Interview with Greenplate.co founders
Check out the interview below with Hamilton startup Greenplate.co, and register to see Greenplate.co demo’d live at DemoCampHamilton22 on Wednesday October 7th from 6:30pm – 9:00pm at The Art Gallery of Hamilton!
Tell me about yourself.
McMaster grads: Ken Seville (B.A.: Poli. Sci., 03), Matt Nelson (B.Eng, Software, 13)
We met playing on the same softball team (3-16-1) and have been working together since July.
What is Greenplate.co?
Greenplate is an online marketplace of home-cooked meals. It offers an alternative to cooking for oneself or eating restaurant takeout.
Why did you create Greenplate.co?
I don’t enjoy cooking and I’m sick of eating restaurant takeout.
How did you get the idea for Greenplate.co?
I had the Greenplate idea while walking home after work and thinking about what to have for dinner. It occurred to me that people were cooking family dinner in the houses I was passing, and I asked myself “what if I could know what they were making and buy a serving for takeout?” I asked others what they thought of the idea, and the response was so enthusiastic, that I knew I had to get working on it immediately.
How will you monetize the service?
We charge a markup (tbd) above the seller’s price.
How are you planning on marketing Greenplate.co?
To this point we have done all face to face marketing at events and door to door canvassing. As we go on we will do more media marketing.
What has the response been like so far to Greenplate.co?
Great. Most people recognize that eating reasonably healthy pretty much only happens with home-cooked meals, and yet, most people just have the time to cook every day, Greenplate solves that tension.
Who do you picture using Greenplate.co?
We’re initially focused on Mac students. Our reasoning is that we’ve got more than 10K students living away from home, with limited cooking skills, and not a lot of time to learn. In addition, they are spending ~50% of their food budget out of home, so they are a good fit for our service.
How long did it take to build Greenplate.co?
Took about 3 months to get it to this point.
What have you learned so far building Greenplate.co?
Scratching one’s own itch makes telling the story much easier.
Where do you hope to see Greenplate.co in a year?
We want to perfect our model at Mac (and potentially Mohawk) this year. If we see the metrics we think will make it scalable, we will actively expand for the next school year.
Any advice for entrepreneurs trying to create similar products?
It’s certainly not my advice, but it’s good advice, figure out the smallest thing you can build that creates value for the customer (feels like a better deal than alternatives) and iterate the hell out of it. The temptation is always to build bells and whistles, but just keep it simple to start and improve as fast as you can.
