Groupon Co-founders invest $4M in fast-growing E la Carte (YC S10)
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Re: Groupon Co-founders invest $4M in fast-growing E la Carte (YC S10)
#2I used a spiritually similar system at a sushi shop (try saying that five times fast) last week. It's fifteen flavors of wonderful.
About a year ago, I think I said something to the effect of "A/B tested restaurant menus would print cash." (Edit: here we go: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2046426 ) If they're getting +12% sales just on superior interaction design (versus actually talking to a human -- and I have no difficulty believing that the average interaction with a device measurably beats the average interaction with a human for at least some restaurants on axes both customer and owner care about) I predict very, very, very nice things in their future when they decide to take an engineer or three aside and become a data company in addition to being a devices company.
Sprinkle a little code on a techphobic multi-billion dollar industry, watch wonderful stuff happen.
Re: Groupon Co-founders invest $4M in fast-growing E la Carte (YC S10)
#3I used a spiritually similar system at a sushi shop (try saying that five times fast) last week. It's fifteen flavors of wonderful. About a year ago, I think I said something to the effect of "A/B tested restaurant menus would print cash." (Edit: here we go: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2046426 ) If they're getting +12% sales just on superior interaction design (versus actually talking to a human -- and I have…
I love tech, but if I went to a restaurant and they had that, I honestly wouldn't go back.
They gained 10% from those who stuck around and points to them for working the up-sell on side orders, but how many left never to return? To quantify the value of tabletop ordering systems is not as simple as saying "oh look, a 10% gain in average order value" it's much more complex than that. And without the customer numbers and order value variance it's hard to truly analyze the success of the proposition.
Re: Groupon Co-founders invest $4M in fast-growing E la Carte (YC S10)
#4I saw similar interactive menus in Japan, esp. for Yakiniku. Their systems are relatively crude, but more than adequate. Press a button to summon your server, choose items off the menu, etc. I actually think you'd want more durable, and less fussy (and expensive) than a tablet for this application.
Either way, I hope this takes off.
Re: Groupon Co-founders invest $4M in fast-growing E la Carte (YC S10)
#5This is not for everyone, but there are times when this is perfect: Happy Hour, Lunch, Dining with "Cheap" friends (splitting the bill).
This would never replace "regular waiter service" but for those who want faster service, with no questions, it's a win-win.
Re: Groupon Co-founders invest $4M in fast-growing E la Carte (YC S10)
#6I used a spiritually similar system at a sushi shop (try saying that five times fast) last week. It's fifteen flavors of wonderful. About a year ago, I think I said something to the effect of "A/B tested restaurant menus would print cash." (Edit: here we go: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2046426 ) If they're getting +12% sales just on superior interaction design (versus actually talking to a human -- and I have…
I love tech, but if I went to a restaurant and they had that, I honestly wouldn't go back. They gained 10% from those who stuck around and points to them for working the up-sell on side orders, but how many left never to return? To quantify the value of tabletop ordering systems is not as simple as saying "oh look, a 10% gain in average order value" it's much more complex than that. And without the customer numbers a…
> I love tech, but if I went to a restaurant and they had that, I honestly wouldn't go back.
Why?
Personally, I'd love to see this. I particularly liked the bit about filtering and sorting the menu. And I could often use an option to randomly choose between a few options that sound appealing.
Re: Groupon Co-founders invest $4M in fast-growing E la Carte (YC S10)
#7I was surprised to see the latest E la Carte job ad (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2935090) claim an investment from an unnamed Greplin founder. The company's only 1.5 years old and the founders already have 4.7MM in funding (per CrunchBase) and are doing angel investments. Neat.
Re: Groupon Co-founders invest $4M in fast-growing E la Carte (YC S10)
#8This could be seen as an improved Automat[1]
Re: Groupon Co-founders invest $4M in fast-growing E la Carte (YC S10)
#9I was surprised to see the latest E la Carte job ad ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2935090 ) claim an investment from an unnamed Greplin founder. The company's only 1.5 years old and the founders already have 4.7MM in funding (per CrunchBase) and are doing angel investments. Neat.
I think after founders go through the fundraising process, a lot of them think it'd be fun to do angel investments in other companies. I guess the best reason NOT to do that is because it can dilute your focus from your own company.
Re: Groupon Co-founders invest $4M in fast-growing E la Carte (YC S10)
#10I was surprised to see the latest E la Carte job ad ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2935090 ) claim an investment from an unnamed Greplin founder. The company's only 1.5 years old and the founders already have 4.7MM in funding (per CrunchBase) and are doing angel investments. Neat.
One of the Greplin cofounders previously created Zenter: http://techcrunch.com/2007/06/19/google-acquires-zenter-to-f...