Grubwithus
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We took a look back on the progress Grubwithus has made since Febraury and their rapid expansion into five new markets.
This is the second of two articles written by Springwise and brought to you by HP Input/Output.
In the first post of the series, HP offered our US readers the chance to win a $500 home office upgrade. This contest ended on 10/21/11, and was won by Brendan Brown for his insightful comments and suggestions for Podtime.
In this latest instalment in our Where Are They Now series, we’re taking a look a back on the progress Grubwithus have made since we covered them back in February this year.
Back in February, Grubwithus was already organizing its ‘social meals’ in Chicago and San Francisco. Those seeking to begin new friendships over dinner with strangers could sign up to participate in a meal for an average of USD 20. Grubwithus was already working with selected restaurants to host the social dining events, and had begun privately testing a new service which would enable members to plan and create meals themselves.
Since February, Grubwithus’ focus has primarily been on expansion. Building on the initial success the service met in Chicago and San Francisco, the social meals have also been launched in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Boston and Seattle. When asked why they feel the meals have been such a success, co-founders Daishin Sugano and Eddy Lu explained, “It’s because we have quality users. Our slogan is “meet awesome people” and we say “awesome” for a reason.”
To accommodate this expansion, Sugano and Lu hired seventeen new members of staff, and it is here that they have met their greatest challenge to date: “One challenge we’ve always had has been a lack of resources. We have some really great ideas of where we want to take Grubwithus, but finding the right people and the talent has been difficult. We’ve built a solid team of 19, but we’re always looking to hire more.”
Looking ahead to the future, the focus for Grubwithus is still very much on expansion, with plans to move into three more markets within the next couple of months. Because of this focus, the service enabling members to create their own meals has still not yet been fully developed. However, Grubwithus informed us that it is currently possible for users to create meals by submitting requests to the team via email, and work continues on the development of a fully automated online service.
Unlike Podtime, there has clearly been no need for Grubwithus to go through a radical shake up after launch. Rather the company has expanded steadily into new markets as they continue to grow organically. However, this too has presented challenges of its own, and we will be watching carefully to see how Grubwithus progress over the months to come!
Back in February, Grubwithus was already organizing its ‘social meals’ in Chicago and San Francisco. Those seeking to begin new friendships over dinner with strangers could sign up to participate in a meal for an average of USD 20. Grubwithus was already working with selected restaurants to host the social dining events, and had begun privately testing a new service which would enable members to plan and create meals themselves.
Since February, Grubwithus’ focus has primarily been on expansion. Building on the initial success the service met in Chicago and San Francisco, the social meals have also been launched in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Boston and Seattle. When asked why they feel the meals have been such a success, co-founders Daishin Sugano and Eddy Lu explained, “It’s because we have quality users. Our slogan is “meet awesome people” and we say “awesome” for a reason.”
To accommodate this expansion, Sugano and Lu hired seventeen new members of staff, and it is here that they have met their greatest challenge to date: “One challenge we’ve always had has been a lack of resources. We have some really great ideas of where we want to take Grubwithus, but finding the right people and the talent has been difficult. We’ve built a solid team of 19, but we’re always looking to hire more.”
Looking ahead to the future, the focus for Grubwithus is still very much on expansion, with plans to move into three more markets within the next couple of months. Because of this focus, the service enabling members to create their own meals has still not yet been fully developed. However, Grubwithus informed us that it is currently possible for users to create meals by submitting requests to the team via email, and work continues on the development of a fully automated online service.
Unlike Podtime, there has clearly been no need for Grubwithus to go through a radical shake up after launch. Rather the company has expanded steadily into new markets as they continue to grow organically. However, this too has presented challenges of its own, and we will be watching carefully to see how Grubwithus progress over the months to come!
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