8 ms·

How ZeroCater (W2011) got started

111 points by arram 15y ago

dylangs1030 15y ago
Really fantastic idea. I'm glad to see one of the hallmarks of famous status symbols in the tech industry like Google and Facebook is being spread elsewhere to increase productivity.
tyrick 15y ago
What is it about ZeroCater that provides better services than competing caterers in the area?
- lanstein 15y ago
  a) it's easy as hell b) the food is great c) it's super flexible - if you don't like something, just tell them d) the variety e) you don't have to decide what you want (some people would say this is the best reason) f) it's easy as hell
  - ahlatimer 15y ago
    We were using a different catering company before moving to ZeroCater (don't remember who off the top of my head). ZeroCater has better food and more variety than that catering company did. I'm not sure if that's indicative of catering companies, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was. That said, ZeroCater still has its own problems. The biggest one we've had is ZeroCater simply not listening to our requests. It took us a while to get a gluten-free option, for instance, and even longer to get it removed when we no longer needed it. We've also requested no fish several times, and yet we still end up getting fish on occasion. Overall, though, I'd recommend ZeroCater if you're planning regular team lunches in a city where they offer it and you don't want to deal with the minutiae of it.
    - gonzocliff 15y ago
      Overall ZeroCater is pretty good. Although I do think they can step up their customer service.
- arram 15y ago
  If you’re using a lot of restaurants, it’s a chore to coordinate them. If you’re just using one caterer, it gets boring pretty fast. We let people get the best of both worlds: lots of variety, but simple to use.
  - tyrick 15y ago
    Nice, can't wait to start using you when we get into the area!
lifefundr 15y ago
I love startups that blur the line between online and offline. Startups like ZeroCater that are able to offer an online experience that is not purely online or social like many others is an interesting space that I do not think is explored enough. I wish them the best of luck! Nice work guys!
salimmadjd 15y ago
Crazymenu.com started providing that exact feature in 2007! Try the Group Order service on Crazymenu.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- accountoftheday 15y ago
  no funding to the tune of $1.5m, so it won't matter.
  - salimmadjd 15y ago
    The blog post reads like this was a new invention, so it matters from that perspective. It maybe inconsequential, however funding is not everything. If they need $1.5 mil to do this, then they need a lot more to run this business. We built everything bootstrapped. Except 2008 was a sucky year for raising money. Today is like 10X easier.
    - accountoftheday 15y ago
      you should have disclosed that you are one of the creators of this competitor.
forrestthewoods 15y ago
Why does the ZeroCater website not list what cities they are available in?
- arram 15y ago
  We use incoming requests to decide where to go next.
  - forrestthewoods 15y ago
    Does that work better than a page listing "Available Locations" plus a "Request Your City" line? Seems like you'd lose a lot of customers who visit the site, wonder if it's in their city, don't see any cities listed, and then close the page.
    - DanielStraight 15y ago
      That's exactly what I did, so... one data point at least.
aresant 15y ago
Quick style comment on blog - I'd update the "Check out our website at: ZeroCater.com" on the top right (which I missed the first time I looked) to 18 - 24pt font min or a banner / button for easier finding. Also, come to San Diego please :)
- shali 15y ago
  done! better CTA to come soon... ;-D
- mattmanser 15y ago
  One thing that also always bugs me on blogs is that the big logo links to blog.zerocater.com instead of www.zerocater.com. Why people do this I do not know, but it's very irritating. I've just read your latest blog post, do you think it's likely I'm looking for more blog posts or your product? So many product blogs get this wrong.
moe 15y ago
I love this quote: People work harder when you feed them.
thomson 15y ago
I met you when Mike was an intern at justin.tv--really glad to see that ZeroCater is working out! Maybe we'll make the switch over once we move to the new office..
devmach 15y ago
A Question : There is a some local Turkish website called yemeksepeti.com ( = food basket/cart. They have english version of their web site if you want to check ) which in service since 2001. One can see the menu and order any meal from the member resaturans and get his food in 10 to 40 minutes without paying extra fee. If one implements the same system, he can kill the middle man. What prevents other start-ups to do that and how can zerocater protect it's business ?
- noodle 15y ago
  In the US, the delivery of food is not free. There are lots of services (Zifty is one example -- https://www.zifty.com/ https://www.zifty.com/) which are entirely based around being food delivery middle-men. When you order from a restaurant and you request your food to be delivered, it is standard practice for you to be charged more.
- sinope 15y ago
  Zerocater is principally a B2B service.
rdouble 15y ago
How is it different than Seamless?
- emmett 15y ago
  You don't have to choose what dishes you get. You don't even have to choose what restaurant you get food from. You tell them "6 vegetarians, 2 vegans, 1 person with a peanut allergy, 12 other people, we need food wednesday and friday for lunch at noon" and they make it happen.
brianbreslin 15y ago
Has anyone tackled this for individuals? I.e. hybrid between this and seamless and a cantina
alagu 15y ago
ZeroCater addresses a real need - food. We have this problem in Bangalore, India. We go out everyday to eat food. The choices are limited and food quality gets bad over days. Solving this problem boils down largely to logistics and ensured food quality. Would be great if someone from India starts a Zerocater equivalent.
- gadders 15y ago
  And there was I in London envying the tiffin and dabbawala system :-) I thought you had the problem sorted...
  - alagu 15y ago
    Dabbawala system is not available in Bangalore, it is in Mumbai. But Dabbawalas solve a different problem. They are just a well-connected delivery system. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabbawala http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabbawala

111 points by arram 15y ago

Really fantastic idea. I'm glad to see one of the hallmarks of famous status symbols in the tech industry like Google and Facebook is being spread elsewhere to increase productivity.

tyrick 15y ago

What is it about ZeroCater that provides better services than competing caterers in the area?

lanstein 15y ago
a) it's easy as hell b) the food is great c) it's super flexible - if you don't like something, just tell them d) the variety e) you don't have to decide what you want (some people would say this is the best reason) f) it's easy as hell
- ahlatimer 15y ago
  We were using a different catering company before moving to ZeroCater (don't remember who off the top of my head). ZeroCater has better food and more variety than that catering company did. I'm not sure if that's indicative of catering companies, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was. That said, ZeroCater still has its own problems. The biggest one we've had is ZeroCater simply not listening to our requests. It took us a while to get a gluten-free option, for instance, and even longer to get it removed when we no longer needed it. We've also requested no fish several times, and yet we still end up getting fish on occasion. Overall, though, I'd recommend ZeroCater if you're planning regular team lunches in a city where they offer it and you don't want to deal with the minutiae of it.
  - gonzocliff 15y ago
    Overall ZeroCater is pretty good. Although I do think they can step up their customer service.
arram 15y ago
If you’re using a lot of restaurants, it’s a chore to coordinate them. If you’re just using one caterer, it gets boring pretty fast. We let people get the best of both worlds: lots of variety, but simple to use.
- tyrick 15y ago
  Nice, can't wait to start using you when we get into the area!

lifefundr 15y ago

I love startups that blur the line between online and offline. Startups like ZeroCater that are able to offer an online experience that is not purely online or social like many others is an interesting space that I do not think is explored enough. I wish them the best of luck! Nice work guys!

salimmadjd 15y ago

Crazymenu.com started providing that exact feature in 2007! Try the Group Order service on Crazymenu.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
accountoftheday 15y ago
no funding to the tune of $1.5m, so it won't matter.
- salimmadjd 15y ago
  The blog post reads like this was a new invention, so it matters from that perspective. It maybe inconsequential, however funding is not everything. If they need $1.5 mil to do this, then they need a lot more to run this business. We built everything bootstrapped. Except 2008 was a sucky year for raising money. Today is like 10X easier.
  - accountoftheday 15y ago
    you should have disclosed that you are one of the creators of this competitor.

forrestthewoods 15y ago

Why does the ZeroCater website not list what cities they are available in?

arram 15y ago
We use incoming requests to decide where to go next.
- forrestthewoods 15y ago
  Does that work better than a page listing "Available Locations" plus a "Request Your City" line? Seems like you'd lose a lot of customers who visit the site, wonder if it's in their city, don't see any cities listed, and then close the page.
  - DanielStraight 15y ago
    That's exactly what I did, so... one data point at least.

aresant 15y ago

Quick style comment on blog - I'd update the "Check out our website at: ZeroCater.com" on the top right (which I missed the first time I looked) to 18 - 24pt font min or a banner / button for easier finding. Also, come to San Diego please :)

shali 15y ago
done! better CTA to come soon... ;-D
mattmanser 15y ago
One thing that also always bugs me on blogs is that the big logo links to blog.zerocater.com instead of www.zerocater.com. Why people do this I do not know, but it's very irritating. I've just read your latest blog post, do you think it's likely I'm looking for more blog posts or your product? So many product blogs get this wrong.

moe 15y ago

I love this quote: People work harder when you feed them.

thomson 15y ago

I met you when Mike was an intern at justin.tv--really glad to see that ZeroCater is working out! Maybe we'll make the switch over once we move to the new office..

devmach 15y ago

A Question : There is a some local Turkish website called yemeksepeti.com ( = food basket/cart. They have english version of their web site if you want to check ) which in service since 2001. One can see the menu and order any meal from the member resaturans and get his food in 10 to 40 minutes without paying extra fee. If one implements the same system, he can kill the middle man. What prevents other start-ups to do that and how can zerocater protect it's business ?

noodle 15y ago
In the US, the delivery of food is not free. There are lots of services (Zifty is one example -- https://www.zifty.com/ https://www.zifty.com/) which are entirely based around being food delivery middle-men. When you order from a restaurant and you request your food to be delivered, it is standard practice for you to be charged more.
sinope 15y ago
Zerocater is principally a B2B service.

rdouble 15y ago

How is it different than Seamless?

emmett 15y ago
You don't have to choose what dishes you get. You don't even have to choose what restaurant you get food from. You tell them "6 vegetarians, 2 vegans, 1 person with a peanut allergy, 12 other people, we need food wednesday and friday for lunch at noon" and they make it happen.

brianbreslin 15y ago

Has anyone tackled this for individuals? I.e. hybrid between this and seamless and a cantina

alagu 15y ago

ZeroCater addresses a real need - food. We have this problem in Bangalore, India. We go out everyday to eat food. The choices are limited and food quality gets bad over days. Solving this problem boils down largely to logistics and ensured food quality. Would be great if someone from India starts a Zerocater equivalent.

gadders 15y ago
And there was I in London envying the tiffin and dabbawala system :-) I thought you had the problem sorted...
- alagu 15y ago
  Dabbawala system is not available in Bangalore, it is in Mumbai. But Dabbawalas solve a different problem. They are just a well-connected delivery system. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabbawala http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabbawala