Founder Interview
How Quickorder Reached 1,200 Customers and $500 ARPU After a Strategic Merger (Interview with COO Mads Wedderkopp)
- Interview Date
- July 22, 2021
- Interviewee
- Mads WedderkoppCOO
Company Metrics at Interview Time
Customers (2021)
1,200+
ARPU (2021)
$500+ per month
Team Size (2021)
60
Total Funding (2021)
$4M to $5M
Sales Reps (2021)
6
Historical Snapshot
These numbers were reported by Mads Wedderkopp during the interview recorded in July 2021 and are a historical snapshot, not current figures. See Quickorder’s current numbers.
Key Takeaways
- 01Quickorder had more than 1,200 restaurant customers as of July 2021
- 02Average revenue per client rose to above $500 per month in 2021, up from just under $300 per month the prior year
- 03The team grew to 60 full-time employees, adding two to five new hires per month
- 04The company had 27 engineers, representing nearly half of the total headcount
- 05Total funding raised was between $4M and $5M as stated by the founder
- 06Six quota-carrying sales reps each carry a quota of roughly three times their annual salary
- 07Quickorder merged with Norwegian competitor Reorder in late October or early November 2020 in a roughly 50/50 equity split
- 08The platform had more than one million end guests across its restaurant customer base
- 09The company was preparing to raise a Series A of at least $10M, with market indications pointing to $20M to $30M
- 10Mads stepped down from CEO to COO following the merger, with Andy, former CEO of Reorder, becoming CEO of the combined company
Company Metrics at Time of Interview
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Customers (2021) | 1,200+ | Founder interview, Jul 2021 |
| ARPU (2021) | $500+ per month | Founder interview, Jul 2021 |
| ARPU (2020) | just under $300 per month | Founder interview, Jul 2021 |
| Team Size (2021) | 60 | Founder interview, Jul 2021 |
| Engineers (2021) | 27 | Founder interview, Jul 2021 |
| Sales Reps (2021) | 6 | Founder interview, Jul 2021 |
| Total Funding (2021) | $4M to $5M | Founder interview, Jul 2021 |
| End Guests on Platform (2021) | 1,000,000+ | Founder interview, Jul 2021 |
| Founder Equity Stake (2021) | 5% to 10% | Founder interview, Jul 2021 |
Growth Breakdown
Revenue and ARPU
Average revenue per client climbed from just under $300 per month in 2020 to above $500 per month by mid-2021. The merger with Norwegian competitor Reorder enabled cross-selling of complementary products to both client bases, effectively doubling the addressable value per customer. The company maintained double-digit month-over-month growth continuously from September 2020 through the interview date.
Customers
Quickorder surpassed 1,200 restaurant customers as of July 2021, operating primarily across the Nordics. The company was actively planning expansion into the rest of Europe, which was a stated purpose of the upcoming fundraise.
Team
The full-time team reached 60 people, with 27 engineers representing nearly half of the company. Quickorder was adding two to five new employees per month, with hiring focused primarily on product roles and some commercial positions.
Funding
The founder estimated total capital raised at between $4M and $5M in US dollar terms as of the interview. The company was preparing to launch a Series A raise in Q4 2021 or Q1 2022, targeting a minimum of $10M, with the founder saying market indications pointed to $20M to $30M. The round had not been raised at the time of the interview.
Growth Strategy
Strategic Merger and Cross-Selling
The merger with Reorder in late 2020 was the single biggest driver of ARPU growth. Quickorder's Danish clients gained access to Reorder's advanced online ordering and dine-in self-order product, while Reorder's Norwegian clients gained access to Quickorder's full restaurant OS including point of sale, scheduling, and table reservation. This allowed the combined company to upsell both sides of the merged client portfolio.
Machine Learning for Guest Retention
Quickorder uses machine learning to analyze guest spending patterns and preferences gathered from multiple data sources. This data is used to help restaurant staff deliver personalized experiences that encourage repeat visits, which is the core value proposition of turning visitors into regulars.
Data Capture and Digitalization of Guests
The company was actively pursuing partnerships with payment service providers and card reader suppliers to digitalize guests who pay offline. The goal was to make 100% of a restaurant's guests digital, expanding the data set available for personalization and retention.
Capital Efficiency Before Scaling
Rather than raising aggressively, the team spent eight to nine months post-merger consolidating technical debt and unifying business intelligence systems before seeking new capital. This deliberate approach allowed the company to present a clean, credible story to investors ahead of the Series A.
Consolidation Strategy in European Restaurant Tech
Quickorder positioned itself as a consolidator in the fragmented European restaurant technology market, drawing a parallel to how Square and Toast consolidated the US market. The upcoming Series A was intended to fund further acquisitions and geographic expansion across Europe.
Best Quotes
“Actually positively, especially So during lockdown, we were kind of the solution for the restaurants to do takeaway under their own brand, with their own apps, and we kinda help them thrive in the new normal. Now where the Nordics see everything opening up again, we've seen a huge spike in demand and also revenue. So first, we had a gigantic spike during COVID, and then that spike got another positive bump after reopening. So it's just been crazy eighteen”
“So our average revenue per client is up to above 500 US dollars per month, whereas last time we talked, was just below 300, if I recall correctly. So so that grew. So annual contract value obviously grew. We kept up double digit growth all the way from September until now every month.”
“So we raised both in early twenty twenty and late twenty twenty, around the same amount both times. And then that's kind of it. So in total, I guess calculated to US dollars, it's like somewhere between 4 and $5,000,000 total.”
“I actually stepped down to become COO And Andy, who was the CEO of reorder, as it was called, is now the CEO of the entire company. It was quite an easy decision, really, because Andy is the founder of Tidal, which was sold to JC, the music streaming service. So he he has a lot of experience. So so just getting to work with a guy like that and tapping into his brain and learning from him was a great experience for me, only being 25 and only done Quickorder.”
“it should have been more than 50%, but it was roughly a fiftyfifty split.”
“So a minimum of 10,000,000 US dollars, but indications right now is that the market with the right multiple is willing to put in between 20 and 30,000,000 US dollars. So so it'd probably be plus 20.”
“We are gonna eat other companies.”
“Yep. So we're 60, people full time there, and we're growing the team with two to five new employees every month. So it's the good months are five employees and that's when we can find the talent.”
“More than a million.”
What Happened Next
This interview captured Quickorder at a pivotal moment in July 2021, roughly eight to nine months after its merger with Norwegian competitor Reorder and while preparing to launch a major Series A fundraise. The figures here, including 1,200 customers, $500 per month ARPU, and a 60-person team, reflect the company's position at that specific point in time and should not be read as current. Visit the Quickorder company profile on GetLatka for the latest reported numbers and any subsequent funding or growth milestones.
View Quickorder’s current profile and metricsFull Transcript
Chapters
- 0:00Introduction and COVID Impact on Quickorder
- 0:49Revenue Growth Since Last Interview
- 1:11Current ARPU and Double-Digit Monthly Growth
- 1:56Customer Count Surpasses 1,200
- 2:28Funding History and Total Capital Raised
- 4:30Team Size and Hiring Pace
- 5:04Engineering Headcount
- 5:15Merger with Reorder and ARPU Driver
- 6:35Leadership Change: Stepping Down to COO
- 8:16Series A Plans and Target Raise
- 9:09Board and Consolidation Strategy in Europe
- 10:13Quickorder as an Acquirer
- 10:26Sales Team and Quota Structure
- 10:46Platform Data and Guest Digitalization
- 12:27Famous Five and Closing Remarks
Introduction and COVID Impact on Quickorder
Nathan Latka
00:00Hey, folks. My guest today is Mads Wedderkopp. He's building quickorder.io. They help you turn your visitors into regulars. Mads, you're ready to take us to the top?
Mads Wedderkopp
00:08>> Yeah. Let's do it.
Nathan Latka
00:09Alright. So, hey, it's been fun sort of tracking your progress. How's COVID impacted the business?
Mads Wedderkopp
00:15>> Actually positively, especially So during lockdown, we were kind of the solution for the restaurants to do takeaway under their own brand, with their own apps, and we kinda help them thrive in the new normal. Now where the Nordics see everything opening up again, we've seen a huge spike in demand and also revenue. So first, we had a gigantic spike during COVID, and then that spike got another positive bump after reopening. So it's just been crazy eighteen
Revenue Growth Since Last Interview
Mads Wedderkopp
00:49>> months really.
Nathan Latka
00:50That is incredible. I mean, you came on back in June 2019, you remember You the told me you were doing $20,000 a month back then. Then you came on year in September and said, Nathan, you're not gonna believe it. We're doing like $370,000 a month or almost a $5,000,000 run rate. Was incredible to me seeing that growth, but that was good. So what's happened since then?
Current ARPU and Double-Digit Monthly Growth
Mads Wedderkopp
01:11>> Yeah, so since then, we grew in malls and now we are at plus 500 per month.
01:20>> That comes both from new business, but also comes from our existing clients growing. So our average revenue per client is up to above 500 US dollars per month, whereas last time we talked, was just below 300, if I recall correctly. So so that grew. So annual contract value obviously grew. We kept up double digit growth all the way from September until now every month. And, yeah, we're getting very close to getting ready to raise our next
01:54>> round, which will be in Q4, Q1.
Customer Count Surpasses 1,200
Nathan Latka
01:56Let's talk more about that in a second. So how many total customers are you working with now today?
Mads Wedderkopp
02:00>> So we are plus 1,200 now.
02:04>> So a lot a lot of clients across The Nordics, and we are looking into expanding into to the rest of Europe, that's also what what the round will be for.
Nathan Latka
02:15Yep. Now, when you talk about rounds, you have to remind me your history. So I think you raised 200,000 back in 2015, and then you raised a wait, sorry, sorry, sorry. You raised 1,500,000 in 2019. Have you raised since then?
Funding History and Total Capital Raised
Mads Wedderkopp
02:28>> Yeah. So we raised both in early twenty twenty and late twenty twenty, around the same amount both times. And then that's kind of it. So in total, I guess calculated to US dollars, it's like somewhere between 4 and $5,000,000 total.
Nathan Latka
02:48How much in total US?
Mads Wedderkopp
02:50>> To $5,000,000 total.
Nathan Latka
02:524 to 5 million in total. Got it. You basically did like
Mads Wedderkopp
02:55>> 4 to five. So somewhere between 4 and 5 Oh, see. Got it. Got it. I was gonna
Nathan Latka
03:03say, you've raised a significant amount since we last spoke. Got it. So you basically raised like 2,000,000 like twice in 2020
Mads Wedderkopp
03:10>> to drive and feel this growth.
Nathan Latka
03:12Mads, I would argue you've been very capital efficient because your annual recurring revenue is greater than the total amount you've raised. I would call that a capital efficient founder. How have you sort of, I know this is such a stupid question but it's important. Most founders could not resist VCs reaching out saying, Matt, please let me invest. You've resisted the urge to do that. How have you been able to resist?
Mads Wedderkopp
03:32>> So we've been able to grow without and
03:36>> we we did a merge with a Norwegian competitor last year in in late October, early November. And when you when you merge two companies at that stage, you you kinda have to get everything right, and there's a lot of, like, both technical debt that you have to solve on both both fronts, and you have to get your BI straight again, because when you merge two companies with two different BI setups, it's always a big pain and
04:06>> a big headache to kind of merge those. That's what we've been spending the past, eight, nine months on. And we wanted to get that right before we we took on too much money. So
04:18>> that has kinda got us to to the point where we are now and we we are kinda ready to at least after summer, we are ready to start raising because now our BI setup is in a is in a good spot.
Team Size and Hiring Pace
Nathan Latka
04:30That's great. And and talk to me about the team today. How many people full time?
Mads Wedderkopp
04:33>> Yep. So we're 60, people full time there, and we're growing the team with two to five new employees every month. So it's the good months are five employees and that's when we can find the talent. That's kind of the goal. But we don't want to hire for every price. We want to find the right talent. That's the right cultural fit. So the bad months we only managed to find two people and it's mainly in product that
05:02>> we are hiring but of course also some commercial roles.
Engineering Headcount
Nathan Latka
05:04So how many engineers are on the full team today?
Mads Wedderkopp
05:07>> So we just surpassed. So I think we have 27 now.
Nathan Latka
05:1227.
Mads Wedderkopp
05:13>> Yeah, so nearly half of the company is engineers.
Merger with Reorder and ARPU Driver
Nathan Latka
05:15So a couple of places I want to dig here. I want to talk about how you almost doubled ARPU. I mean that's driving net dollar retention I'm sure through the roof. I want to talk about that. I also want to talk about right? What was the step? Mean, did the merging company take more than 50% of quickorder? Like how did the sort of cap table dynamics work there? So
Mads Wedderkopp
05:32>> it should have been more than 50%, but it was roughly a fiftyfifty split. I see. And so so the the drive in ARPU
05:43>> comes a lot from the merge because they brought on a more sophisticated online ordering and dine in solution for guests to kinda self order on their phone. And that has made us able to upsell to our existing client portfolio. So in Norway, where they're origin from, they did not historically have the whole restaurant OS with the point of sale and scheduled planning and and table table reservation like we did. So we could upsell that part of
06:15>> the suite to their original clients, now our clients. And on the other hand, the Danish clients, we could upsell the Norwegian product too. So we kind of had this possibility to double the value basically of both sides of the company's clients. And we've been doing that and it's been a great success.
Leadership Change: Stepping Down to COO
Nathan Latka
06:35Now Matt, talk to me. Know it's tricky for two founders that have to merge together to figure out like what the structure looks like afterwards. So are you sort of leader CEO and where is the other founder or CEO? So
Mads Wedderkopp
06:46>> I actually stepped down to become COO And Andy, who was the CEO of reorder, as it was called, is now the CEO of the entire company. It was quite an easy decision, really, because Andy is the founder of Tidal, which was sold to JC, the music streaming service. So he he has a lot of experience. So so just getting to work with a guy like that and tapping into his brain and learning from him was a
07:16>> great experience for me, only being 25 and only done Quickorder. And then my management team was basically me and then our CTO. They didn't have, a very strong CTO, so that decision was also easy. And then we didn't have a CFO. I was basically a hybrid when I was CEO, and they had a really talented CFO with investment banking background. So everything was just a really good fit, and and it's kinda unbelievable how good the merge
07:44>> has been because it was like we just supplemented each other on every front, even on management. The only kinda thing that was doubled was me and Andy, and even that decision was easy.
Nathan Latka
07:56Mhmm. So how much equity do you still own today? A range is fine.
Mads Wedderkopp
08:00>> So I said between 5 and 10%.
Nathan Latka
08:03Okay. But really, mean, again, I remember you being a young guy. I mean, you're really just authorizing right now to learn, right?
Mads Wedderkopp
08:09>> Yeah. I'm now a little How old are you?
08:13>> 25 now, turning 26 in October.
Series A Plans and Target Raise
Nathan Latka
08:16That's great. So you mentioned prepping for a series A. How much do you think you will go out and try and raise?
Mads Wedderkopp
08:25>> So a minimum of 10,000,000 US dollars, but indications right now is that the market with the right multiple is willing to put in between 20 and 30,000,000 US dollars. So so it'd probably be plus 20. And in this round, we kinda have the philosophy that we take what they're what what's there. Yeah. Take them all while it's there.
Nathan Latka
08:52And let's say you get
08:53an offer for 20,000,000. What valuation do you think that that might be on? Plus a 100. Plus a 100. Okay. Interesting. Very cool. And then so how do you and Andy sort of work through this together? Right? Like, let's say, Andy is out getting term sheets. He says, mad as I have when I like. How do you guys sort of pick a decision on the right investor partner, all that?
Board and Consolidation Strategy in Europe
Mads Wedderkopp
09:09>> Yep. So I'd say we we're lucky that we have a really, really good board that is of great assistance in in kinda helping us choosing the right right term sheet. We have a professional board consisting of both a couple of of our bigger investors, but also external people that all have great experience both with raising VC, but also in the PE game. Funny thing is that in the restaurant tech industry where we are, a lot of
09:37>> PEs are starting to knock on the door, and and wanting to consolidate, the European market. You've already seen in the in The US with both square and toast, kinda consolidating the markets. And and we we we are seeing the same thing happening in Europe now. So that's also a part of our strategy. No matter if we go VC or end up going some sort of PE route, then the the future outlook is to consolidate.
Nathan Latka
10:04Yeah. Interesting. Now would you prefer to be eaten by someone that's really talented that you can learn from or be the company that eats other companies?
Quickorder as an Acquirer
Mads Wedderkopp
10:13>> We are gonna eat other companies.
Nathan Latka
10:16That's the quote, Take it to the bank. That's the show headline.
Mads Wedderkopp
10:19>> We're eating other companies. Yeah.
Nathan Latka
10:22All right. Very cool.
10:24I like that, Matt. Last few questions here as we wrap up.
Sales Team and Quota Structure
Nathan Latka
10:26How many quota carrying sales reps do you guys have today?
Mads Wedderkopp
10:30>> That's six now.
Nathan Latka
10:32Six. Okay. And what quota do you have them on annually?
Mads Wedderkopp
10:36>> So they do three times their annual salary in quota.
Nathan Latka
10:41Okay. So what was that? About a million quota, something like that?
Mads Wedderkopp
10:44>> Yeah. Something like that. Roughly.
Platform Data and Guest Digitalization
Nathan Latka
10:46Okay. Okay. Interesting. Very cool. Anything else I missed about the business where you're like, I gotta share this?
Mads Wedderkopp
10:52>> No. I don't think so. So we we use maybe just to give a quick rundown. We get data from all of the different sources that our our products are supposed and also the the guests. And that get that is that data that kinda helps the restaurateur turns visitors into regulars. So obtaining the spend from the visitors and their kind of preferences. We use machine learning to to kind of help the waiters give the guests a better
11:19>> experience so that they come back.
Nathan Latka
11:21I love this. Would you ever consider buying a company that installs Wi Fi at restaurants so when you sit down and consumers connect to the Wi Fi, you actually get their email address when they connect? It's obviously a massive data play. Would you ever look into any other IoT devices?
Mads Wedderkopp
11:35>> Yeah, definitely. We we're looking in to all sorts of ways to to gather data. We're also speaking to to a lot of the PSPs that provide card readers right now to kinda Provide what? Card readers? Card readers. Yeah. So so if you can somehow digitalize the guest that pays offline, then then you have come a long way in in digitalizing all guests. And that kind of kinda is our goal to make 100% of the restaurant's guest
12:04>> digital.
Nathan Latka
12:05Yep. Yep. How many how many guests are in your platform right now across your customer base?
Mads Wedderkopp
12:12>> More than a million.
Nathan Latka
12:13Wow. So that's that's a lot of guests.
Mads Wedderkopp
12:16>> Yeah. And of course primarily guests from the Nordics right now. But tourists do come to the Nordics, so there is also some foreigners in there.
Famous Five and Closing Remarks
Nathan Latka
12:27Yep. Very good. Let's wrap up with the famous five. Number one favorite business book.
Mads Wedderkopp
12:32>> Blitzscaling. Yeah, honorable mention From Impossible to Inevitable by Aaron Ross.
Nathan Latka
12:41Number two, is there a Founder, Mads, that you're following or studying?
Mads Wedderkopp
12:44>> Yeah, Reid Hoffman.
12:46>> Yep.
Nathan Latka
12:47Number three, what's your favorite online tool for building Quickorder?
Mads Wedderkopp
12:51>> Still Google Suite, but slightly said, I will mention.
Nathan Latka
12:54You're very I always do this and sometimes I get different responses. You're three for three right now. Next one, how many hours of sleep are you getting every night?
Mads Wedderkopp
13:03>> Always eight or that has actually changed a bit because I got an order. So now it's a bit harder, but then I then I gotta do a nap later later during the day because I gotta probably just delete to be on top of my game.
Nathan Latka
13:14I love that. Alright. Four for four. Last set of questions here. Married, single, kiddos?
Mads Wedderkopp
13:19>> Yeah. So I'm still not married, but a girlfriend and and one kid.
Nathan Latka
13:23One kid. And how are you?
Mads Wedderkopp
13:25>> Good. Good. Good.
Nathan Latka
13:26Twenty twenty five, you said? Right? Yeah, I'm 25 myself and she's five months.
13:32Very cool. I was gonna say, know you're not five months, but that must be very exciting. A 25 year old CEO, you're learning a ton from Andy, you're building a great company, got a young one on the way, that's great. Last question, what do wish you knew five years ago when you were 20?
Mads Wedderkopp
13:46>> So I think I was stunned fucking up cap tables when I was 20. But I think besides fucking up cap tables, think the most important thing that I wish I would have known is the importance of
14:04>> not making everything a democracy in the business. And sometimes as a leader you gotta make decisions, you can't talk everything out. So be more decisive. And we kinda had a tendency, you know, in the early days with my founders that we talked about every decision. And that kinda it's fine in the beginning, but when you get a bit further, it starts to slow down business. So you've gotta get to the point where the C-level makes
14:30>> decisions even if not all founders aren't C-level.
Nathan Latka
14:34Guys, quickorder. Dk watch out. They've got a lot of data on restaurants. They're helping over 1,200 locations turn visitors at the restaurant into regulars. They were doing $20,000 a month in 2019. They broke $350,000 a month last year. And this year, they're now over $500,000 a month in revenue or $6,000,000 run rate. Now looking at potentially going out and raising a 20 to $30,000,000 Series A at north of a $100,000,000 valuation. We will watch closely. Mads,
14:58thanks for taking us to the top.
Mads Wedderkopp
14:59>> Go again.
Nathan Latka
15:02One more thing before you go. We have a brand new show every Thursday at 1PM central. It's called Shark Tank for SaaS. We call it deal or bust. One founder comes on, three hungry buyers, they try and do a deal live and the founder shares back end dashboards, their expenses, their revenue, ARPU, CAC, LTV, you name it, they share it and the buyers try and make a deal live. It is fun to watch every Thursday 1PM
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