"Startups connect demand to supply" by Callum Borchers | Globe Staff July 04, 2014
When Lisa Jones is in charge of lunch for Boston advertising firm Nexage, she skips the debate between Thai food or Italian, and she doesn’t have to repeat every last dietary restriction or fussy eating habit of the company’s 70 employees to some takeout joint.
Instead, she orders online from Phoodeez, an online catering service founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that handles just about every aspect of a client’s meal plan. It can supply a smorgasbord of cuisines, keeps track of gluten-free dishes and other dietary needs, and plans a different menu for the office every week.
One small detail: The company doesn’t actually make or deliver the food.
Phoodeez is among the new crop of digital middlemen, technology startups that facilitate transactions between other businesses, or independent contractors, and consumers. The best-known is Uber, the popular car service that helps people book rides from private drivers but doesn’t provide them.
Not for long.
See:
European taxi drivers protest Uber car-paging service
London transport regulator says Uber can legally operate
NY reaches price limit deal with car service Uber
New lawsuit claims Uber exploits its drivers
But just about any common service, from takeout food to dog walking, now has some whiz-kid-like startup devising a more efficient way to either fetch it for you or find a hungry contractor willing to do the dirty work — yes, even your laundry.
Like regular Americans have spare change for that!
This article has been written for that certain $ection of Bo$ton!
“We’re going to see a lot more of these businesses that come up with new ways of brokering services,” said Saul Kaplan, founder of the Business Innovation Factory in Providence....
He's a member of the tribe!
Drizly, for example, is an alcohol delivery service that doesn’t make, sell, or even really deliver booze....
It's a dry drunk!
The idea for companies to broker the sale of services they don’t provide isn’t new. Large tech firms such as Priceline and Kayak have done it for years in the hospitality and travel industries. But Phoodeez, Uber, and others are stepping into the middle of purchases people are still accustomed to making directly — on everyday things such as a car ride, a bottle of wine, or lunch for the office....
Acting like the bankers extracting loot regarding all dollar-based transactions, aren't they?
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