Letter from CEO
EATLAB’s Purpose and Reason for Existence
Every person is born with a mission. So is a company. And the company that I have given birth to, EATLAB, has a single mission--that is to provide an equal access to opportunity for all to uplift their lives.
EATLAB is not a conventional company. We do not intend to become one. 1
Throughout our evolution, we discovered that only by empathizing and putting the greatest emphasis on our users that we can realize growth. It is not the other way around. We love our users--the restaurateurs. They feed us great food, yet they have such difficult and busy lives that they barely get time to feed themselves. If anything we can do to save their business, so that we continue to enjoy such yummy sustenance of our lives, we are willing to go that extra mile to make it happen. The empathy we have for our users led us to discover a new market, whereby time is a rare commodity for our users, who are willing to pay for whatever services that will save them time. EATLAB does just that.
The Time is Now
With COVID, small and medium sized restaurants and shop owners feel a strong sense of urgency to adopt technology because those who didn’t did not survive. 40% of restaurants have permanently shut down during the past 2 years, while only 2% of restaurants that have EATLAB did. This shows that those who survive the pandemic must have already adopted technology and may even be looking for one that will enable them to be resilient and efficient in running their businesses. Apart from the impact of the pandemic that has become endemic, AI is expected to increase efficiency of businesses and capture new value, resulting in an increase in GDP of at least $15.7T by 2030. Video analytics alone is expected to reach $14.9B by 2026. In Asia Pacific, this market is expected to grow exponentially in the next 5 years. The retail segment is likely to possess the largest share of the market. The rising need to monitor consumer behaviors, buying and selection patterns, and time spent is likely to drive the growth of the retail segments’ growth.
EATLABers
Our employees, by the name of EATLABers, are everything. We cannot speak enough of the contributions they made to make the company what it is.
I recall the time when one of key EATLABers shed tears upon hearing that we closed the first deal.
I recall the time when we had less than a month’s worth of salary left in the bank.
I recall the time when we closed 2 enterprise deals a week and reached profitability.
I recall the time when an investor just signed the term sheet without even negotiating.
I recall the time when I had a breakfast meeting with the SVP of Marina Bay Sands, who later became a dear friend, investor and advisor to EATLAB.
I recall the time when we realized how little we knew about the world.
I recall the time when we realized the beauty and the mission of EATLAB that sprung from countless conversations with restaurant owners.
I recall the time when we felt completely free to develop our ability in a way that is unique to each one of us.
I recall the time when I shed tears listening to the story of a restaurateur whose life was changed because of EATLAB.
I recall the time when we received an investment from a public company.
I recall the time when I could picture how EATLAB will be in every single restaurant in Thailand.
I recall the time when I could picture how anyone who wants to open a restaurant would look for AI tools to help as they are setting up.
I recall the beauty of that time.
That time is now.
We are truly proud of the products we have built, and we hope that the ones we are building will make a positive impact on people's quality of life. We believe that through sharing our resources, together we will create a new market and capture new value without having to worry about competition. I await your participation on this journey!
Chanikarn Wongviriyawong (Mint)
CEO & Founder of EATLAB
1. Inspired by Page and Brin's letter 1 year before Google's IPO