First of all, huge congrats to the SkipTheDishes team! Food delivery giant JUST EAT just acquired the rocket ship SkipTheDishes! It’s hard to believe that only 18 months ago Two Small Fish Ventures invested in SkipTheDishes. Although it is bittersweet to see SkipTheDishes exits our portfolio so quickly, no doubt this acquisition is a big win for everyone involves.

1. Big win for people living in mid-sized cities and suburbs. 

SkipTheDishes squarely focuses on – and only focuses on – mid-sized cities. It is very smart strategy as half the population in North America resides outside of metropolitans and yet most of the food delivery companies ignore these markets. Why? Almost all the other food delivery companies are based in big cities and that’s the market they understand. On the other hand, SkipTheDishes is based in Winnipeg, whose population is only 730,000. It is counter-intuitive but that’s exactly why SkipTheDishes succeeded – it truly understands the market that it serves better than anyone else. It gives SkipTheDishes the unfair advantage. With this acquisition, the now-on-steroid SkipTheDishes can expand into other mid-sized cities more rapidly. More people can now benefit from the time saving and convenience of having food being delivered to them at affordable prices. This is life changing for millions of people.

2. Big win for SkipTheDishes and JUST EAT

With hundreds of employees already serving many markets in the US and Canada, SkipTheDishes is well on its way to build a world class independent company. The only thing that is stopping SkipTheDishes from growing even faster is its own capacity. By partnering with food delivery giant JUST EAT, SkipTheDishes can fulfill its vision much sooner than it possibly can as an independent company. Equally importantly, JUST EAT can now leverage SkipTheDishes’ secret sauce and expand into markets where it couldn’t before. Clearly a win-win.

3. Big win for the Winnipeg and Canadian startup ecosystem

Last but not least, the acquisition is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of the next chapter of an amazing story. Already one of biggest fish in a small but growing pond, SkipTheDishes will continue to play the leader role in Winnipeg’s startup scene. We always believe that anyone can build a tech company anywhere these days. With this acquisition, more capital, knowledge and talents will be recycled. The bar has been raised. The virtuous cycle has begun. 

Once again huge congrats to the SkipTheDishes team. Thanks Josh, Andrew and their colleagues for letting us sit on the front row seats. It was fun to watch them ride this rocket ship. Look forward to seeing many more rocket ships from team Canada!