WE COME FROM HOSPITALITY
Andy Gordon started Tech Pantry nearly ten years ago in Byron Bay.
At the time Andy was still managing the Top Shop - a little cafe he still owns with his partner and brothers.
Seeing the potential of cloud-based apps & Apple's new iPads, a light bulb went off.
Andy guessed it would only be a matter of time before hospitality venue POS systems embraced the new tech.
Turns out he was right.
But shifting to new technology in an old-fashioned industry could be a hard sell.
Would bar, restaurant, and cafe owners really trust advice coming from software developers? Even if they did, wouldn't it be too complex to navigate?
What if owners wanted to take a chance but didn't have a clue on how to set it all up?
How would they get their staff onboard?
Who would they call if something didn't work as planned?
And just like that, Tech Pantry was born.
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Building his new business while running his current one was a grind. Especially while raising four children.
After his brother took over day-to-day operations of the cafe Andy took a chance of his own.
He moved his whole family down to Sydney and set up a small office for himself - sharing the same space with another emerging tech brand in Australia.
Kounta.
Still in its infancy, Kounta was a cloud-based hospitality POS system. And Andy was happy to work with their development team, offering invaluable advice from having worked as a baker, chef, barista and cafe owner for nearly 20 years.
Flash-forward and Kounta is now Lightspeed; a global industry leader.
Tech Pantry has gone from one humble employee to seven but now with over 700 clients and counting.
A small company doing big things.
Proof that if you want to know where hospitality is going next, it pays to know where it's been.