How A Sandwich Craving Birthed A $410M Food Delivery Giant

Zinger Key Points
  • Caviar transformed from adaily deals app to a food delivery powerhouse.
  • By 2014, Square acquired Caviar in an all-stock deal and later sold it to DoorDash for $410 million.

Shawn Tsao initially envisioned a career in architecture, but his path took a dramatic turn when he and his close friends from the University of California, Berkeley, ventured into the food industry.

Their first attempt was a daily deals app, but it didn't resonate. However, a pivotal conversation at a Berkeley pub in 2011 reshaped their direction, leading to the birth of Caviar.

It was the simple craving for a sandwich from Ike's Place that ignited the idea. Instead of emulating the "Groupon for food" model, Tsao and his pals envisioned becoming the "Uber for food."

Also Read: This 22-Year-Old Making $194,000 A Year Plans To Retire At 35 By Using FIRE Principles

Caviar's unique proposition was its collaboration with restaurants that lacked delivery services, offering a curated food delivery experience.

Tsao realized that if Caviar could sign, say, the "best burger or best taco" in the neighborhood, customers would start talking.

By 2014, Caviar's rapid ascent caught the eye of Jack Dorsey's payment platform, Square (now rebranded as Block). 

Square acquired Caviar in an all-stock deal for a reported $90 million, and then flipped it to DoorDash for $410 million.

“A lot of the best companies solve the simplest of problems," Tsao told CNBC. "For us, it was: ‘Give me a sandwich.’” 

Now Read: Rent The Runway CEO Tells How Early Life Lessons Help Build $95M Company

This story is part of a series of features on the subject of success, Benzinga Inspire.

How can you invest in early-stage startups if you don’t know the founders? Easy. Click here for a list of startups you can invest in today.

Benzinga may receive monetary compensation from the issuer, or its agency, for publicizing the offering of the issuer’s securities in this article. Please see 17b disclosure linked in the offering circular for more information.

This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Image: Pixabay

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In: NewsRestaurantsTop StoriesSuccess StoriesGeneralAI-GeneratedBenzinga InspireCaviarShawn TsaoUC Berkeley
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!