they going to be able to handle down the line? 111 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:09,040 Ben Lipschitz: And when we looked at it from that point of view, 112 00:05:09,420 --> 00:05:12,620 Ben Lipschitz: from a homemaker versus wholesale supplier point of view, it 113 00:05:12,620 --> 00:05:14,490 Ben Lipschitz: became a bit of a no brainer. And once we 114 00:05:14,490 --> 00:05:17,410 Ben Lipschitz: did do that pivot, the data started to show us, 115 00:05:17,410 --> 00:05:19,520 Ben Lipschitz: hang on, this is really sticking, this is really growing 116 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,550 Ben Lipschitz: and working. And that's when we really went all in 117 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:23,950 Ben Lipschitz: on the current model. 118 00:05:24,270 --> 00:05:25,870 Sean Aylmer: Stay with me, Ben, we'll be back in a minute. 119 00:05:30,990 --> 00:05:33,970 Sean Aylmer: My guest today is Ben Lipschitz, co- founder and Managing 120 00:05:33,970 --> 00:05:37,660 Sean Aylmer: Director of FoodByUs. So how's the last 18 months been? 121 00:05:37,660 --> 00:05:42,089 Sean Aylmer: Because your sector has been hurt big time by lockdowns 122 00:05:42,089 --> 00:05:44,570 Sean Aylmer: and COVID. How have you gotten through that and how's 123 00:05:44,570 --> 00:05:45,680 Sean Aylmer: the industry gotten through that? 124 00:05:46,140 --> 00:05:50,570 Ben Lipschitz: Yeah, absolutely. It has been a wild ride for hospitality. Certainly, 125 00:05:50,710 --> 00:05:54,479 Ben Lipschitz: at its worst, FoodByUs was down between 30% or 40% 126 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:58,890 Ben Lipschitz: and really just trying to survive by keeping the staff 127 00:05:58,890 --> 00:06:02,419 Ben Lipschitz: happy and obviously working as best we can within the industry. 128 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:05,910 Ben Lipschitz: For our restaurants, we were trying to help them procure better, 129 00:06:06,170 --> 00:06:09,180 Ben Lipschitz: seeing if they were switching into things like finish at 130 00:06:09,180 --> 00:06:11,870 Ben Lipschitz: home meals, okay, can we get you more packaging or 131 00:06:11,870 --> 00:06:14,210 Ben Lipschitz: something a bit different? So there was a bit of that. 132 00:06:14,210 --> 00:06:16,070 Ben Lipschitz: And then, for the suppliers as well, really trying to 133 00:06:16,070 --> 00:06:18,530 Ben Lipschitz: help them understand what pain points are you guys going through, 134 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:21,110 Ben Lipschitz: how can we get you more business perhaps from takeaway 135 00:06:21,110 --> 00:06:24,990 Ben Lipschitz: venues and guys that are still operating? So really just making 136 00:06:24,990 --> 00:06:27,700 Ben Lipschitz: of it what we could, but then as lockdowns started to lift, 137 00:06:27,700 --> 00:06:30,580 Ben Lipschitz: it just all exploded again and it's going really well now. 138 00:06:30,990 --> 00:06:33,770 Sean Aylmer: Okay. And then, actual prices, I suppose the prices don't 139 00:06:33,770 --> 00:06:36,429 Sean Aylmer: matter that much to you. We hear lots about food 140 00:06:36,450 --> 00:06:39,460 Sean Aylmer: prices increasing at the moment, particularly things like red meat 141 00:06:39,460 --> 00:06:42,210 Sean Aylmer: and some of those things, but I suppose that the supplier 142 00:06:42,210 --> 00:06:44,960 Sean Aylmer: sets that for the eventual buyer and you are just 143 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:46,280 Sean Aylmer: the go between, in a sense. 144 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,620 Ben Lipschitz: The value that we provide in the sense of pricing is transparency. 145 00:06:50,650 --> 00:06:51,260 Sean Aylmer: Yeah, right. 146 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:54,159 Ben Lipschitz: Because there are so many different suppliers and so many 147 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:57,700 Ben Lipschitz: different categories, it's really hard for your average independent hospitality 148 00:06:57,700 --> 00:06:59,900 Ben Lipschitz: venue to know at any one time, this is what's 149 00:06:59,900 --> 00:07:01,469 Ben Lipschitz: happening with the price of lemons or this is what's 150 00:07:01,470 --> 00:07:04,260 Ben Lipschitz: happening with the price of chicken breast. So putting it 151 00:07:04,290 --> 00:07:07,440 Ben Lipschitz: in that marketplace provides transparency, but yeah, there are market 152 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,230 Ben Lipschitz: fluctuations and all sorts of forces way beyond our control. 153 00:07:10,230 --> 00:07:13,450 Ben Lipschitz: That totally rests with the suppliers. We're just there to 154 00:07:13,450 --> 00:07:16,000 Ben Lipschitz: present a nice, neat interface for the restaurants. 155 00:07:16,670 --> 00:07:19,250 Sean Aylmer: Okay. And you've gone into the alcohol sector as well. 156 00:07:19,250 --> 00:07:19,980 Sean Aylmer: What's behind that? 157 00:07:20,780 --> 00:07:24,710 Ben Lipschitz: Yeah, again, listening to the customers is really what drives 158 00:07:24,710 --> 00:07:27,210 Ben Lipschitz: a lot of the business and they were so happy 159 00:07:27,210 --> 00:07:28,870 Ben Lipschitz: ordering all of their food through the one stop shop, 160 00:07:28,870 --> 00:07:31,370 Ben Lipschitz: it quickly became a question of, well, hang on, why 161 00:07:31,370 --> 00:07:33,970 Ben Lipschitz: can't we order alcohol as well, that forms a fairly 162 00:07:33,970 --> 00:07:36,580 Ben Lipschitz: decent part of our cost base and it's yet another 163 00:07:36,580 --> 00:07:40,160 Ben Lipschitz: place where transparency and choice of is helpful. So it 164 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,350 Ben Lipschitz: was a natural addition to the marketplace. The technology was 165 00:07:43,350 --> 00:07:45,700 Ben Lipschitz: all really there. We signed up a few suppliers and 166 00:07:45,700 --> 00:07:47,690 Ben Lipschitz: a few more and off you go. So yeah. 167 00:07:48,010 --> 00:07:49,200 Sean Aylmer: So what next for FoodByUs? 168 00:07:50,450 --> 00:07:54,290 Ben Lipschitz: We're already established product market fit and I think that's 169 00:07:54,290 --> 00:07:56,660 Ben Lipschitz: just a tech way of saying people like the product 170 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:58,450 Ben Lipschitz: and it's working, so what we're really looking to do 171 00:07:58,450 --> 00:08:02,510 Ben Lipschitz: now is scale up. There are 90, 000 independent hospitality 172 00:08:02,510 --> 00:08:05,480 Ben Lipschitz: venues in Australia and as I said, we're past the 1, 173 00:08:05,490 --> 00:08:08,450 Ben Lipschitz: 000 mark, but I'd really like to get to, say, 174 00:08:08,450 --> 00:08:11,530 Ben Lipschitz: at least 10% market penetration, at least 9, 000 venues. 175 00:08:11,660 --> 00:08:14,440 Ben Lipschitz: What does that look like? Well, we've got to improve 176 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:16,440 Ben Lipschitz: our tech stack, we've got to improve how we sell, 177 00:08:16,460 --> 00:08:18,050 Ben Lipschitz: we've got to improve all the cities we operate in. 178 00:08:18,650 --> 00:08:22,130 Ben Lipschitz: I think next steps for us is really getting to 179 00:08:22,130 --> 00:08:25,320 Ben Lipschitz: that level of scale and becoming that true one stop 180 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:27,970 Ben Lipschitz: shop for most of those independent venues, which is where 181 00:08:27,970 --> 00:08:29,650 Ben Lipschitz: we see the business vision. 182 00:08:29,950 --> 00:08:33,260 Sean Aylmer: What I like about FoodByUs, Ben, is it's an example of 183 00:08:33,260 --> 00:08:37,650 Sean Aylmer: technology making a really big difference in a very traditional 184 00:08:37,890 --> 00:08:41,800 Sean Aylmer: kind of mums and dads sector. Cafes, you need interaction 185 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:44,500 Sean Aylmer: with people, but the technology at the back end can 186 00:08:44,500 --> 00:08:47,530 Sean Aylmer: actually save the cafe owners money and that does feed 187 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:52,410 Sean Aylmer: through to customers paying less and hopefully, suppliers having better 188 00:08:52,410 --> 00:08:55,040 Sean Aylmer: contracts with their retailers and that type of thing. It's 189 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:57,670 Sean Aylmer: really technology making a difference to a very traditional sector. 190 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:02,240 Ben Lipschitz: Yeah, a hundred per cent. I mean, where the venue is too big and 191 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,910 Ben Lipschitz: they've already got procurement teams, that is not a great 192 00:09:05,910 --> 00:09:08,900 Ben Lipschitz: match for FoodByUs. But fortunately, in Australia, there is such 193 00:09:08,900 --> 00:09:11,969 Ben Lipschitz: a strong independent dining scene, so the product is really 194 00:09:11,970 --> 00:09:15,000 Ben Lipschitz: optimised for this kind of fragmented market that we operate 195 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:17,950 Ben Lipschitz: in and it's those guys who need the help the most. 196 00:09:17,950 --> 00:09:20,250 Ben Lipschitz: They need the buying power. They need the sort of 197 00:09:20,250 --> 00:09:23,670 Ben Lipschitz: turnkey solution. It's really exciting to be working with those 198 00:09:23,670 --> 00:09:24,790 Ben Lipschitz: small to medium businesses. 199 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:26,630 Sean Aylmer: Is it better than being a lawyer, Ben? Because I 200 00:09:26,630 --> 00:09:27,930 Sean Aylmer: think you're a lawyer, aren't you, by trade? 201 00:09:28,460 --> 00:09:30,619 Ben Lipschitz: I was never a lawyer, but I did study law 202 00:09:30,770 --> 00:09:31,330 Ben Lipschitz: and then- 203 00:09:31,330 --> 00:09:31,590 Sean Aylmer: Right. 204 00:09:31,700 --> 00:09:35,680 Ben Lipschitz: Yeah, decided that business was more my flavour, so yeah, 205 00:09:35,980 --> 00:09:37,850 Ben Lipschitz: we have a lot of fun here. I think the 206 00:09:37,850 --> 00:09:38,550 Ben Lipschitz: team's gone a long- 207 00:09:38,550 --> 00:09:43,959 Sean Aylmer: Hold on, hold on, Ben, hold on. You're being modest. Tell us about Flipsters. You started that when you were 24. 208 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:47,839 Ben Lipschitz: Flipsters takes me back. Yeah. Fresh out of, well, graduating 209 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:50,500 Ben Lipschitz: law, as I said, I didn't really want to pursue 210 00:09:50,500 --> 00:09:53,490 Ben Lipschitz: a career in that, but a friend and I had 211 00:09:53,490 --> 00:09:57,050 Ben Lipschitz: an idea that we could basically design and sell this foldable shoe 212 00:09:57,300 --> 00:10:00,510 Ben Lipschitz: which was for women, when their high heels became uncomfortable, 213 00:10:00,510 --> 00:10:03,280 Ben Lipschitz: they would take them off and put on this foldable 214 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:05,970 Ben Lipschitz: shoe, which we created and we called that Flipsters. So 215 00:10:05,970 --> 00:10:07,980 Ben Lipschitz: I worked on that for five years. We actually got 216 00:10:07,980 --> 00:10:10,809 Ben Lipschitz: that into 16 countries of distribution, so it was sold 217 00:10:10,809 --> 00:10:13,990 Ben Lipschitz: around the world and the business ultimately got acquired. Yeah, and it 218 00:10:14,100 --> 00:10:16,949 Ben Lipschitz: was shortly after that that I met my current business 219 00:10:16,950 --> 00:10:19,910 Ben Lipschitz: partners and we started FoodByUs. 220 00:10:19,910 --> 00:10:22,121 Sean Aylmer: Who are the MenuLog guys, Gary Munitz and Tim Chandler. 221 00:10:22,121 --> 00:10:22,410 Ben Lipschitz: Gary and Tim, yeah. 222 00:10:22,820 --> 00:10:22,821 Sean Aylmer: Yeah. 223 00:10:22,821 --> 00:10:24,569 Ben Lipschitz: Yeah, correct, yeah. 224 00:10:25,230 --> 00:10:27,990 Sean Aylmer: Where you get to now as an entrepreneur, is it 225 00:10:28,390 --> 00:10:31,450 Sean Aylmer: the culmination of everything that you've learned at Flipsters or 226 00:10:31,450 --> 00:10:33,990 Sean Aylmer: they've learned at MenuLog? Do you get better at this? 227 00:10:34,730 --> 00:10:38,870 Ben Lipschitz: Yeah, it's a really good question. Even with the MenuLog learnings, 228 00:10:38,950 --> 00:10:41,199 Ben Lipschitz: I would say it got us part of the way 229 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:44,500 Ben Lipschitz: there in terms of general marketplace dynamics and obviously, understanding 230 00:10:44,500 --> 00:10:47,970 Ben Lipschitz: the technology, but every new business I think has its 231 00:10:47,970 --> 00:10:52,719 Ben Lipschitz: own challenge and in this case, really understanding how the 232 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:55,870 Ben Lipschitz: back of house works in a restaurant or a hospitality 233 00:10:55,870 --> 00:10:58,340 Ben Lipschitz: venue was a huge learning curve for us. And then, 234 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:01,959 Ben Lipschitz: building the tech to really suit that customer, doing things 235 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:05,640 Ben Lipschitz: like integrating with Xero, resolving your issues with tap to 236 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:09,309 Ben Lipschitz: resolve functionality, these things you don't just know and you've 237 00:11:09,550 --> 00:11:14,350 Ben Lipschitz: got to always be learning, but certainly, the understanding of how 238 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:17,640 Ben Lipschitz: small business works and really, I guess, meshing with our 239 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:19,750 Ben Lipschitz: customers at that level, a lot of those learnings just 240 00:11:20,070 --> 00:11:22,520 Ben Lipschitz: came from, yeah, our previous experience. 241 00:11:22,890 --> 00:11:25,530 Sean Aylmer: And you're going, because you've recently completed a capital raise, 242 00:11:25,530 --> 00:11:26,670 Sean Aylmer: what's that mean for the company? 243 00:11:27,090 --> 00:11:29,890 Ben Lipschitz: We have, yeah. We've recently raised 10 million dollars, which 244 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,160 Ben Lipschitz: we're really happy to have done, especially off the back 245 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:36,059 Ben Lipschitz: of a lockdown, but really, it's that scale question that 246 00:11:36,059 --> 00:11:39,150 Ben Lipschitz: I spoke about earlier where investors were able to see, 247 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:42,030 Ben Lipschitz: hang on, despite the headwinds with COVID, this is a 248 00:11:42,030 --> 00:11:44,170 Ben Lipschitz: business that's solving a real problem, this is a business 249 00:11:44,170 --> 00:11:46,890 Ben Lipschitz: that's about to scale big time and yeah, investors were 250 00:11:46,890 --> 00:11:49,040 Ben Lipschitz: fortunately happy to jump on board. So all of that 251 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:54,340 Ben Lipschitz: money is going to go towards sales, product development, marketing, 252 00:11:54,420 --> 00:11:57,790 Ben Lipschitz: really getting us from that 1, 000 to the 10, 000 mark 253 00:11:57,790 --> 00:12:00,429 Ben Lipschitz: in terms of venues and that's what we're just wholly 254 00:12:00,500 --> 00:12:01,550 Ben Lipschitz: and solely focused on now. 255 00:12:02,150 --> 00:12:03,670 Sean Aylmer: Ben, good luck with it. Thank you for talking to 256 00:12:03,670 --> 00:12:04,340 Sean Aylmer: Fear And Greed. 257 00:12:04,450 --> 00:12:05,410 Ben Lipschitz: Thank you so much for having me. 258 00:12:05,670 --> 00:12:09,960 Sean Aylmer: That was Ben Lipschitz, the co- founder and Managing Director of FoodByUs. This is the Fear 259 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,400 Sean Aylmer: And Greed Daily Interview. Join me every morning for the 260 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,130 Sean Aylmer: full Fear And Greed Podcast with all the business news 261 00:12:15,130 --> 00:12:17,500 Sean Aylmer: you need to know. I'm Sean Aylmer. Enjoy your day.