As bars and restaurants across the globe contemplate how to safely serve diners during the pandemic, many establishments are seeking ways to reduce the number of touchpoints between servers and guests; this means redesigning the payment and ordering process. Bbot is the smart, mobile ordering solution that seamlessly offers contactless ordering and payments for dining. With Bbot, operators can create a fully branded, digital menu accessible through QR codes that patrons can scan with their smartphones. After browsing the digital menu, diners can select the items they would like, place the order, and pay all through their smartphone, without ever having to download or sign up for an app. On the backend, the platform integrates directly with a restaurant’s existing POS. Since Bbot can work for various dining options (in-venue dining, delivery, or pickup), it has empowered restaurants by decreasing dependence on third-party delivery apps that offer take debilitating commission and fees. Bbot was founded three years-ago and amidst the pandemic, the company has experienced accelerated adoption, building built a roster of clients (500+) including major hospitality operators like PM Hotel Group and Michelin star rated Cote Korean Steakhouse.
AlleyWatch caught up with CEO and Cofounder Steven Simoni to learn more about how Bbot is leading the charge in contactless ordering solutions, the importance of guest-controlled ordering, and the company’s seed round, which brings the total funding raised to $3.3M.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We closed a $3M Seed round. The round was led by Craft Ventures followed by Acceleprise and a few prominent restaurant groups and angel investors.
Tell us about the product or service that Bbot offers.
Bbot is a technology solution that allows hospitality operators to create digital menus and provide guests with contactless ordering and payment options. With Bbot, restaurants, bars, hotels, and other hospitality organizations can simplify their ordering and payments process by eliminating the need for physical menus, waiters handling credit cards and cash, or guests waiting in lines.
Patrons can instead access digital menus and payment options on their smartphones by going to a designated website for the venue and entering a QR or location code. There is no signup or app download required.
Bbot integrates directly into the existing POS system or at the printer level and is currently used by over 500 hospitality companies including fine dining restaurants, breweries, hotels, and more. While Bbot was created three years ago to help companies increase efficiency and improve experiences for both servers and customers, the solution has become even more relevant today during the pandemic. Hospitality operators are looking for ways to safely open up and protect their employees and guests. Bbot helps with this by giving customers a contactless order and pay option through their smartphones.
What inspired the start of Bbot?
I started Bbot in 2017 with Greg Jaworski and Luke Allen, after we met in Washington D.C. as naval officers. We all ended up moving to the Bay Area after the Navy and ultimately put our heads together to come up with a solution to improve the way people order and pay for food and drinks.
We’ve all been to a bar where you have to wait in a long line just to order a drink, a restaurant with servers handling many tables or to a hotel where ordering room service could be easier. We created Bbot to solve these pain points in the hospitality business for staff and guests. The original concept for Bbot was a solution that helped with the entire process from placing an order to guests actually receiving their drinks through overhead robots that moved along the ceiling. After conducting industry research and talking to our initial customers, we decided to adjust Bbot to focus solely on our ordering and payments technology, which tends to be where servers can use the most assistance. This led to the Bbot solution that is available today.
How is Bbot different?
In terms of traditional ordering and payment methods people are used to experiencing at bars, restaurants, and hotels, Bbot simplifies the process for both servers and guests. With Bbot, guests can order and pay for their food and drinks from their phones, making the experience safer, more convenient, and more efficient.
For hospitality organizations, Bbot provides a wide range of benefits that they won’t find with other solutions. First, we have created a solution that works for all hospitality organizations including hotels, restaurants, breweries, bars, resorts, food halls, and more with both in-venue and online ordering. Other solutions available tend to focus primarily on multi-vendor establishments, restaurants, and bars.
Additionally, our solution is simple to integrate, configure, customize, and use. Bbot integrates seamlessly with organizations’ existing software and solutions, allowing our customers to continue using the platforms they are comfortable with like SevenRooms, Rooam, Seated, Yumpingo, 7shifts, and a large variety of point-of-sale systems. Our simple integration process and flexibility allows companies to implement Bbot quickly and immediately reap its benefits. With Bbot, servers can start focusing their efforts on delivery and guest experiences, letting them cover more ground. Through this, we’ve seen organizations have an uptick in tips and sales.
Additionally, our solution provides venues with helpful sales and workflow insights that they would not be able to easily access through traditional ordering and payment methods. These insights help companies simplify their operations and improve their processes without sacrificing hospitality.
What market does Bbot target and how big is it?
From fine dining restaurants to hotels, bars, breweries, resorts, cinemas, and other multi-vendor venues like food halls and food courts, Bbot’s in-venue and online order and pay solutions can enhance any hospitality establishment. We’re currently targeting the U.S., U.K., Italy, Denmark, Australia, and Canada.
What’s your business model?
We currently offer two subscription-based solutions. The first is for in-venue ordering for dine-in restaurants, in-room dining, or multi-vendor venues like resorts or food halls. We also offer an online ordering solution for contactless curbside pickup, takeout, and delivery.
How has COVID-19 impacted the business?
The pandemic has certainly amplified the need for our solution. Restaurants, bars, and hotels are starting to open back up and trying to find ways to keep customers and servers safe. Bbot is an extremely useful tool for all hospitality organizations during this time as it allows guests to order and pay for their food and drinks without having to touch a printed menu, give their credit card to their server, or interact closely with staff. This contactless offering helps keep everyone safer in a venue.
What was the funding process like?
We had a few angel investors supporting us in 2019 in New York City, and we were experiencing steady growth based on our product and that early support. In 2020, we were getting ready to round out our Seed round when COVID-19 shutdowns started happening across the nation. We kept working with the investor community and sharing our company data with them. Craft Ventures was a firm that was following us since the early days and decided to come to a deal with us. As we look to a future series A, we look forward to continuing our partnership with them.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Raising money in restaurant technology can be hard. Investors are laser-focused on the margins and on the competition. You have to be able to clearly articulate why your product matters and why it will win in the market. That’s a challenge for anyone, even someone who lives this, day-in and day-out.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Our investors saw the current and long-term benefits of Bbot. Our offering provides all hospitality organizations with a safe and efficient way to service guests and provide a quality customer experience. Bbot has proven its value by helping some of our clients see up to a 15% increase in sales and tips thanks to our solution.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
Over the next six months, we plan to work on the launch of new point-of-sale system integrations and focus on support for European organizations.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Every company is different, but what worked for us when we struggled to have capital in the door was exploring channel strategies. There are a lot of tech companies that wish they could have 18 months more of an accelerated roadmap. Find out what those product teams need and build it for them.
Every company is different, but what worked for us when we struggled to have capital in the door was exploring channel strategies. There are a lot of tech companies that wish they could have 18 months more of an accelerated roadmap. Find out what those product teams need and build it for them.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
Our ultimate goal is to help as many hospitality organizations improve their ordering and payment methods as possible. To accomplish this, we will be enhancing our offering, which includes launching new POS integrations and expanding our international efforts.
What’s your favorite outdoor dining restaurant in NYC?
Brooklyn Barge Bar, which was also our first customer in NYC. The food is delicious, the views are beautiful, and the experience is much better since you can order and pay from your phone without having to wait on a line and then look for a table.
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