Business

LocalStove Satisfies Your Cravings For Homemade Food

Published

6 years ago

July 8, 2019

Steve and Greg believe that everyone deserves homemade meals, but realize that with our busy lives, homemade meals are not always possible. As a result, they cofounded an online platform called LocalStove that connects the best home cooks in your neighborhood to you. On their website you can select which dishes you want from a variety of home cooks, and the food will be made and delivered to your event. We had the opportunity to interview them and learn more about their entrepreneurial journey and startup.

What inspired you to become entrepreneurs in the food industry?

Steven Finn: Food has been an obsession of mine for as long as I can remember. I started developing my own skirt steak marinade at age five, had a few years where my primary source of media was the food network, and have traveled as far as Australia and back in search of the best food out there. Wherever I go, I want to eat like a local. I spent several years as a software engineer for Bloomberg, and was ready to go out on my own and build something that I had a burning passion for. I decided I wanted to found a startup before we had the idea for LocalStove, and was exploring a variety of ideas. When it came down to actually doing something, working with incredibly talented local chefs who make authentic food from all over the world made so much sense!

Greg Dubin: I learned about the power of food to bring people together at a really young age. While growing up, my grandfather owned a restaurant in a small town in Wisconsin. It was the type of place where almost all the customers were regulars and everyone there knew everybody else’s name. People were drawn in by amazing comfort food (like deep fried balls of cheese as big as your fist!), but would stay for hours because they were made to feel like family. Spending a lot of time at the restaurant from as long as I can remember left a deep impression on me about the emotions that food can bring out in people and drove me to find away to impart this gift on to others, like my grandfather did. Yet, this exposure also taught me how tough owning a restaurant is. Between the brutal hours, high risk and thin margins, I realized it wasn’t the right business for me. LocalStove came about as a result of the realization that we can still create amazing culinary experiences, without a brick and mortar establishment. So, I sought to abstract away the worst parts of the restaurant business and harness tech to enable talented, passionate cooks to share their creations with the world.

What was your biggest challenge when founding LocalStove?

Steven Finn: Our biggest challenge was in deciding to take the plunge to pivot our business model. Our original model was to have our chefs offer individual meals through our website with us providing marketing, payment processing, and delivery logistics, and more. While this business was growing, it was difficult to spread the word. Then, we fell into office catering, mostly by accident. We originally viewed it as a marketing activity to sell individual meals, but corporate clients kept calling us back. We discovered that there was a real gap in the market serving small to mid size offices, where groups of around 10-75 people are too large to order effectively from restaurants and too small to get good menus for good prices from traditional caterers. These groups were regularly ending up with pizza and sub platters. This is the perfect size group for one experienced cook with no help and low overhead to cook for, and it allows us to sell much better food to offices for prices comparable to (or better than) existing options. On top of that, our cooks are making a lot more money per hour of labor than they would on virtually any other “gig economy” platform. As catering became a larger and larger portion of our revenue, we noticed that the catering model actually solved a lot of the problems we were having in individual meals. Having office catering become our primary business model was a tough call to make, but one that has worked out and allowed us to build the beginnings of a sustainable and scalable business.

Greg Dubin: The biggest challenge was probably emotional or mental in nature. Mainly, just taking the plunge into pursuing our endeavor full-time. Doing so at the end of business school was particularly challenging. Right when the majority of our friends were accepting high-paying jobs in lucrative industries, we were committing to having no income for the foreseeable future with absolutely no guarantee of success. The fact that all of us were married and either had kids or kids on the way certainly made the consequences of failure feel more daunting.

How was your experience like having 2 other cofounders?

Steven Finn: Having cofounders is great. I’ve worked on a startup alone before, and it’s hard to keep moving! Having cofounders gets everything done faster, provides a source of instant feedback on your work, and allows for rapid iteration. We are lucky to have complimentary skill sets. At this point, we know almost without talking about it who should take responsibility for something that needs to get done because we each know our cofounder’s strengths and weaknesses as well as we know our own.

Greg Dubin: I believe there is a study that correlated three cofounders with the highest chances of success for a startup. I completely understand why. First, launching a startup requires so
much work every day, across literally dozens of areas of expertise. I truly cannot
comprehend how sole founders can do it alone. Second, I cannot overstate the
importance of having a diversity of opinions and perspectives when formulating strategies and finding solutions to problems. Moreover, having three cofounders instead of two helps break through impasses where only two equal founders may be at a stalemate.

(Side note: Our third cofounder Henrique left the company a few months after launching to take a full time job. He left on good terms and retained a tiny bit of equity, but isn’t involve in any day-to- day operations of the business)

Why did you focus your business around home cooked meals?

Steven Finn: We believe that the best food in the world is locked behind the front doors of our neighbors. It doesn’t necessarily take years of culinary training to make food that resonates deeply with people. To us, home style cooking is Grandma’s recipes. It’s something you’ve made 1,000 times, but you still love to make it. It’s cooked with feeling, passion, and editorial control. We find that we’re more likely to get this type of food from a local, independent cook who works for his or herself than we are from a professionally trained line cook who spends their days pumping out somebody else’s recipes in a restaurant setting. We don’t tell our cooks what to make or what to charge. They give us menus of what they’re best at, they set their prices, and we match them with offices whose budget and dietary preferences are a good fit. On a personal note, some of our food is some of the best food I’ve ever had, and I’d eat at Per Se for my wedding anniversary or drive to South Dakota for a rack of ribs (Bob’s Broasted Ribs in Sioux Falls!).

Greg Dubin: I’ve always loved to travel and quickly came to appreciate what an immense impact food has on culture. When visiting other countries, I truly believe there is no better way learn and understand about another culture than through its cuisine. A single dish can represent the mosaic of hundreds of years of history; a cross-section of the country’s plants, animals and ecology; and the long-held, rich traditions of the people. However, you don’t have to get on a plane to have these experiences. Philadelphia represents a rich tapestry of cultures, be them ethnic, religious, or simply socially-based. All these cultures have unique, exciting and authentic foods, which until now had been locked inside people’s own kitchens. The best cooks aren’t the ones on line pumping whatever they are told to cook for minimum wage. They are the ones who truly live and breathe their cuisine, because it is a part of who they are. LocalStove’s mission is about unlocking the kitchen door and enabling these amazing cooks to share not only their food with the world, but their passion, history and story as well.

How do you choose and evaluate new cooks?

Steven Finn: Most of our best cooks have come to us. The value proposition of LocalStove for them is very strong. We bring them new customers who otherwise would never have found them, we handle payments, we provide them with a web presence, we deal with delivery logistics. We like to say that our cooks only have to worry about the cooking, and that they should let us worry about the details of running a food business. Evaluating cooks for LocalStove is the best part of our job. We meet with the cooks, learn their stories, and eat their food. Our cooks are great people to work with, but it’s their food blows me away almost every time.

Greg Dubin: Finding new cooks is actually one of the easiest parts of LocalStove. We developed a comprehensive marketing plan to attract new cooks, but haven’t had the need to implement it yet. Whenever we explain to anyone what LocalStove is about, the most common response we get is, “I know the perfect cook for you.” Pretty much everybody knows the “best cook in the world,” who makes incredible food but has no desire to actually open their own restaurant. As far as evaluation, the cooks have to go through our screening process before being allowed to post food on the platform. Part of this involves us trying the food first, which is definitely one of the best perks of the job. We also usually to have friends and loyal customers sample the food as well and give us their honest opinions. Ultimately though, it is really the user ratings that will determine how successful a cook will be on LocalStove. The best cooks rise to the top pretty quickly and can command higher prices for their meals. Cooks who aren’t incredible fall to the bottom pretty quickly and don’t get orders. Furthermore, if their rating falls below a certain threshold we remove them from the platform.

What are some memorable company milestones, and what developments do you project for this year?

Steven Finn: Getting our first “subscription” customer for LocalStove was amazing. Having somebody tell us that they loved our food so much that they wanted to have it again every week was something I’ll never forget. Passing $100,000 in sales was great as well, and we can’t wait to add a digit and get to $1,000,000 and beyond!

Greg Dubin: One of our cooks is a culinary student who was also working a part time job to help put herself through school. She recently told us that she was able to quit this job that she hated, because LocalStove was giving her enough income to support herself. This was a powerful reminder of why we do what we do.

What is one character trait that defines you and why?

Steven Finn: I love to learn new things, and I always have. I like to understand how things work. I have three Penn degrees in totally different subjects (Operations, Entrepreneurship, and Computer Science), and am always reading about something new. Entrepreneurship is the best way to learn rapidly that I’ve found yet.

Greg Dubin: Believing that there is always a solution to any problem. This means never admitting “it’s impossible” when faced with a challenge. Instead of asking “can we,” I only ask, “how can we?”

What are your tips for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Steven Finn: Don’t pursue a great idea that you aren’t passionate about. If you wouldn’t be a user of your product, it doesn’t matter how great the idea or opportunity is, you are not the person to execute on it. Make sure if you get into something that it’s a field that you’re willing to spend the next 5+ years in and be eager to learn everything about it. Also, I can’t stress the idea of putting something out into the world quickly enough. We started selling food less than three weeks after we initially had the idea for LocalStove, and we’ve learned so much because of the pace. I’ve worked at a startup where we spent way too long in a room, figuring out every little detail of our product to make it perfect before launching, and we failed before we’d even finished the product. Startup guru Steve Blank says that “No business plan survives first contact with customers.” He’s right. The only way to move quickly enough toward real product market fit in an industry like ours is to put something out in the world, double down on what works, and quickly abandon what doesn’t.

Greg Dubin: Focus all your energy on finding product-market fit and don’t be afraid to pivot. Don’t spending all your time and resources developing what you think is a perfect product before you know if enough people are actually going to buy it. Instead, get your MVP out there as quickly as possible and see how it resonates with various audiences. If the product-market fit is right, they will accept an imperfect product because they innately see the value of what you are trying to do. Once you’ve identified the right customer base, engage and listen to them. They will be your most valuable resources for perfecting your product and driving your company’s direction.

Business

The Top CRM Platforms for Small Agencies & Service Businesses

Published

16 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Kelli Hugh

TL;DR: Managing client relationships shouldn’t feel like herding cats. The top CRM platforms for small agencies and service businesses help you track leads, manage projects, and keep client communication organized without needing a degree in software engineering. HubSpot offers the best free option, Salesforce works for growing teams, Zoho gives you affordability, and Pipedrive keeps sales simple.

The top CRM platforms for small agencies include HubSpot (best free option), Salesforce (scalable for growth), Zoho CRM (budget-friendly), and Pipedrive (sales-focused). These platforms help manage client relationships, track leads, and automate workflows starting from free to $25+ per user monthly.

Top CRM Platforms for Small Agencies and Service Businesses

Running a small agency means wearing twenty different hats, and somewhere between managing projects and chasing invoices, client relationships start falling through the cracks. You’ve got sticky notes everywhere, emails buried in your inbox, and that one lead who asked for a proposal three weeks ago that you completely forgot about.

The top CRM platforms solve this chaos by putting all your client information, communication history, and sales pipeline in one place that actually makes sense. After testing various options and talking to other agency owners, here’s what actually works when you’re running a lean operation.

HubSpot CRM

HubSpot offers the best free CRM option for small agencies just getting started with client management systems. The free version gives you contact management, email tracking, meeting scheduling, and basic pipeline management without paying a dime, which matters when you’re bootstrapping and every dollar counts.

The interface makes sense from day one, so you’re not spending three days watching tutorial videos just to figure out how to add a contact. You can track every email conversation with clients, log calls automatically, and see exactly where each prospect sits in your sales process. HubSpot works with Gmail and Outlook, which means you’re not constantly switching between different tools just to check if someone responded.

The paid tiers starting at $45 per month unlock marketing automation, custom reporting, and workflow tools that grow with your agency. Companies like Penji use strong systems to manage thousands of client relationships, and HubSpot scales from solo operations to full teams.
Best For: Agencies wanting room to grow

Salesforce

Salesforce remains one of the top CRM platforms for agencies planning serious growth, though it comes with a steeper learning curve and higher price tag. The system handles complex sales processes and detailed reporting.

Many small agencies find it overkill when managing 20 clients instead of 2,000. But if you’re planning to scale quickly or already have multiple team members managing different client accounts, Salesforce prevents the chaos that happens when everyone’s using different systems.
Best For: Growing agencies with complex sales processes

Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM offers serious functionality at prices that don’t make you wince when the monthly bill arrives. You get contact management, pipeline tracking, email integration, and workflow automation starting at just $14 per user monthly.

The interface isn’t quite as polished as HubSpot, and the mobile app can be clunky, but when you’re choosing between a CRM that works and paying rent, Zoho delivers the basics without the premium pricing. It connects with other Zoho products if you’re already using their suite for invoicing or project management.

Best For: Budget-conscious agencies needing core features

Pipedrive

Pipedrive focuses on sales pipeline management, which makes it perfect for agencies where closing new clients is the top priority. The visual pipeline shows exactly where every prospect sits, what actions you need to take next, and which deals are about to close versus which ones have gone cold.

Setting up is refreshingly simple compared to enterprise systems that require consultant help just to configure basic fields. You can start using Pipedrive the same day you sign up.
Best For: Sales-focused agencies

Making Your Choice

The right CRM depends on your specific situation. If you’re just starting and budget is tight, HubSpot’s free tier gives you everything needed to stop losing track of leads. If you’re already managing steady client flow and need better organization, Zoho or Pipedrive deliver solid functionality at reasonable prices.

Pick one that matches how your agency actually works instead of trying to force your processes into whatever system has the fanciest marketing website.

Stop Losing Leads, Start Growing

Ready to get your client relationships organized? Pick a CRM from this list and actually implement it this week. Your future self will thank you when you’re not frantically searching through email threads trying to remember what you promised that client six months ago.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do small agencies really need a CRM?
If you’re managing more than five active clients or prospects, yes. CRMs prevent leads from falling through the cracks and keep all client communication in one searchable place instead of scattered across emails and sticky notes.

What’s the difference between free and paid CRM plans?
Free plans typically limit users, contacts, and advanced features like automation and custom reporting. Paid plans unlock team collaboration tools and detailed analytics that become crucial as you grow.

How long does CRM implementation take?
Basic setup takes a few hours. You can start tracking contacts and deals immediately. Full setup with custom fields and team training might take a few weeks depending on complexity.

Can I switch CRMs later if I outgrow my choice?
Yes, though migrating data takes effort. Most CRMs allow CSV exports to transfer contact information. Starting with scalable options like HubSpot can prevent the need to switch as you grow.

Business

What’s the Best Unlimited Graphic Design Subscription Platform?

Published

20 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Margaret Zander

For your business to gain traction in today’s digital-first world, it needs to have amazing graphic design assets. However, if you’re on a tight budget, resorting to DIY design tools or online templates may seem the next best thing to working with an agency or freelancer. Fortunately for us, there are unlimited graphic design subscriptions that offer affordability and high-quality creative work. Here is our list of the best:

Penji

With a team of professional designers from the world’s top 2% of designers, Penji is the best unlimited graphic design subscription. You can request from any of its over 120 design categories in as little as 24 to 48 hours, without signing any contract. Its affordable plans also include unlimited revisions, assuring you of the best ever designs for your brand.

Kimp

If you need videos in addition to unlimited graphic design services, Kimp is the design solution you need. Its premium pricing plans allow you to request website, app, landing page designs, custom illustrations, print and digital design, GIFs, and animations, among others. You can try out its graphic design services for seven days free!

Design Pickle

Another subscription-based creative platform, Design Pickle, lets you get all the designs you need for a fixed monthly rate. A premium plan also gets you unlimited revisions, assuring you of the best designs possible. Its team of design experts will work on your branding, marketing, print, videos, motion graphics, and even eBooks and digital reports.

Superside

Also taking your unlimited design requests and revisions is Superside. For a flat monthly fee, you can request ad creatives, social media graphics, illustrations, print designs, branding services, and more. It also offers specialized services, including video production, motion design, immersive design, and email creation, to name a few.

DotYeti

Promising “monster” unlimited graphic design services, DotYeti is another design-as-a-service platform you can consider. Having worked with over 300 startups, SMEs, and enterprises, it has achieved a 98% client satisfaction rating across over 15,000 designs.

Business

What’s the Best Graphic Design Service for Long-Term Projects

Published

23 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Kelli Hugh

TL;DR: When you’re running a business, finding the best graphic design service for long-term projects can save you countless headaches and frustrating conversations with designers who just don’t get what you’re trying to accomplish. You want teams that remember your brand preferences without constant reminders, deliver on time without excuses, and don’t drain your budget with surprise charges. Penji offers the most complete package with dedicated designers who actually stick around and learn your business.

Penji is widely recognized as the best graphic design service for long-term projects, providing unlimited design requests across more than 120 categories with dedicated teams who learn your brand over time. Starting at $499 per month, businesses get turnarounds between one and two days plus unlimited revisions without hidden fees.

What’s the Best Graphic Design Service for Long-Term Projects?

Running a business means juggling a thousand things at once, from customer complaints to payroll issues to that vendor who keeps calling about late invoices. Design work seems simple until you’re three freelancers deep into a project, explaining your brand colors for what feels like the tenth time this month, and still not getting anything close to what you actually need for tomorrow’s campaign launch.

Finding the best graphic design service for long-term projects really comes down to finding a partner who genuinely understands your business, shows up consistently when you need them, and doesn’t make you chase them down through endless email threads just to get simple revisions done on time.

Penji

Most business owners who’ve tried multiple options eventually land on Penji because the service assigns you a dedicated account manager and designer who work with you month after month, building real familiarity with your brand voice, visual style, and what works with your specific audience.

You stop wasting time explaining the same brand guidelines over and over because your designer already knows your preferences, which saves you hours on every single project since you can skip straight to creative feedback instead of starting from scratch each time.

The platform handles graphic design services across everything you’ll actually need for running real marketing campaigns, including social posts, email headers, presentations, and even web design work when you’re refreshing your site. You can queue up multiple projects at once, shuffle priorities around when plans change, and typically get most deliverables back within one to two days.

What really makes Penji stand out is the unlimited revisions policy, which means you’re not counting revision rounds or worrying about extra charges every time something needs a tweak. That’s the kind of on-demand graphic design support that actually reduces your stress. Companies like CVS and Best Buy use Penji for their ongoing design needs. Plans start at $499 per month.

ManyPixels

ManyPixels has built a solid reputation with startups and small businesses who need reliable design work without paying enterprise pricing. The setup is straightforward, with a flat monthly fee covering unlimited requests while designers work through your queue one project at a time. Turnaround typically runs between 24 and 48 hours, which works fine if you’re planning ahead.

Flocksy

Flocksy takes a different approach by offering both design and copywriting under one subscription, which can simplify your life if your marketing materials consistently need both visual elements and written content that work together. Projects get assigned based on who’s currently available and best qualified for that specific type of work.

Draftss

Draftss built their reputation around promising same-day delivery on certain subscription tiers, which matters when you’re constantly dealing with urgent requests. The big challenge with prioritizing speed above everything else is that it gets harder to maintain consistency when designers are focused on cranking work out as fast as possible.

What Actually Matters

After working with various design services over several years, you start noticing clear patterns. The cheapest options almost always end up costing you more in wasted time and frustrating revision cycles. The real value comes from finding services that assign dedicated teams who work on your projects month after month, because when the same people handle your creative needs consistently, everything gets easier over time.

That’s exactly why design as a service models usually beat out project-based freelancer hiring for ongoing business needs. Penji’s approach really does hit the sweet spot for most business owners. You’re not paying inflated enterprise prices, but you’re not dealing with bargain-basement quality either. Having one reliable partner who genuinely knows your business is worth substantially more than saving a hundred dollars each month.

Stop Managing Designers, Start Growing Your Business

Ready to work with a design team that actually remembers who you are? Partner with Penji and get dedicated designers who build real expertise about your brand. First design gets delivered within 24 to 48 hours, backed by a complete 30-day guarantee.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if a subscription model fits my business?
If you need more than three or four design projects each month, subscriptions almost always cost less than hiring freelancers on a per-project basis. They’re particularly useful for ongoing marketing efforts and regular social media content.

What if the assigned designer doesn’t understand my brand?
Reputable services like Penji will reassign you to a different designer if the working relationship isn’t clicking. The goal is finding someone who genuinely understands your vision.

Can these services handle specialized design work?
Capabilities vary between platforms. Penji covers more than 120 categories including technical presentations and detailed infographics. Always verify exactly what’s included before subscribing.

How hard is it to cancel if my situation changes?
Good services operate on simple month-to-month agreements. You should be able to pause or cancel anytime without penalty fees.