Summary
Overview
Aman Narang co-founded Toast, transforming it from a failed mobile payment app into a $15 billion restaurant technology platform serving one in five U.S. restaurants. The journey began in 2012 when frustration with slow restaurant payments led to building an app, which failed but revealed a bigger opportunity: replacing the entire outdated point-of-sale infrastructure that restaurants desperately needed but couldn't easily switch. Through basement-stage bootstrapping, near-death moments during COVID, and relentless customer obsession, Toast became the operating system for America's busiest restaurants.
The Genesis: From Endeca to Entrepreneurship
Aman Narang joined tech company Endeca in 2006 after graduating from MIT with a computer science degree, where he met co-founder Steve Fredette. They built Endeca's mobile business during the iPhone revolution, creating e-commerce apps for major retailers. When Oracle acquired Endeca for $1 billion in 2011, it provided the financial runway and catalyst for them to pursue their own startup, though Aman hesitated while his co-founders quit immediately to explore opportunities in the local business space.
- Aman joined Endeca in 2006, working on e-commerce search and business intelligence platforms for major retailers
- Met co-founder Steve Fredette on his first day at Endeca, experiencing startup-like failures within the larger company
- Built Endeca's mobile business when iPhone launched, which became a meaningful revenue driver with strong tailwinds
- Oracle acquired Endeca for approximately $1 billion in late 2011, providing exit opportunity
- Steve and John quit to start a company, but Aman initially stayed at Oracle while they explored ideas
" Anytime you've got a tech shift like that, you've got to try to lean in. And there's so much tailwind. "
The Failed First Idea: Mobile Payment App
The initial Toast concept emerged from a frustrating dinner experience at Firebrand Saints bar in Cambridge, where waiting for the check inspired building a mobile payment app. They spent months developing it and convinced the restaurant owner to try it, but the technology was unreliable due to clunky point-of-sale integrations, and consumers never adopted it at scale. However, this failure revealed that restaurant owners were much more interested in discussing their terrible restaurant technology platforms than a payment app.
- The idea sparked at Firebrand Saints bar after waiting 10+ minutes for a check on a busy night
- Pitched building an app where customers could pay from their phones without waiting for servers
- Had to integrate with existing point-of-sale systems to pull check data, taxes, and enable payment
- Launch party got 50 people to try it, but the experience was buggy and never gained traction after that
- Discovered they'd need to integrate with over 100 different POS systems to scale, making it nearly impossible
" It takes you 10 plus minutes to get your check and when you just want to leave and the restaurant also wants to turn that table because people actually want that table. "
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