Article
Business Spotlight: Favor
February 19, 2014
This month’s business spotlight made us hungry just writing about them. Favor is an app that is sure to make everyone in your office, dorm or home happy when it comes time to ordering out for food! We recently talked to Spin Rodriguez, Operations Manager at Favor, on where and how such a great concept was created. Here’s what he had to say:
PEX Card: What is Favor and when did the business start?
FAVOR: Favor is an iPhone app that allows customers to get anything they want delivered in the Central Austin, TX area. It’s been bouncing around in a couple different forms for a few years, but has been running full-force in Austin for the last eight months.
PEX Card: What’s the story behind starting Favor? Was there an unmet need?
FAVOR: We originally started in San Luis Obispo, California as a way for people to do “favors” for other people. For instance, if you were going to the grocery store, someone could ask you to pick them up a gallon of milk while you were there. They would then reimburse you through the app and could add a tip for the service.
In theory it sounded like a great idea, but more people wanted a favor done for them, rather than being the one to do a favor. Soon after, we became the “Beer and Burritos” app which allowed users to get beer and burritos delivered anywhere at any time. This experience showed us that there was definite demand for a streamlined delivery service. We decided that expanding to cover all sorts of deliveries, not just food, seemed like a reasonable decision.
PEX Card: Are college students in Austin your biggest customers?
FAVOR: The college students in Austin make up a large segment of our customer base. We deliver to all of the campus dorms, and even have a bike team that almost exclusively runs on campus. Our service is so popular on campus that we often get tagged on Instagram and Twitter by our regular customers – some of whom order multiple times per day!
PEX Card: How does PEX Card help Favor run a more efficient business?
FAVOR: For a long time, our runners paid for orders out of pocket and then were reimbursed by the company. As we expanded and grew, it became ever more impossible for our runners to have the funds necessary to run Favors on a regular basis. PEX Card allows us to fund our runners during their shifts, taking the financial burden off their shoulders, and ensuring that we have an efficient workforce. Additionally, with PEX Card’s API integration we can match up expenses with our internal reports enabling us to keep automated track of our cash flow on a day-to-day basis.
PEX Card: That’s fantastic. We love being able to play even a small role in the success of your business. What’s next for Favor? What are your plans for the future?
FAVOR: Hopefully, one day, you will be able to have a burrito delivered to any corner of the globe.
PEX Card: Awesome. Hopefully we are right there with you when that happens. Thanks for sharing your great success story with our readers.
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