| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet |
| Founded | Chicago, IL (2004) |
| Headquarters | Chicago, IL |
| Key people | Matt Maloney, CEO Mike Evans, COO |
| Employees | 200+ (September 2011) |
| Website | www.grubhub.com |
GrubHub is a web and mobile company that lets users find delivery and takeout restaurants near them and order online for free. Founded in 2004 by Mike Evans and Matt Maloney, in 2006 the company won the University of Chicago’s New Venture Challenge. One year later, GrubHub received its first round of venture capital, allowing the Chicago-based company to expand its service to Boston and San Francisco.[1] The service currently allows users to order online from restaurants in the following American cities: Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Oakland, Boston, Los Angeles & Orange County, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Boulder, Miami, Phoenix, Dallas, Fort Worth, & Houston.
In September 2011, the company announced that it had raised an additional 50 million dollars in capital and acquired New York based Dotmenu, the parent company of Campusfood and Allmenus. The acquisition will allow GrubHub to expand into an additional 31 cities and cover over 300 college campuses before the end of the year. The company will also host menus of over 250,000 restaurants in more than 50 cities.[2]
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Visitors to GrubHub start by entering their address. The service then returns a list of restaurants that deliver to that address as well as takeout restaurants within a predetermined radius. Users are also able to browse restaurants in their city or search by cuisine, restaurant name or specific item (for example pad thai). Once a user determines what they want, they can place their order through the website or over the phone.[3] Each order is tracked and monitored by a customer service team.[1]
The company's mobile application shares the same functionality as the website with the additional benefit of beginning a search via geo-location.[4]
GrubHub secured Series A funding in 2007 through Amicus Capital, Origin Ventures and several angel investors. GrubHub secured $2 million in Series B funding in March 2009. The deal was co-led by Origin Ventures and Leo Capital, with earlier investor, Amicus Capital, participating.[5] The company secured its third round of funding, $11 million, in November 2010. Benchmark Capital led the Series C round of investment.[3] In spring of 2011, GrubHub raised $20 million. DAG Ventures led the Series D round of funding with Benchmark Capital participating.[4] In September 2011, the company announced it had raised 50 million dollars in a series E funding round. The E round was led by Lightspeed Ventures with Mesirow Financial, Benchmark Capital, Greenspring Associates and DAG Ventures participating. The company has raised $84 million to date.[2]
In 2006 Matt Maloney and Mike Evans won first place in the University of Chicago Edward L. Kaplan New Venture Challenge with their business plan idea for GrubHub.[1]
In 2009, GrubHub was named as one of the “Top 50 Employers for Generation Y Chicago” in a study conducted by Brill Street.[6]
In April 2010, GrubHub was the recipient of the Illinois Technology Association’s Rising Star Award [7] Later that year, it was named among Inc. Magazine’s 500|5000 list of fastest growing private companies in America. The company came in No. 5 in the Food & Beverage category, No. 9 in Chicago and No. 229 on the overall Inc. 500 list.[8]
Matt Maloney and Mike Evans, CEO and COO respectively, were named finalists for the 2011 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.[9]
The company also appeared on the 2011 Inc. 500|5000 list at number 246 with reported 3 year growth of 1308%. The company was the eighth fastest growing company in the food and beverage industry and number ten in its home town of Chicago.[10]
In 2011, the law firm of Edelson McGuire brought legal action against GrubHub, claiming that it charges higher prices for orders without any disclosure, thus violating consumer-fraud statutes. According to Crain's Chicago Business, the suit is based on a customer's claim that he was charged an additional dollar for fettucini alfredo that he ordered from Pompei Pizza.
Grubhub did not comment on the lawsuit, but said that "there are instances where a restaurant may not have notified us of menu changes or updates."[11]