The early months of the Covid-19 pandemic brought business to a halt for many industries, from parking to hospitality to travel. For Chicago startup Crafty, which supplied offices with coffee, snacks and other supplies, it was a similar story.
"Every business has a core assumption," co-CEO Nathan Rosenstock said. "Uber’s is that people travel. Ours was that people go to work. For a minute there, it turned out that was not entirely true."
The pandemic caused Crafty to lay off 100 employees, about two thirds of its workforce. The startup — which pre-pandemic owned its inventory; operated distribution centers and delivery teams; and provided on-site services to companies — had to rethink its business at a time when many companies were unsure when they would bring employees back to the office, if at all.
So the startup pivoted. It partnered with local coffee, catering and other providers, and turned its software into a platform for companies to manage their food and beverage needs all from one place. The asset-light approach helped Crafty scale from two markets to nearly 30, and the startup is now doing more revenue than at any point before the pandemic, Rosenstock said.
Crafty has also hired back many of the employees it was forced to let go. Now with a workforce of around 140, Crafty expects to reach 200 by the end of this year.
On Tuesday, the company announced a $10 million Series A round led by Tribeca Venture Partners. Other backers include Greycroft, OCA Ventures, Acronym Venture Capital, 7BC Venture Capital, Gaingels and Bluestein Ventures. The startup has now raised $15 million since it launched in 2015.
"It's been a really incredible run for us after having gone through what was unquestionably the most challenging moment in our business’ history," Rosenstock said.
Led by Rosenstock and fellow co-CEO Ishan Daya, Crafty works with companies like Yelp, PayPal, Duolingo, Upwork, Brex and Sprout Social. It helps those firms order drinks and snacks for their in-office workers, as well as for those who are working from home. Crafty launched an offering that lets companies deliver boxes of goodies to their remote workforces, giving at-home workers snacks and other items enjoyed by those in the office.
Crafty, which has expanded to global markets including London, Dublin and Sydney, says it now serves more than 300,000 in-office and at-home employees per month.
The startup says it's now hiring aggressively across its product, engineering, sales and client services teams, with plans to reach close to 300 employees by the end of next year.
