This company grew to $1B+ by helping small pizza shops take on the big guys.
• Revenue: $100M (as of Feb 2022)
• Traction: 19,000 pizzerias in 50 states
Here's the story of Slice:
• Revenue: $100M (as of Feb 2022)
• Traction: 19,000 pizzerias in 50 states
Here's the story of Slice:
1. Founder-Market Fit
Ilir Sela founded Slice in 2010, but it was always in his destiny:
• Grandpa, uncle, & dad operated pizzerias
• 10+ friends who owned/worked in small pizzerias
After selling his tech services firm for $500k in 2008, he knew Pizza was next.
Ilir Sela founded Slice in 2010, but it was always in his destiny:
• Grandpa, uncle, & dad operated pizzerias
• 10+ friends who owned/worked in small pizzerias
After selling his tech services firm for $500k in 2008, he knew Pizza was next.
2. A Counter-Positioning Masterclass
Ilir noticed that small pizzerias struggled against players like Pizza Hut / Domino's:
• No ability to offer online ordering
• Inefficient marketing/distribution
• Lack of tech solutions in general
Ilir noticed that small pizzerias struggled against players like Pizza Hut / Domino's:
• No ability to offer online ordering
• Inefficient marketing/distribution
• Lack of tech solutions in general
This reflects in the numbers:
• From 2006 to 2016, independent pizzerias lost 21% of market share to large chains
• Independent pizzerias make an avg of $451k per store v. the $783k of average chain stores
• From 2006 to 2016, independent pizzerias lost 21% of market share to large chains
• Independent pizzerias make an avg of $451k per store v. the $783k of average chain stores
Ilir's solution:
Build a product for his extended family + friends that helped independents:
• Design simple + effective websites
• Create in-house online ordering systems
• Increase AOVs w/ loyalty programs + upsells
Build a product for his extended family + friends that helped independents:
• Design simple + effective websites
• Create in-house online ordering systems
• Increase AOVs w/ loyalty programs + upsells
3. Building Your Moat
The company bootstrapped quickly, processing $40M in pizza orders by 2015.
But they knew they needed to continue building to prevent being eaten up by big platforms like Doordash / Ubereats.
The company bootstrapped quickly, processing $40M in pizza orders by 2015.
But they knew they needed to continue building to prevent being eaten up by big platforms like Doordash / Ubereats.
They raised venture funding + launched a bunch of products that make them the end-to-end solution for independent pizzerias:
• Bundled supplies (order in bulk + deliver to independent stores)
• Point of Sale system
• Consumer App (#5 in food on App Store)
• Bundled supplies (order in bulk + deliver to independent stores)
• Point of Sale system
• Consumer App (#5 in food on App Store)
4. Future Growth
The market for Pizza is massive in the US:
• ~$45B in sales
• ~40k independent stores
• Average revenue of $450k per store
If Slice can continue to help small pizza shops compete, they'll only continue to grow.
The market for Pizza is massive in the US:
• ~$45B in sales
• ~40k independent stores
• Average revenue of $450k per store
If Slice can continue to help small pizza shops compete, they'll only continue to grow.
There are also products they've yet to build:
• Pizza shop payroll
• Inventory + expense management
• B2B marketplace of suppliers and wholesalers
• Pizza shop payroll
• Inventory + expense management
• B2B marketplace of suppliers and wholesalers
I'm a huge fan of this story. It's got:
• Pizza
• A founder building in a space he loves
• Helping the little guys compete / survive
• Bootstrapping until he realized how big the vision was
• Never straying from his initial mission of helping independent pizza stores
• Pizza
• A founder building in a space he loves
• Helping the little guys compete / survive
• Bootstrapping until he realized how big the vision was
• Never straying from his initial mission of helping independent pizza stores
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