Olo is a New York City-based B2B SaaS company that develops digital ordering and delivery programs for restaurants. The company’s platform allows customers to place restaurant orders from multiple origination points – from a brand’s own website or app, third party marketplaces, social media platforms, smart speakers, and home assistants. It also provides restaurants with order analytics and other services.[2]
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| NYSE: OLO | |
| Industry | Internet, Mobile, Restaurants |
| Founded | June 2005 in New York City, U.S. |
| Headquarters | One World Trade Center, New York City, U.S. |
Key people | Noah Glass, Founder & Chief Executive Officer |
| Revenue |  US$149 million (2021) |
 US$−28 million (2021) | |
| US$−42 million (2021) | |
| Total assets | US$756 million (2021) |
| Total equity | US$702 million (2021) |
Number of employees | 639 (December 2021) |
| Website | olo |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
History
editOlo was founded as GoMobo in 2005 by Noah Glass in New Haven.[3][4] Its initial product was a mobile phone app that allowed users to pre-order food via text message from coffee shops for pick-up.[5][6]
In 2010, the company changed its name to Olo ("online ordering") to reflect its change from being a customer-facing application to being a B2B software company, "invisible" to customers,[7] used by restaurants to manage mobile device orders.[8]
Fortune reported in 2015 that restaurants using Olo software had served approximately 10 million customers.[9]
In 2017, Shake Shack launched the Shake App created by Olo; other restaurant brands using Olo software include Denny’s and Wingstop.[10]
In 2019, Olo formed a partnership with Google to provide the interface between Google Search and other Google applications to connect customers with local restaurants, allowing them to place orders directly, without using third-party ordering apps such as DoorDash and Postmates. ChowNow, a competitor B2B restaurant order-management SaaS company, has a similar arrangement with Google.[11]
On March 17, 2021, Olo went public on the New York Stock Exchange and its IPO raised approximately $450 million.[12]
In October 2021, Olo announced its acquisition of Wisely, a customer intelligence platform that uses consumer data to personalize online ordering.[13]
In February 2022, Olo launched a service called Olo Pay which enables customers to make one-click online purchases from any restaurant in Olo’s network.[14] In February 2022, Olo acquired Omnivore, a company that developed technology services for restaurants.[14]
Starting in August 2022, Olo stock plunged as restaurants delayed deploying their ordering software.[15] Following the drop in Olo’s share price, several law firms filed what Restaurant Business described as “stock-drop suits”, a common type of lawsuit following a substantial drop in a public company’s share prices where lawyers for investors attempt to show that the company intentionally withheld information related to the price fall from its shareholders.[16][17]
In July 2023, Jo Lambert was named the chief operating officer (COO).[18]
Funding
editThe company has raised funds from Founder Collective,[19] RRE Ventures, Core Capital, PayPal, Staley Capital, The Raine Group, Danny Meyer (CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group), and private investors.[20]
In January 2020, Bloomberg News reported that Olo might be seeking an IPO with a valuation of $1 billion.[21] Those plans were put on hold due to COVID-19. The company went public in March 2021[22] with a valuation of $3.6 billion.[23]
References
edit- ^ "Olo Inc. 2021 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 25 February 2022.
- ^ Marston, Jennifer (October 2, 2019). "Google and OLO Partner to Give Restaurants More Control of Their Data". thespoon.tech. The Spoon. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ David Muir (20 September 2006). "Texting Food Orders Makes Cutting In Line OK". ABC News.
- ^ Ali, Sarmad (20 September 2006). "Text Messaging Speeds Up Fast-Food Orders; Cellphones, Web Services Let Customers Skip Lines; Idea Is Still in Early Stages". Dow Jones & Company Inc. Wall Street Journal. pp. D4.
Mobo Systems Inc., which has deals with 24 restaurants in New Haven, Conn., and New York
- ^ Malynkha, Elena (January 17, 2008). "Pizza Hut Adds Cell Phones To Ordering Service". Information Week. Informa PLC Informa UK Limited. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Alexander Wolfe (1 November 2007). "GoMobo Brings Fandango-Like Advance Ordering To Your Morning Coffee Run". Information Week.
- ^ Little, Kate (June 6, 2016). "This CEO Passed Up Harvard Law School to Make a Huge Bet on Smart Phones". CNBC.com. CNBC. LLC. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ "GoMobo changes name to reflect offerings". QSRweb.com. Networld Media Group. December 5, 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "Exclusive: Tech firm Olo claims 10 million users". Fortune. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ^ Zetlin, Minda (September 22, 2017). "Amazon May Soon Bring You a Shake Shack Burger in Under an Hour". Inc.com.
- ^ Luna, Nancy (October 1, 2019). "Google, Olo partnership gives restaurants control of consumer data". Nation's Restaurant News. Informa USA. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Lucas, Amelia (17 March 2021). "RESTAURANTS Restaurant tech firm Olo shares soar 39% in IPO as online ordering surges". CNBC. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ Fantozzi, Joanna (21 October 2021). "Olo is acquiring software solution platform Wisely for $187 million". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ a b Guszkowski, Joe (23 February 2022). "OLO LAUNCHES PAYMENT SERVICE, ACQUIRES POS INTEGRATOR OMNIVORE". Restaurant Business Online. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ "Olo Shares Plummet On After Q2 Revenue Fall Short Of Estimates, Lowered FY Guidance". Benzinga. Aug 11, 2022.
- ^ Guszkowski, Joe (17 August 2022). "OLO IS LOSING ITS SUBWAY BUSINESS, DRAWING SHAREHOLDER LAWSUITS". Restaurant Business. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
- ^ Miranda, Janet (27 September 2022). "Olo Investor Sues Over Nondisclosure of Subway Partnership End". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
- ^ Banks, Jarrett (2023-06-14). "OLO Reshuffle Sets Company Up for Massive Opportunities Ahead". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "OLO On Mobile Restaurant Ordering: 'We Want To Be The Amazon Of Food'". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ^ Roof, Katie (January 21, 2016). "Olo Raises $40 Million To Expand Delivery Business". TechCrunch.com. Yahoo. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
Olo previously raised at least $23 million in funding from RRE ventures, PayPal, Founder Collective and famed restaurateur Danny Meyer.
- ^ Tse, Crystal; Baker, Liana (January 6, 2020). "Food Software Startup Olo Is Said to Plan U.S. IPO in 2020". Bloomberg News. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Ruggless, Ron (March 17, 2021). "Olo CEO Noah Glass sees IPO strengthening platform's independence". Nations Restaurant News. Informa USA. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- ^ Lucas, Amelia (March 17, 2021). "Restaurant tech firm Olo shares soar 39% in IPO as online ordering surges". CNBC.com. CNBC LLC. Retrieved 28 June 2021.