Founder Interview - Megan Mokri

Q&A with the CEO of Byte Technology

Company Quick Facts

Founded: 2014

Industry: Food & Beverage Technology

Location: San Rafael, CA

Tagline: Sell food. Anytime. Anywhere.

Website: bytetechnology.co

Social: @bytetechhq

Tuesday, February 23, 2021 from San Rafael, CA

ZK: Byte started out as 180Eats, a service that delivered meals to households in Marin County. Can you talk about the evolution of the business to your current efforts with Byte Technology?

MM: There was a large unmet need in the community where people were looking for convenient food that was also healthy, and we had this idea to put small retail locations in busy commuter corridors. But we ran into issues with city ordinances and ended up launching with delivery instead. We bootstrapped the business and found that, while we were growing, we were also burning a lot of our own cash. The model was going to be expensive to scale, and it wasn’t clear there was a viable path to profitability over the long run.

So we went back to the drawing board to figure out how we could sell more meals per delivery drop , which led us in the direction of servicing businesses. We offered a way for busy people to buy healthy meals at their office at the last minute. We acquired and built on proprietary technology to underpin the service while also operating the service itself. Scaling two different businesses proved difficult. The technology was generating mass appeal with a range of food operators, so we sold off the service business, Byte Foods, to focus on Byte Technology.

ZK: Tell us more about these kiosks – how do they work to ensure there’s fresh food consistently available in ways that traditional vending machines don’t?

MM: Our kiosks are quite simple. They are glass-front fridges, the kind you would reach into at any grocery store, except we've turned them into a point of sale. By default, the fridge is locked until you swipe your card, which pre-authorizes a transaction and allows you to open it. Then, it’s open shelving, which allows our partners to stock different form factors and package types, which has traditionally been a hinderance to stocking fresh food in a vending setting.

These are all connected devices that send transaction and inventory data to our software back-end, which also allows our operators to know what’s about to spoil. The data element is critical to selling fresh food profitably. Our operators can also setup discounts that dynamically price items that are expected to spoil otherwise.

ZK: That real-time data element is a game-changer to enable fresh food in a vending setting. Can you share more about who these operators are and where the Byte kiosks are located?

MM: We work with a wide range of operators, from large food service providers such as Aramark and Compass Group to HMSHost which is a large airport retailer to individual entrepreneurs. What’s been really interesting on the heels of this pandemic is this surge in entrepreneurs who are using our kiosks to stand-up or augment their own food service operations. We’ve seen individuals who were just laid off as well as smaller caterers and other SMBs pivoting to use our technology to get their product out into the world.

This is happening all over the country, not just in areas traditionally associated with the organic or fresh food movement. In Milwaukee, we’re working with an entrepreneur who is a former culinary director for a professional baseball team. He has a retail storefront focused on healthier foods and has setup a segment of his store that you can walk into after hours – kind of like an after-hours ATM –  where a Byte fridge lets you buy fresh food 24/7. In Louisiana, we have a client who owns a convenience store and gas station who has placed a Byte fridge stocked with fresh food near his gas pumps – you literally can be pumping gas and buy a salad!

ZK: Wow, I’ll never think about my food options the same the next time I pull into a gas station.

At Byte, you talk about your mission being to “change the way people eat by providing effortless access to fresh food.” Where does this inspiration come from? Why is this such a passion project for you?

MM: I think it all started with my parents always having a big garden. To be honest, when I was young, I hated it because I was always stuck pulling weeds. But I grew up with a strong understanding of where our food comes from and learning about the connection of food to our health, environment, and the overall social good. I’m a big believer that food is medicine, and the reality is that the most convenient options are generally the poorest for our health. If we could make good-for-you food much more convenient to buy, then people are apt to make better eating decisions and live better lives.

ZK: That’s a great point and that belief I know is shared by so many here in the North Bay. What does it mean to you to be a Marin entrepreneur, and how has your North Bay location impacted your evolution as a company?

MM: Building a startup is really hard. You put in a lot of hours, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, and to have the balance that Marin offers of closing the laptop and going for a hike has given us a tremendous boost. This is a big part of the reason why I’m so bullish on the future for startups here. We have this unique aspect of being so close to San Francisco and Silicon Valley but with this tremendous natural beauty of the outdoors, which will always be such a unique asset for us.

Second, our location in San Rafael is not close to downtown or lots of fresh food options within walking distance – this has given us first-hand experience to understand the pain points that our clients are facing and has better equipped us as a team to solve their challenges. Of course, we have a Byte kiosk in our office that has been a game-changer for our team!

ZK: How has this pandemic impacted the way you think about the future of work and the physical office?

MM: I don't think the office will ever go away. Among our team, there's such a thirst to get back and see people in person. It may not be a five day a week thing for us when we fully hit reopening, but certainly, we will always have an office space. We may think of it as a space we use mainly for meeting or brainstorm days, or for times when we all want to be together for social or team-building reasons. It’s important that we rethink what the office looks like in the future, but it’s not going away.

Zachary Kushel is Founder & Managing Partner of Marin Sonoma Impact Ventures.

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