This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Benji Koltai, the co-founder and CEO of Galley. Based in San Diego, Galley is an impressive company that, unfortunately, slipped under my radar. A few years ago, we sold another food service data company, Attribytes, to Syndigo, so missing out on Galley was truly regrettable. In this captivating episode, we delve into the world of vertical SaaS and data. Trust me, you don’t want to miss it! Tune in to the podcast on YouTube, Apple, or Spotify for an enriching experience.

Imagine a software committed to efficiently transforming kitchens and the work of everyone working in kitchens. A better food industry means better quality of life not only for workers but also for consumers.

In this episode of The Capital Stack, we have Benji Koltai, Co-Founder and CEO at Galley Solutions and former software engineer bringing change to the foodservice industry. Galley Solutions is a unique culinary operating system focused on transforming how food professionals work, improving their decision-making, and driving efficiency in the global food system.

Listen in to learn about the benefits of a bottoms-up approach to forecasting, inventory management, and food lifecycle in commercial kitchens as opposed to the traditional tops down approaches. You will also learn how to properly adjust to the changing investor market to stay alive and keep growing the business as a leader.  

What You Will Discover:

·       [02:09] Benji shares his origin story and journey to building a unique culinary operating system.

·       [09:06] The benefits of a bottoms-up approach in commercial kitchens as opposed to the previously tops down approaches.

·       [12:23] He shares Galley’s ideal clients, plus how they make their ERP-like system simpler for their clients.

·       [15:33] How they handle data to support the user better and avoid inconsistencies and errors.

·       [18:44] How experience and a solid customer base have enabled them to build a rich and robust product.

·       [21:33] How they’re focusing on food service companies where the demand for their product is.

·       [24:18] The changes happening in the food service industry and where Galley focuses.

·       [27:48] The importance of digitizing food service companies to enable consumer transparency.

·       [28:36] How they adjusted to the changing investor market to stay alive and keep growing the business.

·       [30:20] How to let go of your ego and reframe the mind to hold your business separate from yourself.

·       [32:55] Benji’s book recommendations and some random questions!

Memorable Quote:

·       “As the population grows, capacity grows, and the quality increases, we’re going to rely more and more on food service companies to feed us, and we’re also going to demand that transparency that we were getting by making our own foods from those food service companies.”– Benji [27:50]

Connect with Benji:

·       Website:

https://www.galleysolutions.com/

·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjikoltai/

Book Recommendations:

·       So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport

·       Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0 by Jim Collins

Mastering Leadership by Robert J. Anderson and William A. Adams