Co-founder and CEO of @Owner: arming owners to take on their goliaths. High school dropout but lifelong student. Thiel Fellow.
Joined May 2019
- Tweets 297
- Following 3,881
- Followers 11,866
- Likes 780
16 Photos and videos
Pinned Tweet
13 May 2025
I’m feeling blessed to share: Owner raised $120M Series C and is now at a $1B valuation 🦄
Mom-and-pop restaurant owners are being crushed by huge corporations.
We’re using this cash to arm them to fight back.
•
This round was co-led by 2 perfect partners for us:
Alex Kurland from Meritech, who led DoorDash’s Series B, and Shalini Rao from Headline, who led Toast’s Series C.
They were also joined by an inspiring group of new investors: Fidji Simo (CEO Instacart), Jonathan Neman (CEO Sweetgreen), Garrett Langley (CEO Flock Safety).
& still more inspiring new investors...
Dharmesh Shah (CTO HubSpot), Josh Reeves (CEO Gusto), Shaan Puri (MFM), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO Eight Sleep), Anthony Pompliano, Sahil Bloom, Christina Cacioppo (CEO Vanta), Brett Schulman (CEO Cava), Matt Maloney (Founder & CEO GrubHub).
… just to name a few. :)
•
Today, technology is being weaponized against small business owners.
Corporations like Domino’s dominate. Why?
Because they spend billions on tech, engineers, and marketers.
•
Small business owners are forced to compete with corporations that have massive war chests.
But with Owner, they can do more than compete. They can win.
We’re building the platform that gives them the power.
We serve the people who serve our communities.
•
I started Owner 7 years ago, after dropping out of high school halfway through 10th grade.
The first version of Owner wasn’t built for venture capital.
It was built for my mom.
She’s a small business owner who just needed a shot at success in the digital world.
•
I remember watching her worry that we’d lose her business and our house. In a moment of desperation, she asked her weird :) nerdy 17-year-old son to help her.
I built a solution for her. That was Owner V1. When it started to work, I saw my mom transform.
She went from being constantly stressed about money to feeling hopeful and excited about her future.
The Owner team has now seen that same transformation happen for thousands of small business owners like her.
That’s what drives us.
•
You can think of Owner as Shopify for restaurants—and, eventually, all local business owners. It gives them everything they need to succeed in the online future, in one place.
Owner is their website, online ordering, mobile app, CRM. It all works together as one system.
•
Owner is also continuously optimized with what we learn from the thousands of restaurants and the more than 57 million consumers who have used our platform.
It’s the only system designed for one outcome: growing sales profitably.
It gives independent owners enough firepower to take on the big corporations, and win.
•
Shoutout to the great team at @Owner —
You deserve the credit for getting us here.
I thank God every morning that I get to build Owner with each of you. We wouldn’t be here without you.
We have a special team. Each of you represents greatness.
•
And shoutout to the best cofounder and CTO I could ever ask for, @DeanBloembergen.
His work ethic and genius are as impressive as his character.
I view partnering with Dean as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
•
I’m proud of Owner today.
But I also feel scared that people will see our unicorn valuation and think “we’ve made it.”
So let me be brutally clear. We HAVE NOT made it.
And if we start to believe we have, we never will.
When investors value us at $1B, it’s because they see potential.
Our investors see the POTENTIAL for us to build a company worth tens of billions.
We have to prove them right.
And we must also prove right the thousands of restaurant owners who’ve bet their futures on us.
•
We’re still underdogs. We still have a long way to go.
We didn’t come this far just to come this far.
It’s time to move faster, build better, and fight harder!
We have millions of small business owners counting on us.
162
72
1,619
676,441
May 1
If you're a technical founder or product-driven team and haven't found PMF, Owner is open to acquihires.
We’re growing extremely fast, have dozens of former founders across our team, and have so much still to build.
Ping me to discuss!
Apr 29
Introducing Grader: the world's first AI CMO for restaurants.
It’s helped us drive over $1 BILLION in sales for our customers.
Grader outperforms human marketing teams. See how:
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Apr 29
Introducing Grader: the world's first AI CMO for restaurants.
It’s helped us drive over $1 BILLION in sales for our customers.
Grader outperforms human marketing teams. See how:
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164
3,061
2,016,166
Apr 29
I started Owner at 17 because of what I saw happening to my mom.
Her small business was losing to a big corporation.
Not because of her. Because they had huge marketing & software teams.
They spent $10,000,000 optimizing their website, she built hers for $10 on Wix. They A/B tested every pixel, she couldn’t. They had a mobile app and CRM marketing automations, she didn’t.
I built the first version of Owner for her. It changed her life.
My mom went from struggling & stressed…
To achieving millions in sales & feeling excited for her future.
Now, we’re creating that transformation for thousands of small business owners.
The problem: big corporations are winning with tech.
They spend millions a month on it. Small businesses can’t.
That’s why we’re building AI to help small business owners fight back and win.
Our product has already driven over $1 billion in sales for restaurant owners.
I’ve heard the dominant, doomer story about AI:
“The end is near. AI is about to control everything and replace every job.”
I disagree.
I see a path for AI to do the jobs that small business owners can’t afford.
The average independent restaurant profits $60,000 a year.
They can’t afford to hire a CMO, CTO, or hundreds of engineers. Massive chains can.
AI can be the CMO, CTO, and tech team for small business owners.
Before AI, big corporations had every advantage.
But now, small businesses can operate with even greater advantages, and win with AI.
The revolution is already here:
Thousands of new restaurants use Grader every week.
60,000,000 users (1 in 4 American adults) have used Owner to interact with local restaurants.
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Apr 29
If you’re excited to build a future where small business owners survive and succeed:
Owner.com/careers
We’d love to meet you and are hiring across 50 roles!
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Feb 17
Congrats Jack! Benchmark is getting an A partner.
You’re the type of investor and board member that founders dream of: insightful, kind, and constantly helpful. I feel so grateful for you and our partnership at Owner. Any founder would be lucky to partner with you.
Extra bullish on the next chapter of Benchmark with you and @EverettRandle joining!
Feb 17
I’m really excited to share that I’m joining Benchmark.
The past two years as a full time investor have been the most rewarding of my career. I really love venture capital, which is not something I ever imagined I’d say when I was kid, but here we are.
I love new ideas and being part of a team with a mission. I love getting to be there for people who are struggling towards goals they really care about. I love learning from people who are better CEOs than I ever was. I love the texture of the work, the competition, and the way the job lets you invest in relationships.
I love it so much that I’ve even turned into a little venture nerd with a podcast who goes around harassing great investors and founders, trying to learn as much as I can as fast as possible. I’ve certainly learned what I care most about, and what kind of investor I want to be.
What I’ve realized is that I love investing at the Series A, when there’s enough going on that an investor can be useful but not so much that you can’t have an impact. I think there are many amazing ways to practice venture, it’s just the way that most speaks to me. And as I came to realize that, I started to think about how to best set myself up to do that craft as well as possible. It became clear to me there is nowhere better for this than Benchmark; the way they’re structured, their principles, their overall approach to investing, and their track record all create an environment that I believe will let me do my best work as an investor and help founders the most I possibly can.
As I’ve gotten to know the team at Benchmark I’ve come to admire so much about each of them. Peter is truly playing his own game. A lot of what he says sounds like poetry at first, but as the ideas roll around in your head for a while you realize how much depth they have. I first heard about Eric many years ago from my friend Saji at Benchling while I was building Lattice, who described him as the most amazing board member and attributed him with a lot of the company’s success. That’s the kind of partner I want to be one day. Chetan is brilliant and truly thinks for himself; I’ve realized over time what a courageous guy he is. And then there’s my friend Ev, whose skills complement mine and who I just love to be around. I can’t wait to have him as a partner in crime.
When given the chance to work with this group I just knew I had to go.
One of my motivating north stars with Alt Capital was to build a firm and be a partner that I most would have wanted as an entrepreneur. Although I haven’t gotten everywhere I want to be yet, I’m proud of the work so far. And now I’m excited to build on that work at Benchmark, where I hope to increase my rate of learning and get armed with the power of a partnership so I can help founders reach their dreams even more.
Thank you to the companies who’ve let me invest with them at Alt Cap. I’m keeping all my board seats and supporting everyone just the same as before.
Thank you to the LPs who’ve backed me as well. I am so excited about the portfolio we have and am grateful I can stick with all those companies.
And finally thank you to my teammates, Bala, Vivek, and Nate. Bala took a bet on me and started investing with me before it was remotely obvious, and we’ve been able to grow so much figuring it out together as investors. I credit Nate with helping Alt start feeling like a firm. He joined us from First Round over a year ago and made everything run smoothly. And while Vivek joined just a little while ago, even in the short time we’ve worked together he’s had a meaningful impact on how we think and invest. They’re all joining Benchmark with me.
So pumped for this chapter.
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Adam Guild retweeted
14 Dec 2025
If you're a technical founder or product-driven team and haven't found PMF, Owner is open to small acquihires.
We’re growing extremely fast, have dozens of former founders across our team, and have so much still to build.
Ping me to discuss.
13 May 2025
I’m feeling blessed to share: Owner raised $120M Series C and is now at a $1B valuation 🦄
Mom-and-pop restaurant owners are being crushed by huge corporations.
We’re using this cash to arm them to fight back.
•
This round was co-led by 2 perfect partners for us:
Alex Kurland from Meritech, who led DoorDash’s Series B, and Shalini Rao from Headline, who led Toast’s Series C.
They were also joined by an inspiring group of new investors: Fidji Simo (CEO Instacart), Jonathan Neman (CEO Sweetgreen), Garrett Langley (CEO Flock Safety).
& still more inspiring new investors...
Dharmesh Shah (CTO HubSpot), Josh Reeves (CEO Gusto), Shaan Puri (MFM), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO Eight Sleep), Anthony Pompliano, Sahil Bloom, Christina Cacioppo (CEO Vanta), Brett Schulman (CEO Cava), Matt Maloney (Founder & CEO GrubHub).
… just to name a few. :)
•
Today, technology is being weaponized against small business owners.
Corporations like Domino’s dominate. Why?
Because they spend billions on tech, engineers, and marketers.
•
Small business owners are forced to compete with corporations that have massive war chests.
But with Owner, they can do more than compete. They can win.
We’re building the platform that gives them the power.
We serve the people who serve our communities.
•
I started Owner 7 years ago, after dropping out of high school halfway through 10th grade.
The first version of Owner wasn’t built for venture capital.
It was built for my mom.
She’s a small business owner who just needed a shot at success in the digital world.
•
I remember watching her worry that we’d lose her business and our house. In a moment of desperation, she asked her weird :) nerdy 17-year-old son to help her.
I built a solution for her. That was Owner V1. When it started to work, I saw my mom transform.
She went from being constantly stressed about money to feeling hopeful and excited about her future.
The Owner team has now seen that same transformation happen for thousands of small business owners like her.
That’s what drives us.
•
You can think of Owner as Shopify for restaurants—and, eventually, all local business owners. It gives them everything they need to succeed in the online future, in one place.
Owner is their website, online ordering, mobile app, CRM. It all works together as one system.
•
Owner is also continuously optimized with what we learn from the thousands of restaurants and the more than 57 million consumers who have used our platform.
It’s the only system designed for one outcome: growing sales profitably.
It gives independent owners enough firepower to take on the big corporations, and win.
•
Shoutout to the great team at @Owner —
You deserve the credit for getting us here.
I thank God every morning that I get to build Owner with each of you. We wouldn’t be here without you.
We have a special team. Each of you represents greatness.
•
And shoutout to the best cofounder and CTO I could ever ask for, @DeanBloembergen.
His work ethic and genius are as impressive as his character.
I view partnering with Dean as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
•
I’m proud of Owner today.
But I also feel scared that people will see our unicorn valuation and think “we’ve made it.”
So let me be brutally clear. We HAVE NOT made it.
And if we start to believe we have, we never will.
When investors value us at $1B, it’s because they see potential.
Our investors see the POTENTIAL for us to build a company worth tens of billions.
We have to prove them right.
And we must also prove right the thousands of restaurant owners who’ve bet their futures on us.
•
We’re still underdogs. We still have a long way to go.
We didn’t come this far just to come this far.
It’s time to move faster, build better, and fight harder!
We have millions of small business owners counting on us.
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19
401
125,902
Adam Guild retweeted
Nothing like epic investor updates on 1/1/26. First up is @owner:
👩🍳 One of the best companies I've ever invested in is @owner — AI for restaurants. A great example of AI Vertical B2B.
They dramatically accelerated in 2025:
• Growing almost ~3x YoY, accelerating towards $100M ARR.
• 83% of growth comes from their AI products.
• Truly S-tier team and jaw-dropping velocity.
The key is massive ROI from AI. Massive & nearly instant.
Great work on a great 2025, Team @Owner @AdamGuild @DeanBloembergen. Proud to have led the seed round at @SaaStrfund.
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Adam Guild retweeted
24 Sep 2025
Adam Guild started @owner as a 17-year old high school dropout. This is the piece of company-building advice he’d give his younger self:
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Adam Guild retweeted
1 Sep 2025
Congrats to Team @owner on one of those months that makes everyone that invested in the last round … feel like they got a smokin’ deal!
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Adam Guild retweeted
1 Jun 2025
A huge congrats to team @owner for another record-setting month of Double Double growth!
Double digit growth at double digit millions in ARR! #joinawinner
What’s the secret? In the Age of AI, you have to do >everything< for the customer. Everything. Effortlessly, and with near instant and true ROI.
Own it. Don’t ask them to.
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28 May 2025
Feeling stoked for the Wander team today ❤️🚀🎉
John Andrew is a world-class founder and CEO. Beyond being brilliant and super hard-working, he is one of the kindest people I've met.
He was one of the first people to believe in me and help me 5 years ago, when we were close to running out of money. He changed my life, and I've learned so much from him as a CEO since.
It's inspiring to see him build Wander into a special company with a special team. They make travel magical, and helped me make memories I will always cherish.
And they're just getting started. Excited to see Team Wander continue to succeed and help millions more find their happy place.
We’re excited to share that Wander has raised a $50M Series B from @QEDInvestors and @FifthWallVC with @Redpoint @UncorkCap @StarwoodCapGrp @BreyerCap @AuthenticVC @ActivantCapital @Soma_Capital @AlumniVentures @ForecastLabs and many other incredible investors.
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14 May 2025
Congrats Josh. Well deserved.
You're an A investor and A friend.
Thank you for being one of our most helpful, brilliant, and loyal investors. Thank you for believing in Owner.
Excited to see you continue to crush it with your new fund.
14 May 2025
Sequoia Capital, Marc Andreessen and top institutions back New $30m Browder Capital Fund Four:
Today, I’m excited to announce that I’ve raised Browder Capital Fund Four, a $30,000,000 fund backed by Sequoia Capital, Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, Arthur Patterson (founder of Accel), Walter Kortschak (founder of SignalFire) and some of the world’s top institutional investors, including Cendana Capital, General Endowment Management, Level Ventures, Hummingbird Ventures (Nomads), and Slipstream.
I’m an accidental investor.
In 2018, I stopped out of Stanford to take the Thiel Fellowship. One in ten Fellows goes on to build a billion dollar company.
That’s how I met Adam Guild.
I didn’t have a fund. I didn’t have any real savings. But my Thiel Fellowship payment had just hit my bank account. So I decided to invest it into Adam’s company as his first investor.
Yesterday, that company, Owner, announced their Series C at a $1 billion valuation.
Since then, I’ve been lucky to back many of the best young founders across previous funds (Whop, Wander, Assured, Pilgrim, Yuzu Health, Micro1, among many others), including other unannounced pre-seeds to unicorns. Indeed, Browder Capital is an investor in more Thiel Fellows than any other person or fund, including 50% from last year’s class (2023).
While many funds back dozens of startups at once, often chasing hype, I prefer to go all in on one overlooked technical founder at a time. I’ve hosted 19 year old strangers at my apartment, put their visas on my personal credit card, co-signed their first leases. Whatever it takes to get them to start their company.
Fund Four will double down on that mission: becoming the first believer to rare individuals who build billion dollar companies from scratch.
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Adam Guild retweeted
14 May 2025
I couldn’t be more proud of this investment. @adamguild has grown as both an individual and business leader. Once a shy young man I met during Covid, to a disrupter with owner.com
@owner
13 May 2025
I’m feeling blessed to share: Owner raised $120M Series C and is now at a $1B valuation 🦄
Mom-and-pop restaurant owners are being crushed by huge corporations.
We’re using this cash to arm them to fight back.
•
This round was co-led by 2 perfect partners for us:
Alex Kurland from Meritech, who led DoorDash’s Series B, and Shalini Rao from Headline, who led Toast’s Series C.
They were also joined by an inspiring group of new investors: Fidji Simo (CEO Instacart), Jonathan Neman (CEO Sweetgreen), Garrett Langley (CEO Flock Safety).
& still more inspiring new investors...
Dharmesh Shah (CTO HubSpot), Josh Reeves (CEO Gusto), Shaan Puri (MFM), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO Eight Sleep), Anthony Pompliano, Sahil Bloom, Christina Cacioppo (CEO Vanta), Brett Schulman (CEO Cava), Matt Maloney (Founder & CEO GrubHub).
… just to name a few. :)
•
Today, technology is being weaponized against small business owners.
Corporations like Domino’s dominate. Why?
Because they spend billions on tech, engineers, and marketers.
•
Small business owners are forced to compete with corporations that have massive war chests.
But with Owner, they can do more than compete. They can win.
We’re building the platform that gives them the power.
We serve the people who serve our communities.
•
I started Owner 7 years ago, after dropping out of high school halfway through 10th grade.
The first version of Owner wasn’t built for venture capital.
It was built for my mom.
She’s a small business owner who just needed a shot at success in the digital world.
•
I remember watching her worry that we’d lose her business and our house. In a moment of desperation, she asked her weird :) nerdy 17-year-old son to help her.
I built a solution for her. That was Owner V1. When it started to work, I saw my mom transform.
She went from being constantly stressed about money to feeling hopeful and excited about her future.
The Owner team has now seen that same transformation happen for thousands of small business owners like her.
That’s what drives us.
•
You can think of Owner as Shopify for restaurants—and, eventually, all local business owners. It gives them everything they need to succeed in the online future, in one place.
Owner is their website, online ordering, mobile app, CRM. It all works together as one system.
•
Owner is also continuously optimized with what we learn from the thousands of restaurants and the more than 57 million consumers who have used our platform.
It’s the only system designed for one outcome: growing sales profitably.
It gives independent owners enough firepower to take on the big corporations, and win.
•
Shoutout to the great team at @Owner —
You deserve the credit for getting us here.
I thank God every morning that I get to build Owner with each of you. We wouldn’t be here without you.
We have a special team. Each of you represents greatness.
•
And shoutout to the best cofounder and CTO I could ever ask for, @DeanBloembergen.
His work ethic and genius are as impressive as his character.
I view partnering with Dean as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
•
I’m proud of Owner today.
But I also feel scared that people will see our unicorn valuation and think “we’ve made it.”
So let me be brutally clear. We HAVE NOT made it.
And if we start to believe we have, we never will.
When investors value us at $1B, it’s because they see potential.
Our investors see the POTENTIAL for us to build a company worth tens of billions.
We have to prove them right.
And we must also prove right the thousands of restaurant owners who’ve bet their futures on us.
•
We’re still underdogs. We still have a long way to go.
We didn’t come this far just to come this far.
It’s time to move faster, build better, and fight harder!
We have millions of small business owners counting on us.
11
14
152
38,922
Adam Guild retweeted
13 May 2025
Excited by everything @adamguild and team are building at @owner! Proud to be an angel in this incredible company
13 May 2025
I’m feeling blessed to share: Owner raised $120M Series C and is now at a $1B valuation 🦄
Mom-and-pop restaurant owners are being crushed by huge corporations.
We’re using this cash to arm them to fight back.
•
This round was co-led by 2 perfect partners for us:
Alex Kurland from Meritech, who led DoorDash’s Series B, and Shalini Rao from Headline, who led Toast’s Series C.
They were also joined by an inspiring group of new investors: Fidji Simo (CEO Instacart), Jonathan Neman (CEO Sweetgreen), Garrett Langley (CEO Flock Safety).
& still more inspiring new investors...
Dharmesh Shah (CTO HubSpot), Josh Reeves (CEO Gusto), Shaan Puri (MFM), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO Eight Sleep), Anthony Pompliano, Sahil Bloom, Christina Cacioppo (CEO Vanta), Brett Schulman (CEO Cava), Matt Maloney (Founder & CEO GrubHub).
… just to name a few. :)
•
Today, technology is being weaponized against small business owners.
Corporations like Domino’s dominate. Why?
Because they spend billions on tech, engineers, and marketers.
•
Small business owners are forced to compete with corporations that have massive war chests.
But with Owner, they can do more than compete. They can win.
We’re building the platform that gives them the power.
We serve the people who serve our communities.
•
I started Owner 7 years ago, after dropping out of high school halfway through 10th grade.
The first version of Owner wasn’t built for venture capital.
It was built for my mom.
She’s a small business owner who just needed a shot at success in the digital world.
•
I remember watching her worry that we’d lose her business and our house. In a moment of desperation, she asked her weird :) nerdy 17-year-old son to help her.
I built a solution for her. That was Owner V1. When it started to work, I saw my mom transform.
She went from being constantly stressed about money to feeling hopeful and excited about her future.
The Owner team has now seen that same transformation happen for thousands of small business owners like her.
That’s what drives us.
•
You can think of Owner as Shopify for restaurants—and, eventually, all local business owners. It gives them everything they need to succeed in the online future, in one place.
Owner is their website, online ordering, mobile app, CRM. It all works together as one system.
•
Owner is also continuously optimized with what we learn from the thousands of restaurants and the more than 57 million consumers who have used our platform.
It’s the only system designed for one outcome: growing sales profitably.
It gives independent owners enough firepower to take on the big corporations, and win.
•
Shoutout to the great team at @Owner —
You deserve the credit for getting us here.
I thank God every morning that I get to build Owner with each of you. We wouldn’t be here without you.
We have a special team. Each of you represents greatness.
•
And shoutout to the best cofounder and CTO I could ever ask for, @DeanBloembergen.
His work ethic and genius are as impressive as his character.
I view partnering with Dean as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
•
I’m proud of Owner today.
But I also feel scared that people will see our unicorn valuation and think “we’ve made it.”
So let me be brutally clear. We HAVE NOT made it.
And if we start to believe we have, we never will.
When investors value us at $1B, it’s because they see potential.
Our investors see the POTENTIAL for us to build a company worth tens of billions.
We have to prove them right.
And we must also prove right the thousands of restaurant owners who’ve bet their futures on us.
•
We’re still underdogs. We still have a long way to go.
We didn’t come this far just to come this far.
It’s time to move faster, build better, and fight harder!
We have millions of small business owners counting on us.
2
19
6,459
Adam Guild retweeted
13 May 2025
someone I trust told me "this is the best founder I've ever invested in"
you only get 1 hard vouch like that. So I invested too.
watch the video
13 May 2025
I’m feeling blessed to share: Owner raised $120M Series C and is now at a $1B valuation 🦄
Mom-and-pop restaurant owners are being crushed by huge corporations.
We’re using this cash to arm them to fight back.
•
This round was co-led by 2 perfect partners for us:
Alex Kurland from Meritech, who led DoorDash’s Series B, and Shalini Rao from Headline, who led Toast’s Series C.
They were also joined by an inspiring group of new investors: Fidji Simo (CEO Instacart), Jonathan Neman (CEO Sweetgreen), Garrett Langley (CEO Flock Safety).
& still more inspiring new investors...
Dharmesh Shah (CTO HubSpot), Josh Reeves (CEO Gusto), Shaan Puri (MFM), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO Eight Sleep), Anthony Pompliano, Sahil Bloom, Christina Cacioppo (CEO Vanta), Brett Schulman (CEO Cava), Matt Maloney (Founder & CEO GrubHub).
… just to name a few. :)
•
Today, technology is being weaponized against small business owners.
Corporations like Domino’s dominate. Why?
Because they spend billions on tech, engineers, and marketers.
•
Small business owners are forced to compete with corporations that have massive war chests.
But with Owner, they can do more than compete. They can win.
We’re building the platform that gives them the power.
We serve the people who serve our communities.
•
I started Owner 7 years ago, after dropping out of high school halfway through 10th grade.
The first version of Owner wasn’t built for venture capital.
It was built for my mom.
She’s a small business owner who just needed a shot at success in the digital world.
•
I remember watching her worry that we’d lose her business and our house. In a moment of desperation, she asked her weird :) nerdy 17-year-old son to help her.
I built a solution for her. That was Owner V1. When it started to work, I saw my mom transform.
She went from being constantly stressed about money to feeling hopeful and excited about her future.
The Owner team has now seen that same transformation happen for thousands of small business owners like her.
That’s what drives us.
•
You can think of Owner as Shopify for restaurants—and, eventually, all local business owners. It gives them everything they need to succeed in the online future, in one place.
Owner is their website, online ordering, mobile app, CRM. It all works together as one system.
•
Owner is also continuously optimized with what we learn from the thousands of restaurants and the more than 57 million consumers who have used our platform.
It’s the only system designed for one outcome: growing sales profitably.
It gives independent owners enough firepower to take on the big corporations, and win.
•
Shoutout to the great team at @Owner —
You deserve the credit for getting us here.
I thank God every morning that I get to build Owner with each of you. We wouldn’t be here without you.
We have a special team. Each of you represents greatness.
•
And shoutout to the best cofounder and CTO I could ever ask for, @DeanBloembergen.
His work ethic and genius are as impressive as his character.
I view partnering with Dean as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
•
I’m proud of Owner today.
But I also feel scared that people will see our unicorn valuation and think “we’ve made it.”
So let me be brutally clear. We HAVE NOT made it.
And if we start to believe we have, we never will.
When investors value us at $1B, it’s because they see potential.
Our investors see the POTENTIAL for us to build a company worth tens of billions.
We have to prove them right.
And we must also prove right the thousands of restaurant owners who’ve bet their futures on us.
•
We’re still underdogs. We still have a long way to go.
We didn’t come this far just to come this far.
It’s time to move faster, build better, and fight harder!
We have millions of small business owners counting on us.
48
12
315
69,285
several sophisticated investors told me **not** to invest in @AdamGuild.
too young (he was a high school dropout).
too inexperienced.
but he became the OG Z Fellow.
i saw a fire that kept me up. and wrote the very first $100,000 check into him.
in the 5 years since, he has raised what I thought possible on founder intensity and work ethic.
today, Owner hits a billion-dollar valuation.
still feels like the early innings. the underdog era isn’t over.
27
8
329
30,001
Adam Guild retweeted
13 May 2025
i haven’t shared this before, but i once nearly called an ambulance for adam
in a crucial moment for owner, i saw him work 20 hours a day, back to back to back to back. barely sleeping, zero breaks, pushing himself harder than i thought a human could take
he had been working for so long that he collapsed, came to, took a cold shower to wake up, and kept working
fortunately, he nailed it… and soon after, went back to his typical regimen of extreme discipline around sleep, fitness, etc
today’s a chance to appreciate the unbelievable momentum @adamguild and team @owner have built
it’s also a chance to recognize 7 years of insane commitment
— fridays at midnight
— sundays at 5 a.m.
— christmas
— new year’s day
— every birthday
— every. single. weekend.
…. when all adam did was grind, day in, day out. it’s been 7 years of focus. 7 years of customer obsession
and no sign of letting up. congratulations to team owner and adam on building something incredibly special! ❤️
13 May 2025
I’m feeling blessed to share: Owner raised $120M Series C and is now at a $1B valuation 🦄
Mom-and-pop restaurant owners are being crushed by huge corporations.
We’re using this cash to arm them to fight back.
•
This round was co-led by 2 perfect partners for us:
Alex Kurland from Meritech, who led DoorDash’s Series B, and Shalini Rao from Headline, who led Toast’s Series C.
They were also joined by an inspiring group of new investors: Fidji Simo (CEO Instacart), Jonathan Neman (CEO Sweetgreen), Garrett Langley (CEO Flock Safety).
& still more inspiring new investors...
Dharmesh Shah (CTO HubSpot), Josh Reeves (CEO Gusto), Shaan Puri (MFM), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO Eight Sleep), Anthony Pompliano, Sahil Bloom, Christina Cacioppo (CEO Vanta), Brett Schulman (CEO Cava), Matt Maloney (Founder & CEO GrubHub).
… just to name a few. :)
•
Today, technology is being weaponized against small business owners.
Corporations like Domino’s dominate. Why?
Because they spend billions on tech, engineers, and marketers.
•
Small business owners are forced to compete with corporations that have massive war chests.
But with Owner, they can do more than compete. They can win.
We’re building the platform that gives them the power.
We serve the people who serve our communities.
•
I started Owner 7 years ago, after dropping out of high school halfway through 10th grade.
The first version of Owner wasn’t built for venture capital.
It was built for my mom.
She’s a small business owner who just needed a shot at success in the digital world.
•
I remember watching her worry that we’d lose her business and our house. In a moment of desperation, she asked her weird :) nerdy 17-year-old son to help her.
I built a solution for her. That was Owner V1. When it started to work, I saw my mom transform.
She went from being constantly stressed about money to feeling hopeful and excited about her future.
The Owner team has now seen that same transformation happen for thousands of small business owners like her.
That’s what drives us.
•
You can think of Owner as Shopify for restaurants—and, eventually, all local business owners. It gives them everything they need to succeed in the online future, in one place.
Owner is their website, online ordering, mobile app, CRM. It all works together as one system.
•
Owner is also continuously optimized with what we learn from the thousands of restaurants and the more than 57 million consumers who have used our platform.
It’s the only system designed for one outcome: growing sales profitably.
It gives independent owners enough firepower to take on the big corporations, and win.
•
Shoutout to the great team at @Owner —
You deserve the credit for getting us here.
I thank God every morning that I get to build Owner with each of you. We wouldn’t be here without you.
We have a special team. Each of you represents greatness.
•
And shoutout to the best cofounder and CTO I could ever ask for, @DeanBloembergen.
His work ethic and genius are as impressive as his character.
I view partnering with Dean as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
•
I’m proud of Owner today.
But I also feel scared that people will see our unicorn valuation and think “we’ve made it.”
So let me be brutally clear. We HAVE NOT made it.
And if we start to believe we have, we never will.
When investors value us at $1B, it’s because they see potential.
Our investors see the POTENTIAL for us to build a company worth tens of billions.
We have to prove them right.
And we must also prove right the thousands of restaurant owners who’ve bet their futures on us.
•
We’re still underdogs. We still have a long way to go.
We didn’t come this far just to come this far.
It’s time to move faster, build better, and fight harder!
We have millions of small business owners counting on us.
13
11
319
68,099
13 May 2025
I’m feeling blessed to share: Owner raised $120M Series C and is now at a $1B valuation 🦄
Mom-and-pop restaurant owners are being crushed by huge corporations.
We’re using this cash to arm them to fight back.
•
This round was co-led by 2 perfect partners for us:
Alex Kurland from Meritech, who led DoorDash’s Series B, and Shalini Rao from Headline, who led Toast’s Series C.
They were also joined by an inspiring group of new investors: Fidji Simo (CEO Instacart), Jonathan Neman (CEO Sweetgreen), Garrett Langley (CEO Flock Safety).
& still more inspiring new investors...
Dharmesh Shah (CTO HubSpot), Josh Reeves (CEO Gusto), Shaan Puri (MFM), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO Eight Sleep), Anthony Pompliano, Sahil Bloom, Christina Cacioppo (CEO Vanta), Brett Schulman (CEO Cava), Matt Maloney (Founder & CEO GrubHub).
… just to name a few. :)
•
Today, technology is being weaponized against small business owners.
Corporations like Domino’s dominate. Why?
Because they spend billions on tech, engineers, and marketers.
•
Small business owners are forced to compete with corporations that have massive war chests.
But with Owner, they can do more than compete. They can win.
We’re building the platform that gives them the power.
We serve the people who serve our communities.
•
I started Owner 7 years ago, after dropping out of high school halfway through 10th grade.
The first version of Owner wasn’t built for venture capital.
It was built for my mom.
She’s a small business owner who just needed a shot at success in the digital world.
•
I remember watching her worry that we’d lose her business and our house. In a moment of desperation, she asked her weird :) nerdy 17-year-old son to help her.
I built a solution for her. That was Owner V1. When it started to work, I saw my mom transform.
She went from being constantly stressed about money to feeling hopeful and excited about her future.
The Owner team has now seen that same transformation happen for thousands of small business owners like her.
That’s what drives us.
•
You can think of Owner as Shopify for restaurants—and, eventually, all local business owners. It gives them everything they need to succeed in the online future, in one place.
Owner is their website, online ordering, mobile app, CRM. It all works together as one system.
•
Owner is also continuously optimized with what we learn from the thousands of restaurants and the more than 57 million consumers who have used our platform.
It’s the only system designed for one outcome: growing sales profitably.
It gives independent owners enough firepower to take on the big corporations, and win.
•
Shoutout to the great team at @Owner —
You deserve the credit for getting us here.
I thank God every morning that I get to build Owner with each of you. We wouldn’t be here without you.
We have a special team. Each of you represents greatness.
•
And shoutout to the best cofounder and CTO I could ever ask for, @DeanBloembergen.
His work ethic and genius are as impressive as his character.
I view partnering with Dean as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
•
I’m proud of Owner today.
But I also feel scared that people will see our unicorn valuation and think “we’ve made it.”
So let me be brutally clear. We HAVE NOT made it.
And if we start to believe we have, we never will.
When investors value us at $1B, it’s because they see potential.
Our investors see the POTENTIAL for us to build a company worth tens of billions.
We have to prove them right.
And we must also prove right the thousands of restaurant owners who’ve bet their futures on us.
•
We’re still underdogs. We still have a long way to go.
We didn’t come this far just to come this far.
It’s time to move faster, build better, and fight harder!
We have millions of small business owners counting on us.
162
72
1,619
676,441
13 May 2025
And shoutout to @StephenPastis for his great article on Owner this morning, in Forbes:
forbes.com/sites/stephenpast…
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27
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