Who has never lost patience in a restaurant when faced with slow service, especially during the key phases of order taking and payment? Owneat wants to tackle this problem with a very complete web solution accessible from a QR code.

Let’s meet with Armen and Pierre. For them, the selection of Owneat at the end of the first phase of the call for projects “Into the Lab #1” represents a recognition of the interest of their solution.

Q: How would you define Owneat?

Owneat is a web solution designed to streamline the customers’ experience in the restaurant, but it will also facilitate the management of the restaurant itself.

More specifically, once seated, the customers will scan a QR code which will give them access to a responsive web page on which they can read the menu of the day in several languages ​​(with the detail of the allergens for example), place their order and personalize it (e.g.: a glass of wine recommended with the daily special), follow its evolution (dish being prepared / dish ready waiting to be served) and pay at the end of the meal (including the distribution of the addition for the table).

On the restaurant side, this will help to limit the stress for the waiters when there is a rush on, but will also make it possible to have the menu evolve from day to day (possibly in real- time, for example by deleting a dish that is no longer available).

Finally, Owneat will provide access to Business Intelligence type information intended to improve the restaurant management (average waiting time, preparation time for each dish, most and least ordered dishes, etc.).

All this without the need to install an app on the customers’ phones.

Q: Which customer need does Owneat address?

During a meal at the restaurant, two key moments are sources of frustration and waste of time: taking your order (you have made your choice, but the waiter does not come) and payment (you wait for the bill, when it is brought to you the payment terminal is not always available, or else it has to be passed from hand to hand in the case of shared bills).

There are thus 15-20 minutes to be gained during each meal, which can change everything both for the customers (guaranteeing them to eat quickly) and for the restaurant owner (increase in the number of guests served every day).

Q: Do competing solutions already exist on the market?

Today, no solution can meet all the needs identified and solved with our offer.

For example, the start-up Sunday, which raised $100 million in a new fundraising last year, focuses on the payment part.

The potential market for Owneat is huge: in France only, there are approximately 175,000 restaurants, which represents an annual turnover of 36 billion Euros. So if you think of the worldwide market…

Q: What will be the main technical challenge?

The main technical challenge to be solved will be to define the best way to interface with the existing checkout systems used by restaurant owners.

Q: Have you already thought about internship topics?

Yes. We aim to develop a modern, stable and maintainable solution. Ideally, we would like to propose 3 internships that will be particularly rewarding and empowering, as we will be starting from scratch and using the very latest technologies.

The back-end-oriented internship will focus on creating an API to link all front-end components in C# .NET. We plan to use version 7, which will be released in November and which will already be integrated into the Microsoft environment. For the database, we chose SQL Server 2022.

The front-end-oriented internship will start with a state-of-the-art of progressive web apps. As of today, we think of developing PWAs using React, because it will allow us to create thin and fast solutions that work with a large range of mobile phones, even those with limited hardware resources. Usability on iOS and Android platforms will be a real challenge.

Finally, the full-stack internship will make the link between the two previous topics, since we have not yet made our choices on the entire technological stack, especially on the front-end side.

The full-stack internship will also deal with related topics, such as the DevOps part.

Q: And what about your business model?

Our clients will be the restaurant owners. The details of the offer are to be specified, but we will invoice them for the installing and commissioning phases, and ask them for a monthly fee.

Q: How did the idea come to you?

Armen and I had gone for lunch at the port of Golfe-Juan with colleagues. It was supposed to be a nice break, but we had a disappointing experience during the meal.

First of all, we had to wait to place our order with a waitress, while we had all made our choices. It was the first waste of time.

At the end of the meal, between the initial request for the bill, the first presentation of a single ticket, the return to the bar to look for the payment terminal, and its passage from hand to hand to pay individually, we again lost time.

We left the restaurant frustrated and unhappy, we also arrived late in the office. On the other hand, it proved a real need existed.

Q: You have passed the first step of “Into the Lab” selection process. How do you feel?

We are happy and pride.

However, it was not a big surprise, as we knew that we had identified and characterized a real need that speaks to many people.

However, we were happy to see that our solutions to solve them were recognized and validated by a qualified audience.

Q: Last question: why “Owneat”?

We wanted a simple, short, easy-to-remember name.

This name also had to reflect the added value it brought to end users – saving restaurant customers’ time.

Hence this name, with the word game “Own it”, which is of course adapted to the catering sector.

This also reflects the simplicity of getting your meal: just a few clicks on your phone, as soon as you are ready to order!