Olo (online ordering)

Olo is a New York City-based B2B SaaS company that develops digital ordering and delivery programs for restaurants. The company’s platform allows customers to place restaurant orders from multiple origination points – from a brand’s own website or app, third party marketplaces, social media platforms, smart speakers, and home assistants. It also provides restaurants with order analytics and other services. [1]

Olo Inc.
TypePublic
NYSE: OLO
IndustryInternet, Mobile, Restaurants
FoundedNew York, NY
(June 2005)
HeadquartersNew York, NY
Key people
Noah Glass, Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Websitewww.olo.com

History

Olo was founded as GoMobo in 2005 by Noah Glass in New Haven.[2][3] Its initial product was a mobile phone app that allowed users to pre-order food via text message from coffee shops for pick-up.[4][5]

In 2010, the company changed its name to Olo ("online ordering") to reflect its change from being a customer-facing application to being a B2B software company, “invisible” to customers,[6] used by restaurants to manage mobile device orders.[7]

Fortune Magazine reported in 2015 that restaurants using Olo software had served approximately 10 million customers.[8]

In 2017, Shake Shack launched the Shake App created by Olo; other restaurant brands using Olo software include Denny’s and Wingstop.[9]

In 2019, Olo formed a partnership with Google to provide the interface between Google Search and other Google applications to connect customers with local restaurants, allowing them to place orders directly, without using third-party ordering apps such as Doordash and Postmates. ChowNow, a competitor B2B restaurant order-management SaaS company, has a similar arrangement with Google.[10]

Olo launched its IPO on March 17, 2021.

Funding

The company has raised funds from Founder Collective,[11] RRE Ventures, Core Capital, PayPal, Staley Capital, the Raine Group, Danny Meyer (CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group), and private investors.

In January 2020 Bloomberg reported that Olo might be seeking an IPO with a valuation of $1 billion.[12] Those plans were put on hold due to COVID. The company went public in March 2021[13] with a valuation of $3.6 billion.[14]


References
  1. Marston, Jennifer (October 2, 2019). "Google and OLO Partner to Give Restaurants More Control of Their Data". thespoon.tech. The Spoon. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  2. David Muir (20 September 2006). "Texting Food Orders Makes Cutting In Line OK". ABC News.
  3. Ali, Sarmad (20 September 2006). "Text Messaging Speeds Up Fast-Food Orders; Cellphones, Web Services Let Customers Skip Lines; Idea Is Still in Early Stages". Dow Jones & Company Inc. Wall Street Journal. pp. D4. Mobo Systems Inc., which has deals with 24 restaurants in New Haven, Conn., and New York
  4. Malynkha, Elena (January 17, 2008). "Pizza Hut Adds Cell Phones To Ordering Service". Information Week. Informa PLC Informa UK Limited. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  5. Alexander Wolfe (1 November 2007). "GoMobo Brings Fandango-Like Advance Ordering To Your Morning Coffee Run". Information Week.
  6. Little, Kate (June 6, 2016). "This CEO Passed Up Harvard Law School to Make a Huge Bet on Smart Phones". CNBC.com. CNBC. LLC. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  7. "GoMobo changes name to reflect offerings". QSRweb.com. Networld Media Group. December 5, 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  8. "Exclusive: Tech firm Olo claims 10 million users". Fortune. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  9. Zetlin, Minda (September 22, 2017). "Amazon May Soon Bring You a Shake Shack Burger in Under an Hour". Inc.com.
  10. Luna, Nancy (October 1, 2019). "Google, Olo partnership gives restaurants control of consumer data". Nation's Restaurant News. Informa USA. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  11. "OLO On Mobile Restaurant Ordering: 'We Want To Be The Amazon Of Food'". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  12. Tse, Crystal; Baker, Liana (January 6, 2020). "Food Software Startup Olo Is Said to Plan U.S. IPO in 2020". Bloomberg News. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  13. Ruggless, Ron (March 17, 2021). "Olo CEO Noah Glass sees IPO strengthening platform's independence". Nations Restaurant News. Informa USA. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  14. Lucas, Amelia (March 17, 2021). "Restaurant tech firm Olo shares soar 39% in IPO as online ordering surges". CNBC.com. CNBC LLC. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
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