附近上门

, a Dallas-based startup that offers a tableside ordering and payment solution, has closed on a $5 million Series A.

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A private family trust led the round which included participation from 鈥渟everal supporting investors,鈥� including Austin-based TMW Capital and Hidden Lake Asset Management of New York.

Now, $5 million by today鈥檚 standards is actually on the small side for a Series A. But what caught my attention about this round is it was raised at a pre-money valuation of $90 million.

I should point out, as we all know, that a high valuation alone does not necessarily always translate into future success. In fact, a number of highly valued companies ( and , just to name a couple) saw spectacular stumbles in 2019. Those high-profile stumbles have actually led to concerns about overinflation when it comes to valuation.

But back to OneDine. Its valuation prompted me to take a closer look at the company, what it does and what about what it does warranted this valuation.

Affordable entry

founded OneDine in 2017, but, he said 鈥渋t was an idea long before that. We had to wait for other pieces of tech to catch up.鈥�

OneDine runs on a common tablet (which allows for a 鈥渟uper low cost of entry,鈥� the company says) and seamlessly interfaces with a restaurant鈥檚 POS (point-of-sale) systems and existing restaurant software. With OneDine, restaurant patrons can go to a restaurant, check in and then do things like order from a digital menu on their mobile phone. They can also pay from their tables with their mobile phones 鈥渨hen they鈥檙e ready鈥� and take real-time surveys.

The startup aims to make the whole dining out experience more efficient and personalized. Users can customize their OneDine profile to reflect their dietary and lifestyle preferences. OneDine then can provide instant notifications of nearby restaurants that match their preferences, along with trending offers or promotions. Where available, users can also make reservations from their device.

OneDine says its offering helps decrease labor costs and eliminate fraudulent chargebacks. For example, if a restaurant doesn’t have a chip reader, someone can claim they didn’t eat there. According to the company, restaurants lose massive amounts of money each year due to fraudulent chargebacks.

鈥淭here are services that offer a single feature or a few features but OneDine is the only platform that does it all without requiring an overhaul of hardware and software,鈥� Krupp told 附近上门 News.

Customers lining up

OneDine launched its platform publicly late last year and started fulfilling in November. According to Krupp, the company has a pre-sales pipeline of over $100 million. He also projects OneDine to finish the year with $10 million in ARR (annual recurring revenue) and profitable. The company is a SaaS operator with a hardware component.

The company is currently working with over 60 brands, most of which are enterprise brands, including 54th Street and SPIN in New York City. Aside from restaurants, the platform has 鈥渞eally resonated鈥� with hotels, casinos and even airports, according to Krupp.

鈥淭he applications of the platform are quite diverse,鈥� he said.

The startup more than doubled its headcount to 24 compared to 11 a year ago, but Krupp projects OneDine will have 100 employees by year鈥檚 end.

OneDine plans to use its new capital mainly to hire support and client fulfillment staff since it will offer 24/7 support to customers. It also wants to drive further expansion across the U.S. and continue improving its platform.

TMW Capital鈥檚 said OneDine is appealing because 鈥渢he restaurant industry and its customers are hungry (pun intended) for a more streamlined experience.

鈥淥ur investment in OneDine is based on its exceptional team and the fact that restaurants are on a waiting list to be able to implement the technology OneDine has to offer,鈥� he added.

A waiting list, $100 million in a pre-sales pipeline and anticipated profitability by year鈥檚 end? Here鈥檚 where a high valuation actually makes sense.

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