LunchBoxPass delivers low-cost meals to workplace
Founder saw a way to benefit both customers and restaurants,
If you’re a working professional, you know finding delicious and inexpensive lunch options can be a challenge.
Calgary startup LunchBoxPass offers a $139 monthly membership that allows members to eat lunch every weekday at some of the city’s top restaurants, for what works out to just $6.95 per meal. Members can order from a growing number of highly curated restaurants, each offering one of their signature dishes and rotating their selection daily.
Restaurants benefit from receiving a large number of orders for the same item at the same time every morning, enabling them to utilize their off peak hours so they can increase efficiency and profitability.
Here’s more from LunchBoxPass co-founder and CEO Elad Rosenberg:
Q How did you come up with the idea for your startup?
A Working in downtown Calgary, I found myself going to the same restaurants day after day and often spending $15 or more per meal, wasting a large portion of my lunch hour just standing in line to order and waiting for my food to be prepared. This led me to think of a more convenient and affordable solution for urban pro- fessionals who love to eat out, are budget conscious, and are time constrained.
Q What has been the biggest challenge so far? What have you done to solve it?
A Our biggest challenge has been spreading the word. We invest heavily in our social media networks and strive to build a strong community of members. We listen to our members, knowing they are our greatest asset. We’ve seen much of our growth come from existing members referring their friends and colleagues.
Q Are there any key individuals outside of your organization that have been of great help to your startup?
A Before starting LunchBoxPass, we reached out to investors, restaurant owners and experienced entrepreneurs for advice. Everyone provided us with their unique perspective that helped us shape our business model.
Q What advice would you like to share with others just starting out?
A As Mike Tyson once said “Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face.” My advice to new entrepreneurs is don’t build too much technology or spend too much money on marketing or sales before you extensively test your business model. Listen to your customers, they’re your best source of advice.
Q What made you choose to go down the path of entrepreneurship?
A Our team is entrepreneurial in spirit and gets satisfaction from turning ideas into successful outcomes. We all have either worked at a startup or been on the founding team of a startup before starting LunchBoxPass.
What do you and your startup need help with?
We are always looking for passionate people who share our vision. Whether you’re an investor, a programmer or a marketing professional, we invite you to get in touch with us.
Lloyed Lobo covers technology startups in Alberta. He is a partner at Boast Capital and co-founder of TractionConf.io. If you’d like to be featured, please email llobo@boastcapital.com.