WEBVTT - Rolling Out Autonomous Robot Delivery Via Uber Eats 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:06.840 Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:11.280 This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Tim 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:13.640 Stenebek on Bloomberg Radio. 0:00:14.000 --> 0:00:17.279 I was out in California last week. I know you 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:20.040 know that because you were filling in for Yeah, Carol 0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:21.000 and me here at the studio. 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:23.120 It was super fun, actually good. 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:26.360 It's always fun. It's a fun show. We have a 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:28.440 lot of fun. We got a great team also. That 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:31.640 makes it really fun in the control room right now. 0:00:32.720 --> 0:00:37.080 But we left the event Bloomberg screen time, and I 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:40.040 was walking in Hollywood, on the sidewalks of Hollywood, California, 0:00:40.120 --> 0:00:42.640 with my brother, walking to his car, because that's what 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:46.239 you do in La. My brother, Michael, he's funny. He's 0:00:46.360 --> 0:00:49.840 very funny. I'm glad you know him. He is very funny. 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:52.720 And we ran into this little robot on the sidewalk 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:56.480 and it was not something you see in New York City. 0:00:56.560 --> 0:00:59.920 So for me, did you take a bat? 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:03.880 No, it's very rude, I know, but it's because there's 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:06.000 no person inside of it doesn't mean you should take 0:01:06.040 --> 0:01:06.520 it back to you. 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:09.000 Didn't put anything past an American anyway. 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:11.240 He was I've seen him on those on the streets 0:01:11.240 --> 0:01:14.440 of Santa Monica before, but never Hollywood. So this is 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:16.319 the first time seeing it on the sidewalks of Hollywood 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:20.120 and it was delivering something to somebody. Yeah, and I 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:23.639 don't know if it was a robot from our next guest, 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:27.800 co founder and CEO of Serve Robotics, Ali Kashani, who 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:30.759 joins us from Redwood City, California, which is the headquarters 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:33.480 of Serve Robotics. Ali, was this one of your robots 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:35.959 that looked exactly like the ones that I see on 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:37.280 your website? Was this one of yours? 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:40.600 I'm pretty sure they're very unique. I'm Katie, Come on, 0:01:40.640 --> 0:01:43.000 that's your first reaction hearing about robots. 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:46.160 I'm sorry. So for a little bit of context, I 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:49.360 had Ali Kashani on the TV show a couple of 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:51.480 weeks ago, probably a month or two ago at this point, 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:54.720 and Ali, I did ask you that how often people 0:01:55.480 --> 0:01:58.880 attack these robots and you said not too often. 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:02.800 Yeah, yes, that's right. It's they're actually kind of like 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:04.880 a mailbox at this point. They're just doing their thing 0:02:04.920 --> 0:02:08.880 and people just pass by. Sometimes people can be curious, 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:12.520 especially the children, but overall they're very well received and 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:14.240 accepted in the community. 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:16.480 Well, that had a camera on it, and my brother said, 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:18.280 you know, I think it's actually opera. I'm just looking 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:19.600 for foot I think I took a picture of it. 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:22.800 I'm looking at My brother said, you know, actually I 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:27.920 think they're operated by somebody remotely. Are versions of these 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:30.800 operated remotely? I know the current the newest thing that 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:35.000 you announced today is not operated remotely. Are older versions 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:36.120 of these operated remotely? 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:41.400 So they're all what the call level for autonomous, which 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:44.160 means that they can do a lot of things by themselves. 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:45.840 So there's a good chance when you saw it it 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:50.079 was actually navigating by itself. But if it actually needs help, 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:52.639 it can ask for help and someone can help remotely. 0:02:53.160 --> 0:02:55.320 Oh interesting, So it's a mix. It's kind of just 0:02:55.400 --> 0:02:58.200 like you know, you'd have the way they thought about 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:01.200 driverless cars back in the day. They haven't implemented it 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:02.760 yet this way, but it's like you kind of ring 0:03:02.800 --> 0:03:06.560 a bell if you're in a sticky situation. Oh yeah, okay, 0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:08.800 So talk to us about level four automation here, because 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:11.280 I don't think general can you know Ed Ludlow, who 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:13.600 covers this stuff all the time, understands levels one. 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:16.400 That's like his bat signal basically, But. 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:19.800 For the normal person. What are the different levels of autonomy? 0:03:20.840 --> 0:03:22.880 Yeah, I guess the best pace to explain it is 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:25.560 if you have a tesla, it's level two, which means 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:27.760 you have to have your hands on the steering and 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:30.880 eyes on the road. And then the highest level is 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:33.840 level five, which is when the robot or the vehicle 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:36.320 never needs any help at all. It can do everything 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:39.320 one hundred percent by itself, which if you ask folks 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:41.240 in this space will tell you is mostly sci fi. 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:45.200 Level four is the holy grail where robots can actually 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:48.200 move indepenality by themselves quite a lot of the times, 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:51.480 but whenever they are outside of the comfort zone, someone 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:54.480 can help them. And when you think about it, financially, 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:57.520 there's a point at which automation doesn't make any more 0:03:57.520 --> 0:04:02.120 financial sense because let's say flight controllers sitting somewhere looking 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:06.040 at hundreds of you know, planes, that's perfectly fine use 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:09.200 of human intelligence, and it makes a lot of sense 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:11.280 to actually keep humans in the loop at that level. 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:14.720 But the important things that the robots can do a 0:04:14.720 --> 0:04:17.560 lot of things by themselves, and that's where a lot 0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:19.640 of the leverage and automation comes in. 0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:21.880 I find this so delightful I know I made a 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:25.000 joke at the very Star about beating them taking to 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:26.160 these robots. 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:28.400 But that's an interesting turn that you've had in such 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:29.000 a short time. 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:31.240 I mean, I just, you know, I find it endearing 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:32.280 these little robots. 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:33.360 There's cute eyes on them. 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:36.400 Yeah, they're buzzing around, they're giving you food. I'm in 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:38.920 New York though, you know, I've never seen one. Of course, 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:41.080 I don't spend a lot of time in California. What 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:44.120 are your expansion plans, I mean, what other cities are 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:45.920 you potentially thinking about here? 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:50.680 Yeah, we have plans to come to new cities next 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:53.400 year as soon as in a Q two, we are 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:58.480 going to have our next major market beyond La. First, 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:01.720 they are going to expand in more LA neighborhoods. In 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:03.920 Q one, we have two hundred and fifty more robots 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:06.479 in Q one being deployed, and then by the end 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:08.640 of the year, we're going to have two thousand robots 0:05:09.000 --> 0:05:11.920 and we're going to launch a few more cities, which 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:14.719 we'll have more to share about that soon. We have 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:17.880 recently discussed the fact that we'll be doing a pilot 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:22.360 in Dallas with Wing, which is a subsidiary of alphabet. 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:26.560 They make drones where are robots pick up items from 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:30.280 restaurants and then hand them over automatically to a drone 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:32.520 that would then bring them a few miles away, a 0:05:32.600 --> 0:05:35.280 distance that the robot can't do. So it's a really 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:38.280 cool collaboration where robots do half of the deliveries that 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:40.440 are short distance drones to the other half that are 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:43.040 long distance. That's will be one of the next places 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:43.680 you will see them. 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:46.119 I dream of a future where I can just open 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:49.000 my window and get my fries. 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:50.039 Delivery in New York City. 0:05:50.040 --> 0:05:52.120 I don't want to go downstairs. Well, you know, I 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:54.560 was going to ask about New York City because Okay, 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:56.200 in New York City, I feel like one of these 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:59.360 robots would get attacked, like immediately. And Elliott, the question 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:02.719 I have for you is, I mean, what's your ideal city. 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:06.600 Obviously these robots work in LA You're thinking about, you know, 0:06:06.680 --> 0:06:10.600 expanding to Dallas, which is the ideal make up both 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:13.119 in terms of sort of the temperament of the people 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:15.920 but also the geography of the city that would work 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:16.760 for these robots. 0:06:18.040 --> 0:06:21.039 Yeah, I mean, you know, it's really first and foremost 0:06:21.040 --> 0:06:25.279 the question of where are our partners mostly concentrated in 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:29.320 so Uber is the largest player in LA, so it 0:06:29.400 --> 0:06:31.160 makes a ton of sense for us to start there, 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:33.839 and LA being the second largest market in the country. 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:36.760 New York is the largest market, so it's just a 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:40.560 matter of time before you see robots there. But given 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:43.680 the distribution effectively the partnerships that we have in place, 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:46.680 we've started in Los Angeles, but most cities in the 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:50.240 country would have a need for robots because restaurants are 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:54.880 usually in very congested areas where you have, you know, 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:58.960 more car traffic, more parking issues, and within that business 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:01.600 couple miles at that business district, you have a lot 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:03.719 of population, so they can benefit from robots. 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:05.599 New York's a unique market, though we have the e 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:08.440 bikes and the delivery people, so I don't know. I 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:10.200 would like to see how it would would work here. 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:12.280 If you get hit by one of those e bikes, that. 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:14.800 Would hurt, hurt a lot more than getting hit by 0:07:14.840 --> 0:07:18.080 one of these robots. So then go seven miles an hour. Hey, Ali, 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:19.960 before we let you go, very briefly, how much do 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:22.400 these cost? We only have twenty seconds left, but give 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:23.480 us the cost equation here. 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:27.760 We don't share the bomb costs, but they cost half 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:29.840 as much as the last robots be a building, So 0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:32.360 we bring that cost down and they cost less than 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:35.080 a brand new car, the cheapest band new car you 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:36.160 can buy in the US. 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:36.640 Wow. 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:38.000 So they're pretty expensive. 0:07:39.520 --> 0:07:41.840 I would say that pretty cheap with all that smart 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:45.680 the sensors, the computer computers on board, they're they're pretty 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:47.000 reasonably priced. 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:48.840 But I imagine they're going to be getting cheaper and 0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:52.200 cheaper with the technology, really cool stuff. It's a publicly 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:57.640 held company ticker seer v uh. The company stock up 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:01.480 four point five percent today. Ali Kashani, co founder and 0:08:01.520 --> 0:08:05.840 CEO of Server Robotics. This is Bloomberg. The hospitality market 0:08:05.960 --> 0:08:09.320 expected to grow to nearly five trillion dollars this year. 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:12.240 I'd believe it, you do, Yeah, I mean Americans they 0:08:12.240 --> 0:08:15.960 love experiences, they love going places, and they love eating well. 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:21.600 Several factors wellness, tourism, flexible booking options, sustainability initiatives, collaboration, 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:23.360 and health and safety standards. 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:25.880 That all sounds right, and they love going places absolutely. 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:29.160 Longevity and senior living facilities also a factor. And that's 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:31.800 where our next guest comes in. Let's get to Richard Shankle, 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:35.680 founder and executive chairman of Restura Hospitality Group. It is 0:08:35.679 --> 0:08:38.080 looking to bring tech and innovation to senior living. He 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:40.960 joins us from Walthnam, Massachusett. It's Richard, the founder and 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:44.560 former CEO at Unidine, which provides food and dining management 0:08:44.640 --> 0:08:48.079 services across the country for senior living facilities, community hospitals, 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:51.400 behavior health clients, corporate environments and more. Good to have 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:54.960 you with us this afternoon. Richard, give us an idea 0:08:55.040 --> 0:08:58.160 of the white space that you see here because you've 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:02.200 spent some three decades in the larger hospitality business, what's 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:07.480 missing when it comes to senior living facilities at the marketplace? 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:09.760 And thank you Tim, and thank you everybody for having 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:14.800 us on right today. All the hospitality industry focused on 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:19.199 senior living is about twenty years behind the times in innovation. 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:22.280 And as we looked at the launch of Resstoer, we 0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:25.440 spent the last eighteen months with market research and really 0:09:25.480 --> 0:09:30.080 trying to understand what that act of adult lifestyle, community 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:31.720 and senior living really wants. 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:35.320 And what really came out is they want choice. 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:38.200 As we go back in life, as most of us 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:43.679 will remember airports, airports were probably the most stoic type 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:46.360 of business where there was no freedom of choice. And 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:50.120 now we look today, whether it's local brands, national brands, 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:53.120 or things to do when you're in an airport, it's 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.840 humbly very different. In our opinion. The same thing went 0:09:56.880 --> 0:10:00.720 on in the college and university market place back many, 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:02.840 many years ago. It was just a board plan a 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:06.200 you got, you've received three meals a day, two meals 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:08.000 certain days. 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:10.520 And that was it in one dining room and senior 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:11.319 living has Yeah. 0:10:11.320 --> 0:10:13.000 I remember when my parents dropped me off at college. 0:10:13.000 --> 0:10:15.360 They were like, oh, this is why tuition is so expensive. 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:17.480 Why are they spending all the money on the dining 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:19.840 hall and on the lawns and on the dorms. 0:10:19.679 --> 0:10:23.760 Right right, And if you look at colleges and university, 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:26.920 some of the CNU business has some of the best 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:29.320 reputations from a culinary perspective. 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:31.400 Then you go over to senior. 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:33.200 Living and I spent the large part of my career 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:37.880 in it, and it hasn't evolved. There are three major 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:43.760 competitors in it, and it's a very stoic, poorly innovative marketplace. 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:48.560 Your point, I know from experience visiting my grandma. 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:52.000 Yeah, yeah, well, Richard, I'm curious. I mean, we'll get 0:10:52.000 --> 0:10:55.560 into what you're trying to do and how you're trying 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:58.400 to change that. But why do you think that's the case. 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:00.760 I mean, you bring up some great points when it 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.400 comes to college, even when it comes to airports, for example, 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:05.720 the dining options getting better. Why do you think we 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:09.959 haven't seen that same energy being brought to senior living 0:11:10.000 --> 0:11:11.760 even though the population is aging. 0:11:12.920 --> 0:11:13.199 Well. 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:17.840 I think it was a couple of different things. Number One, 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:22.600 the type of active adult that was prior in senior 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:27.679 living was very comfortable with just one choice or two. 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:30.280 I think as the market has changed and you look 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:34.280 at the boomers coming in and just even active adults 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:37.240 sixty five and seventy and seventy five, they're. 0:11:37.120 --> 0:11:39.200 A lot more sophisticated today. 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:42.760 If you kind of look at the restaurant industry thirty 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:47.560 years ago, it's very much evolved, and I believe right now, 0:11:47.640 --> 0:11:51.960 as these active adult and senior living continuing care or 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:55.840 types of communities go up, it is a much more 0:11:55.880 --> 0:12:01.080 sophisticated consumer today that has an expectation. Research that we 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:06.920 did prior to launch, only seven percent of the individuals 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:11.040 looking at senior living active adult communities felt it would 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:15.160 meet their food and dining needs. Ninety three percent felt 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:19.000 it would never meet the mark of really great dining. 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:21.280 That's a major disconnect. 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:25.000 I'm wondering about the cost equation here and how that 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:32.200 looks for senior dining, for senior living facilities. These places, Richard, 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:35.359 as you know, can be incredibly expensive. 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:42.720 That's correct, And I think given that, you know, we're 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:45.960 looking at the marketplace and saying, why isn't there the 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:50.880 opportunity to upgrade the dining services or for variety choice, 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:53.600 you know, things like pop up restaurants, you know, with 0:12:53.720 --> 0:13:00.600 proprietary brands launching there to offer that what we'll call consumer, 0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:04.679 those choices and be able to keep them within the 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:08.400 confines of that community by offering them that high level 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:11.880 dining experience when they want it, but also offering them 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:14.160 to other things besides high level dining. 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:19.040 And it's interesting. I mean, I'm curious, you know, how 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:21.480 tech plays into it, because you point out in your 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:24.480 notes that when we think about, you know, this this 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:28.520 shift from cafeterials cafeteria style when it comes to colleges 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:32.200 to really tech forward experience, I mean, how do you 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:34.319 incorporate tech into what you're doing? 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:38.560 Yeah, well, we spent the last eighteen months pre launch 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:42.800 of October first envisioning what technology would be, and the 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:47.719 industry is definitely a laggered in that area. Just imagine 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:52.840 you walk into a dining room by a facility operated 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:55.560 by Restore and by the end of the meal, we 0:13:55.679 --> 0:14:00.320 have technology that will allow that executive c suite as 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:05.160 well as us, to know how we did, what they liked, 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:07.960 why they liked it, and what they didn't like, and 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:11.000 be able to immediately change anything. 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:12.600 From a menu offering the next day. 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:16.280 All but getting the results immediately of what we'll call 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:24.800 consumer satisfaction and analytics on a dashboard for both us 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:29.680 internally as well as our consumer there as well as 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:33.840 the executive suite can be a complete game changer for 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:38.120 those facilities. It's never been done. Today, we go in 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:41.520 and get our car fixed, and I use the analogy. 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:46.040 We get constant updates of how that car is getting fixed, 0:14:46.040 --> 0:14:48.920 what they're doing, and at the end, are you satisfied? 0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:52.200 In senior living. I can tell you nine times out 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:55.440 of ten, a once a year survey of how the 0:14:55.480 --> 0:14:59.160 food and dining is is completed, and that's unacceptable in 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:02.360 today's day and a from a consumer perspective. 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:09.360 What's the technology that the end user has to interact with. 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:11.840 I'm not talking about the executives at the place. I'm 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:14.640 not talking about the staff who works there. What about 0:15:14.640 --> 0:15:17.640 the tech that somebody like my grandmother would have to 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:18.240 interact with? 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:21.360 Right, Yeah, it's very interesting. We spent a lot of 0:15:21.440 --> 0:15:24.800 time and what we came to find out is, you know, 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:29.640 the phone, whether we call on an iPhone or Samsung, 0:15:30.720 --> 0:15:34.320 a smartphone is what almost every one of them have 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:38.240 in a facility. And we are very much involved in, 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:41.440 you know, building out and we have built out the 0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:46.160 applications that will allow that person internally to be able 0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:50.000 to get us information as well as for us to 0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:53.200 push information to them. And it hasn't been done. We've 0:15:53.240 --> 0:15:57.160 done things like paper surveys. They are so outdated in 0:15:57.200 --> 0:15:58.880 today's day and age. 0:15:59.120 --> 0:16:01.160 Yeah, I have to say, I mean, I don't know. 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:03.760 I think of my own grandmom, who's in her nineties. 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:06.280 She was using an Uber up until a few years ago. 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:08.920 Oh really, yeah, my grandma doesn't even have a smartphone. 0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:10.920 That's we have very different grandmother. 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:14.040 But she's one hundred and two. Actually tomorrow's her birthday. 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:18.240 Oh my goshdred and second birthday wew, no kidding. Well, anyway, 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:21.400 we have different grandmoms. Mine's ninety five. 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:25.240 So it's like almost yeah, yeah, that's so she uses 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:26.680 a smartphone obviously. 0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:29.000 Because yeah, yeah, she loves emojis and stuff. A text 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.200 her all the time. Anyway, that's awesome, Richard, I am 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:34.680 curious talk to us about how how you make money 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:37.240 because you think about your last venture in this space. 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:40.000 For example, you point out in your notes that you 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:43.360 delivered a nine hundred percent return to shareholders. Talk us 0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:46.120 through again. Obviously, we know the opportunity set here that 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:47.920 you see and what you're doing about it. How do 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:49.840 you make money? 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:54.120 Yeah, so it's fundamentally on on site food service type 0:16:54.120 --> 0:16:55.360 of operations. 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:57.880 We have two ways that we get involved. 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:01.080 We operate on a cost plus base basis where we 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:04.879 have different overheads and fees built in. And then we 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:07.200 also operate a lot of the times on what we'll 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:11.120 call profits loss arrangement, where we'll guarantee our operating costs. 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:14.800 And obviously, if we operate the way we envision, there's 0:17:14.880 --> 0:17:17.760 profit and if we don't, we take risk on that end, 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:21.600 and we make guarantees throughout our agreements. So it's pretty 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:26.840 fundamentally a business that provides margin back to us. 0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:30.080 How hard is it to get into these facilities that 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:33.199 have been working with incumbents for years and might have 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:34.280 long term contracts. 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:37.800 Well, you know, you know what I would say is, 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:41.439 I'll give you some statistics about eighty five percent of 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:46.080 the senior living marketplace, which is you know, thirty to 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:50.919 forty billion, is not outsourced. They presently are self operated. 0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:55.680 The other fifteen percent is outsourced to competitors. So there's 0:17:55.720 --> 0:17:58.200 a huge amount of white space to be focused on. 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:01.920 And you know how we look at that other fifteen percent, 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:06.600 We don't believe we are building or have built restore 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:09.280 to compete with the other companies. We think we have 0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:14.119 such a creative, innovative approach. We also know, as part 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:19.560 of our whole value proposition, I've provided back to all 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:23.200 of our employees over thirty percent of the company in 0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:27.640 equity to our employees. All of our employees are owners 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:31.720 of the company. We subscribe and are a participant with 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:34.960 ownership Works in New York City a not for profit, 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:37.560 and I think we're one of the first startups that 0:18:37.600 --> 0:18:41.840 they've ever involved themselves in where a percent of the 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:45.959 company was provided prior to the company being profitable. 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:52.040 Wow, Okay, what's your outlook in terms of how you 0:18:52.160 --> 0:18:55.639 roll this out? When you roll it out? Just we 0:18:55.680 --> 0:18:59.520 have thirty seconds left. Give us an update on timing here, right? 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:03.680 We started October first, after eighteen months in stealth mode. 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:08.880 We are in constant communication with prospective clients. Now we're 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:12.480 coast to coast from the east to the west provider, 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:18.040 and we envision that over a very short period of time, 0:19:18.720 --> 0:19:22.080 we already have many prospective clients that we are moving 0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:25.639 forward with. And as I said, we have just spent 0:19:25.720 --> 0:19:29.600 the last eighteen months making sure our systems, technology and 0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:33.439 culinary resources are in place. Executive team has been hired, 0:19:33.840 --> 0:19:37.720 and we're right now already involved with some clients. 0:19:37.880 --> 0:19:41.760 All right, Richard, come back visit us again. Richard Schenkel, 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:45.600 founder and executive chairman of Restoa Hospitality Group, looking to 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:48.720 bring tech an innovation to senior living, joining us this 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:51.360 afternoon from Waltham, Massachusetts.