TruckBux

TruckBux is an ordering platform for food truck owners and their customers.

Its app enables customers to find nearby food trucks and order ahead for pickup or delivery. They can pay using Venmo, Apple Pay, or a credit card.

Food truck owners, meanwhile, have their own app, which can be used on a smartphone or tablet. This app enables them to receive incoming food orders, set their location, update their menu and hours, and receive sales analytics.

Restaurants are an $863 billion industry. But this industry is changing, particularly in the midst of Covid-19.

Even prior to the pandemic, according to the National Restaurant Association, 60% of all restaurant traffic was off-premises. This includes carryout, delivery, drive-thru, curbside, and food trucks.

Food trucks, specifically, were born during the Great Recession. This was when many entrepreneurs didn’t have the capital to purchase or lease brick and mortar stores.

What seemed like a misfortune gave way to a multi-billion-dollar industry. In 2008, food trucks were a $495 million industry. Today, that figure is more than $2.7 billion. The U.S. alone has more than 25,000 food trucks.

Food trucks don’t bear the same labor costs or overhead as brick and mortar restaurants. But traditionally, they’ve only been able to serve customers in-person. Now they’re seeking online ordering platforms like TruckBux to reach customers through pickup and delivery.

Even serving customers in-person can be a challenge. Food trucks often suffer from long lines, inflexible payment options — 62% are cash only — and trouble advertising their location. These issues result in customer frustration and a loss in potential sales.

TruckBux solves these issues for food truck owners and helps them expand their business to include takeaway and delivery. Notably, this company has a partnership with Postmates, an on-demand food delivery service recently valued at $2.4 billion. This partnership enables food trucks nationwide to use TruckBux to deliver food.

TruckBux’s app is free for vendors and customers. The company takes a 15% commission on every pickup order and a 20% commission on every delivery order.

TruckBux is initially disrupting the food truck market in Austin, Texas. It has more than 60 trucks on its platform, and its app has been downloaded more than 9,000 times. The app has an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5.

In 2019, $157,000 worth of food was ordered through TruckBux, a 123% increase from 2018.

Most recently, the company was accepted into The Capital Factory’s VIP Accelerator.

Team Background

Summit Singh - Chief Technology Officer

Summit is responsible for developing TruckBux’s technology and mobile platforms.

He began his career as a research assistant at Drexel University. From there, he worked part-time with Oracle, a software company. He worked as a backend engineer and a member of the company’s DevOps team.

More recently, Summit was a teaching assistant at Drexel University, teaching courses related to computing and informatics.

He is on track to graduate from Drexel in 2021 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.

Nick Nanakos - Founder & CEO

Nick comes from a family of restaurant entrepreneurs. His grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from Greece and worked as a street food vendor.

Before starting TruckBux, Nick pursued a career in finance and real estate. Most recently, he founded Drexel University’s Real Estate Club, an organization helping college students seeking real estate investment opportunities.

Prior to that, he worked on the Mergers & Acquisitions team for Balfour Beatty Communities, a real estate services company. He worked there after a stint as a financial analyst with JP Morgan Chase.

Earlier in his career, he worked in sales for Investors Capital, an investment firm, and before that, he was an accounting assistant with Ameriprise Financial Services.

Fidel Boamah - Creative Director

Fidel joined TruckBux in July 2019.

Prior to that, he spent a year as a web developer with Thrive Ryde, a transportation company. While there, he developed social media content and managed SEO for the company.

Before that, he was a digital marketing intern with Huawei Technologies, a telecommunications company.

Fidel studied Interactive Digital Media and Computer Technology at Drexel University.

Co-Investors