Burrito boss wraps up cash for restaurant ordering app
● Seed Haus and SIB invest ‘high five-figure sum’ ● Tool designed to save small eateries time and money
An Edinburgh tech firm launched by the leader of a Mexican food chain has secured funding to bring its prototype app to market, with the aim of supporting small and independent eateries.
OMS, which stands for Orders Made Simple, is a mobile app and management tool which allows restaurants and food service operators to place orders more efficiently with their suppliers.
The start-up has received a “high five -figure sum” from pre-seed tech accelerator Seed Haus and the Scottish Investment Bank (SIB), the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise.
Founded by Stephen Scurr, director of Mexican eatery Bonnie Burrito, OMS aims to save small and independent restaurants time and money by managing all of their supply needs in one app, including packaging, ingredients, drinks and cleaning products.
Scurr was inspired by his own experience at Bonnie Burrito, which has two stores in Edinburgh, and has tailored the app to fit the needs of a small business.
OMS will use the cash to further develop its prototype as it aims to take on its first cohort of restaurant clients by March.
Founder and chief executive S curr said: “The investment from Seed Haus and SIB has allowed us to take what was only an idea a few months ago to an actual business.
“However, not only is the capital important, but the support from Seed Haus and their alumni will help us grow from strength to strength.”
Seed Haus, founded by its chief executive Calum Forsyth and chairman Robin Knox, offers mentorship as well as capital investment to tech start-ups.
Forsyth is behind Amiqus, a software company that offers an encrypted online tool to automate anti- mone y-laundering and compliance checks, while Knox is a co-founder of payments firm IPOS (which was later sold to Swedish payments giant izettle) and smart home security firm Boundary.
Seed Haus backers include high-profile names such as Sir Tom Hunter, Brewdog cofounder James Watt and Skyscanner co -founder Gareth Williams.
Its incubator has housed early-stage Scottish tech companies including autonomous security firm Casta Spes Technologies, beverage delivery firm Drinkly, family-focused private messaging platform Kindaba, e-sports specialist Player base and gaming platform Topdog.
Investments in the past six months or so have included Probate Partner, a legal tech platform aiming to bring transparency and customercentric design to the estate administration process; Just Venue, a venue booking platform that is now live in cities across the UK; and Handl, an on-demand car service and maintenance start-up.