So, What’s Good Here?

Start-up: Lunchbox (an application of Mxapp)

Founded: 2009

Location: Minneapolis

Key players: Parag Shah, founder

Funding: Combination of self-funding and University of Minnesota grant

Web site: mxapp.com (getlunchbox.com, still in development)

Do you know who truly has the best hamburger in town? And not just based off of the opinion of a food critic—who’s most likely over-qualified to judge the likes of a simple burger. I’m talking about real, 100–percent authentic opinions from people like you and I, who have spent their own hard-earned dollars to buy the burger that they’re giving us their opinion on. It’s Matt’s Bar in my opinion, but then again, I’m a sucker for any food that has the potential to cause physical pain (AKA scorched by squirting cheese).

Now, wouldn’t it be great to have quick mobile access to the “who has the best” opinions of any particular food item you’re desperately craving?

As the now famous Apple saying goes, there’s an app for that.

Parag Shah and his colleagues are currently in beta testing for a mobile application they call, “Lunchbox.” Amongst other things, their hot new app will answer the question on most restaurant-goers’ minds when they sit down to order—so, what’s good here?

The idea for Lunchbox came about one day while Shah, then a Golden Gopher Entrepreneur Major, was anxiously waiting in a long line for his morning caffeine fix. While in line, he wondered if there was an easier and faster way to get what he needed while under the gun (as many college students are).

Later that day, the idea occurred to him. Mobile technology could easily be used to deliver menus, reviews, and take orders. Bam! Lunchbox was underway.

For restaurateurs and customers, Lunchbox offers three tiers of service. The first is ordering. Lunchbox allows any restaurant, any place in the world, to upload their complete menu, free of charge. The only time a restaurant will be charged is when a customer orders an item off their menu (pick-up or delivery). If an order occurs, Lunchbox charges the restaurant a very reasonable 5 percent commission.

The second tier is marketing. Lunchbox is able to use geo-targeting to push out promotions to customers based on their proximity to the establishment. And, to take it one step further, it can also target based on their food preference. It does this by analyzing customers’ previous orders.

The final tier is social. As Shah says, “People don’t eat restaurants—they eat food.” In other words, rather than offer users the chance to review the restaurant, they’re asked to review the food item from each restaurant. This allows another user to search for a specific food type and find locations based on peer reviews and ratings.

As he was describing the social tier of this program, I couldn’t help but liken it to Four Square. Only, Shah’s version is focused on food.

Although Shah is barely out of college, his knowledge of business and entrepreneurship is deep. It goes back to his days growing up in Chicago, where he worked for his entrepreneurial mom, ultimately leading to a successful business in high school selling wholesale ink cartridges to local businesses. After moving to Minnesota for school, he soon got involved and eventually became the vice president of the Entrepreneurs Club.

His connection to the club proved to pay dividends. Shortly after launching his mobile marketing software company, Mxapp (the developers of the Lunchbox application), he had a chance encounter with the CEO of Granite City Food & Brewery, Ltd., at a club meeting. After describing the business, Granite City quickly grabbed on and became Shah’s first client and official big break.

Shah is hoping to complete beta testing and launch Lunchbox by the end of April. If all goes right, he’s projecting to hit 1 million in sales by the end of 2010.

If you want to learn more about Parag Shah and Lunchbox visit mxapp.com.

Start Me Up is a blog series dedicated to profiling Minnesota start-ups in their pursuit of the American dream. If you’d like to be considered for a future post, send me an email (danaseverson@charter.net) with a brief description of your business.