With 8 million lunches served in 16 cities around the world since it launched two years ago, the food delivery service MealPal has found success by cozying up to the people dishing out the food.
"You've got the challenge of an industry, the restaurant industry, that historically has really low profit margins," said Mary Biggins, MealPal's co-founder. "The average restaurant has a margin of only six percent."
That's been too tight for some Silicon Valley food-delivery startups such as Maple and Munchery to operate (both went under). Postmates struggles to find its own profit within those margins.
The difference for MealPal, Biggins said in an interview on Cheddar, was that it tied its model to restaurants' profitability from the start.
"We want every restaurant on MealPal to be able to say that MealPal is their most valuable partner," she said.
Biggins first had success with Classpass, an app that allowed users to sign up for a bunch of gym classes for an affordable fee. MealPal functions similarly, offering lunch for just $6 from some of the most popular restaurants in a city.
"You need to build something that's going to resonate with consumers, but also work for the supply side as well," she said.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/digging-into-the-world-of-apps).
With thousands of layoffs in tech and beyond, how workers can keep their skills sharp, plus reasons to be hopeful when looking at the job market.
Taking a look at investment strategy as the new year gets into full swing.
Americans stepped up their spending in December more than expected, closing out the holiday season and the year on an upbeat tone. The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.6% in December compared with a November’s 0.3% increase.
A New York architect charged in a string of slayings known as the Gilgo Beach killings was accused in a 25-year-old Connecticut woman's death.
Uber purchased Drizly in a cash-and-stock deal for $1.1 billion in 2021. The drink delivery app will shut down in March, according to Uber.
After Donald Trump's victory at the Iowa caucus, Nikki Haley and DeSantis continue their campaigns as New Hampshire's primary looms.
Christine Short, VP of Research at Wall Street Horizon, shares insights on small and big banks earnings, a fresh round of layoffs in the tech world, and what to expect from upcoming rate decisions.
More executives are feeling better about the global economy. But a growing number don’t think their companies will survive the coming decade without a major overhaul because of pressure from climate change and technology like artificial intelligence.
The International Olympic Committee has signed the first beer brand in the 40-year history of a sponsorship program that earns billions of dollars for the organization and international sports.
The latest calculations from several science agencies showing Earth obliterated global heat records last year may seem scary. But scientists worry that what’s behind those numbers could be even worse.
