The Problem

The idea came about when a friend and I were at a pizza place in London. We’d already eaten and were desperate to leave but getting the waiters attention and then trying to get the card machine was a really painful experience. After some initial research, we found out that on average people waited 10-12 mins to pay the bill (yes, wait to give the restaurant money!?!). The reoccurring problems we faced at restaurants were:

• Having no control over your experience;
• Waiting to order and waiting to pay; and
• Splitting the bill with friends.

Learnings

We conducted some initial research by engaging with restaurants to see what their pain points were from an operational standpoint.

We learnt that:

• 95% of restauranteurs would prefer staff to focus on delivering a better service, rather than spending time taking payments;
• On average people spent 10 – 12 mins waiting for the bill; and
• By 2030, 30% of jobs will be replaced by technology.

We set about building an app that allows you scan a QR code, get the menu, place your order (Deliveroo style), eat your meal and, as your card is saved to your account, you can just leave without having to get the cheque. With Reid Hoffman’s words in the back of our heads, “If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” We set out to build an MVP, with a real focus on the user experience.

We were lucky to test the product in the popular restaurant, Burger + Lobster in London.