Business

LocalStove Satisfies Your Cravings For Homemade Food

Published

7 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

How to Determine Which Social Network Is Right For Your Business

Published

2 days ago

January 23, 2026

OM Contributor

Often times startups hop on every major social network to look “present,” but fail to keep up with all of their accounts. Sometimes being present online, but failing to be consistent on your profiles is worse than not having a social account at all. Imagine a customer browsing your website, and they decide to hit the “Facebook” icon to like your page so that they can stay updated on your sales. As they are linked to your company’s page- they see posts from 2014. They will start questioning how legit your business is or if your business is still active. You could seriously lose a potential customer! Keeping up to date with a company page is a lot of work, and you can’t afford to be on every single social media platform. You need to understand which network (or networks) fits the best for your business, and focus on that.

Facebook: The Universal Hub

Let’s start with Facebook. Facebook has over 1 billion monthly users worldwide- and 73% of the US adult population, which means that you can basically reach consumers in every industry. It is a great place to start to test your social media campaigns. Facebook is best for building brand awareness, staying familiar with your current customers, and grabbing the attention of potential customers. To have a Facebook profile, you need to stay committed to posting at least once a day, with high quality content (pictures and videos do a lot better than plain text). Although Facebook does work for B2B businesses, it is where the B2C business truly shines. But, regardless of the industry or the size of your demographics, you will most likely be able to bring exposure to your company and establish a true community around your brand. Facebook is the only social media platform you should be on no matter what field you are in.

Twitter: The Real-Time Conversation

The second most talked about social media network is Twitter. Twitter has 230 million monthly users- and on this platform the users have a higher tendency to follow brands than any other network. Twitter is most popular with young adults ages 18 -29, living in very popular urban areas. Twitter is best for building brand awareness, release breaking news, building relationships with customers and influencers and for handling public complaints (users tend to vent on Twitter). The types of businesses that do best on Twitter are: musicians/influencers, publications, news organizations, marketing companies, and sports related businesses. To have a Twitter profile, you must post a few times a day, and you should be interacting with your industry’s community.

Instagram: The Visual Storyteller

Instagram is becoming one of the fastest growing networks, and brands are getting so creative with their marketing strategies! Instagram has over 500 million monthly users- most are female, younger than 35, living in urban areas. According to Forrester Research- Instagram users were 58 times more likely to engage with brands compared to Facebook and Twitter. Instagram is best building brand awareness, interacting with customers and influencers, staying familiar with existing customers, and grabbing the attention of potential customers. Instagram is usually best for B2C companies, but users are slowly moving from Facebook and Twitter into Instagram so that may change soon for the B2B world. The types of businesses that do best on Instagram are: fashion brands, retailers, Etsy shops, bloggers, home décor brands, active/sports/fitness related. On Instagram, visual storytelling is an art form, so brands need to be willing to post consistent high quality content and able to engage with followers regularly.

Pinterest: The Inspiration Engine

Another fast growing network is Pinterest. It use to be just for moms looking for recipes, brides looking for wedding décor, and new parents looking for baby advice, but it has evolved into much more. Pinterest has over 110 million monthly users. 73% of users are females between the ages of 18-50. Pinterest is best for driving referral traffic back to your blog, video, or store. Pinterest is best for B2C businesses whose niche is: cooking, arts and crafts, clothing/fashion, baby items, home décor/design, event décor, or gift items. This is a goldmine for creative industries as you can communicate directly to the customer. Since users are constantly “repining,” you may receive free marketing from fans that repin your image to their followers. To have a business Pinterest profile, you must be ready to update it every time you post a blog, throw an event, or have a new item in stock. People want easy, digestible content like infographics, quotes, blog title graphics, close ups of décor, outfit ideas, etc. Make sure to title your picture appropriately, write a relevant description that has relevant keywords, and link it back to your website.

LinkedIn: The Professional Network

LinkedIn is the only social network that is specifically for B2B companies. It was designed for educated professionals looking to advance their careers and stay well connected within their industries. LinkedIn has over 106 million monthly users, both male and female ranging in ages 25-64. Most users have a bachelor’s degree or higher. LinkedIn is best if business development is a core focus. It is a great tool to build brand awareness, promote career opportunities, and educate potential customers on your products and services. To have a LinkedIn company page, you must be ready to update it a few times a week sharing company updates, content that relates to your industry, and interact with industry related groups. Unlike most social media networks, LinkedIn is the place where everything you communicate should be professional.

The Verdict: Where Should You Start?

To determine which social network(s) is right for your business, finish this sentence: “My target audience is on _________.” The next step is getting started on the one or two best options. Once you get the hang of it and create a community of followers, you can move on to adding another social media platform to your list. Whatever you choose, just be sure to be consistent in posting high quality content. You NEED to be active on social media if you want to have a successful business. The beauty of social media is that it is FREE marketing. It may take a few months of dedication of working on your profile, gaining followers and building your engagement. But if you apply the right tactics, overtime you will see an increase in awareness of your brand and interest in your product or services.

And for other stories, read more here at Owner’s Mag!

Business

Here’s How You Can Scale Your Business Beyond a 7-Figure Revenue

Published

3 days ago

January 22, 2026

Jeffrey Davidson

With the right attitude, courage, and determination, many business owners have proven that achieving a 7-figure revenue is more than possible. However, they can also tell you that going beyond that is where the difficulties start. Here are seven steps to help you scale your business:

1. Leverage Your Unique Selling Point

Ask any seasoned entrepreneur, and they’ll tell you that establishing a unique selling point is essential. It is what will make you cut through all the noise and make your business more agreeable to consumers. Having made the 7-figure mark can mean that you already have this.

What you can do is improve on it. Better product development or superb customer service may be the keys, but it’s more than that. With so many competing for customers’ attention, it pays to have a specialization that can target a smaller market but can pay off so much more in loyalty.

2. Optimize, Optimize, Optimize

A big part of how to scale your business beyond the 7-figure mark is by optimizing every aspect of it as much as you can. This does not necessarily mean gathering more resources or spending more on advertising. The operative word here is optimization.

Take your website to the highest level by optimizing it. Take a closer look at your lead generation strategies and optimize them. Get insights for your sales conversion and create marketing strategies never tried before.

3. Focus on Lead Generation

While maintaining a certain quality level for your business is important, lead generation should always be on your top to-do list. Never take it for granted, and use every available means to generate more. Whether it’s outbound or inbound marketing, make sure that you focus on generating new leads.

Ensure that potential customers get sufficient information about your brand to have them think of you when the need arises. Better yet, create strategies that would make them want and need your services even before this need comes.

4. Get the Most From Sales Conversions

Take a deeper look at your sales conversions and study what happens down the funnel. This way, you can determine what’s working and what’s not. You can then adjust your conversion strategies accordingly. This will help boost lead generation and customer conversions without increasing your acquisition expenses.

While many think that lead generation is the only way to increase revenues, finding out what causes conversions to happen can be crucial. Knowing what stops a customer from buying allows you to nip it in the bud and find ways to purchase.

5. Know Your Customers’ Worth

Provide value to your customers by knowing their worth. This will help you understand what you need to do, acquire, and spend time on. Don’t just focus on bringing in the new customers, aim your attention at your loyal customers.

You can always look at opportunities for upselling, down-selling, and even cross-selling. These are very useful if you want to increase your customers’ lifetime value.

6. Get Busy with Triple-Win Partnerships

Business-to-business plays are advantageous, so use them when you can. Build relationships with companies that you work with. The following are what you can reap when you enter into these triple-win partnerships:

New customers
The partners get commissions
The referred person receives a discount, bonus, or benefit

7. Have a Referral Program in Place

If you still don’t have one, create a referral program for your business. This will make selling easier and faster for you without spending a ton of extra cash. Let your fans and customers do it by offering them perks when they get referrals.

You can set up a system that gets those who refer incentives such as cash, discounts, gifts, and many more. This will get you new solid leads as the referrals come from customers who like your products or services.

Business

Know These Logo Statistics and Facts to Grow Your Business

Published

3 days ago

January 22, 2026

Kaytie Cayton

A logo is more than just a visual sign for your business. It’s the symbol of your brand’s vision and identity, and carries the weight of your credibility. In 2026, when brands are competing ever so fiercely for the audience’s attention, it has become a crucial part of earning the customers’ trust and loyalty.

Here are a few facts and statistics related to logos to help you make data-driven decisions when it comes to the visual asset that represents your brand, especially now, in a digital-first world.

Brand Recognition

Did you know that 94% of the population can recognize the iconic Coca-Cola logo? Apart from being a huge and long-standing brand, they were able to use the classic red color and the Spencerian script to their advantage. Even if they tweak their logos over the years, they maintain their signature design elements, making it easier for people to identify the brand.

What does this mean for your logo?

There’s nothing wrong with redesigning your logo, most especially if you want to make it relevant and timely. But as much as possible, keep your prominent design elements. Otherwise, the market might be confused.

Cost of Logos

Photo by Roman Pohorecki from Pexels

Most people undervalue the work needed to create a compelling logo. Sure, you can get affordable ones online. But the question is, will it represent your brand’s vision and mission?

This is precisely the reason why you need to hire a professional graphic designer. They don’t just create logos based on visual appeal. There is science behind every stroke and color.

Data tells us that the average logo price sits around $800, with high-end lgoo designs costing up to $1,500. That’s not entirely bad news. However, this shows the need for more business owners to understand that logo is an investment.

But let’s make it clear. Paying a huge fee isn’t a guarantee that you will have a good business logo. It still depends on the skills of your designer and how clearly you provided the instructions. Take note that some of the biggest brands like Google and Nike started with cheap and even free logos. So you cannot base the effectiveness of your logo on its cost.

Graphic Designers for Logos

Since there are more than 500,000 freelance graphic designers online, the prices of logos can be extremely low. This is due to the high competition. Yet again, among the 500,000 designers, only a few can deliver superior output.

To be honest, looking for the perfect one can be tedious and time-consuming. We would encourage you to work with on-demand graphic design services as they have already selected the best graphic designers for your logo. Take a look at Penji’s business model, where you only pay a fixed fee every month for unlimited graphic design requests. This includes your logo.

Colors in Your Logo

Photo by L Ǝ N S I Q from Pexels

At first, you might get too excited to design your logo. You would probably ask your designers to go all out and crazy in terms of colors. But remember that the most effective logos only contain one or two colors.

In fact, 81.6% of the largest enterprises in the world use one or two colors in its logo. Looking at the data, they clearly have something in common. And as a startup and medium-sized business, it wouldn’t hurt if you follow their lead.

In addition, the choice of color is important too. Let’s use Starbucks as an example. They use green to symbolize mother earth and universal love. Lo and beyond, it has become a universal drink. This is where color psychology takes place.

Now, you might want to use gradient, but the fact is, only 34 companies in the Fortune 500 use the style. It might be too risky to follow that path.

Symmetrical vs Asymmetrical Designs

According to studies, people perceive asymmetrical logos as an exciting brand. You can see that transition when Burger King changed their logo. If you are about to build one, you might want to stay away from the plain font view and tilt your text, if possible.

Using Hidden Messages on Logos

Photo by Kelly from Pexels

Many logos have hidden messages. This includes Baskin-Robbins, FedEx, and Tostitos. There are two major reasons for doing it. One, this sends a subliminal message to your audience. Another is that it pays tribute to your company’s legacy. Either way, people love solving hidden messages.

Animated Logo Designs are on the Rise

Photo by AS Photography from Pexels

Since many people have their own gadgets, animating a brand’s logo seems to be the trend. Just take, for example, Google and Netflix. But this takes a different level of expertise. Too much animation can also be a distraction, so you have to use this technique with caution.

Just a quick trivia. This isn’t a new style. Remember MGM Studios’ classic lion? Yet again, it is only recently that companies have taken the approach.

When to Rebrand Your Logo

Photo by Han from Pexels

We’ve already mentioned the possibility of rebranding. But take note that you shouldn’t change your logo just because you feel like it. There should be a strong reason why you would alter the design elements. You need to make sure that corresponding marketing will take place to reintroduce your logo to the market. Here are a few reasons why you might need to rebrand your logo.

There’s a change in leadership
Business expansion or mergers
Outdated logo design
Recovery from a controversy

You have to be careful when you are about to redesign your logo. According to logo statistics, those who are highly committed to your brand will take the change negatively compared to those who are not highly engaged. This means you have to watch out for your loyal pool of customers when you plan to change your logo.

Cost of a Poor Logo Design on Your Business

In case you are still not convinced about the role of logos in your business, this data might change your perspective.

Data says 60% of consumers don’t support ventures with poorly-designed logos.

Isn’t that counterproductive and impractical?

Conclusion

Learning these logo statistics could help you brainstorm a design that will work best for your company. We also want to enlighten you on how important it is to choose the right graphic designer. If you are to start your logo design project, go back to knowing more about logo statistics and use it as a reference.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by George Milton from Pexels