Milwaukee-based SpotHopper powers the marketing functions behind well-known local restaurants including Story Hill BKC, Sobelman's and Morel, as well as for around 3,000 other customers in more than 30 states.
With $14 million in growth equity funding it recently closed on, the marketing software company plans to grow more quickly by adding new features and more customers in markets around the U.S. and eventually, the world. The Series A round was led by TVC Capital in San Diego, according to a recent announcement.
SpotHopper was co-founded by Aleksandar Ivanovic, who successfully founded and sold a previous software business Webcom Inc., and his son Niko.
The company nearly doubled its team this year and aims to double it again by the end of 2022, said Niko, who serves as the company's chief operating officer. It currently has around 150 employees.
SpotHopper currently has around 40 local employees and a roughly 5,000-square-foot office in the Wells Building in downtown Milwaukee. But having nearly outgrown that space, SpotHopper is seeking a large Milwaukee office nearby, Niko said.
Other SpotHopper employees work remotely from around the U.S. The company also has a team of developers and designers in Serbia, near where Aleksandar was born in the former Yugoslavia.
Aleksandar, SpotHopper's CEO, moved to Milwaukee in the late 1980s and studied electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He worked as an engineer at Rockwell Automation Inc. before founding Webcom in 1997. Callidus Software Inc. of California bought Webcom in 2011 for $9.2 million in cash.
The father-son pair started the current version of SpotHopper in 2015 after pivoting from their initial idea to build an app of the same name that would help users find the right bar for their mood.
Before this Series A round, SpotHopper hasn't taken capital from outside investors — a strategy Aleksandar took with Webcom, too. It has grown organically, with annual recurring revenue increasing more than 100% year-over-year, according to the announcement.
SpotHopper's platform includes a content management platform for restaurants' websites, catering solutions, online ordering capabilities, social media marketing automation, loyalty programs and business analytics, among other features. Most packages cost between $219 and $400 per month, Niko said.
— Teddy Nykiel
O&H Danish Bakery rolls out Christmas kringle
O&H Danish Bakery of Racine is now offering an exclusive holiday kringle as part of its collection of seasonal flavors: the Christmas Fudge Kringle.
The new kringle is inspired by O&H's Ohhhh Fudge! Layer Cake, which gets its name from the movie "A Christmas Story." It's made with a filling of scratch-made fudge crafted from premium chocolate and topped with rich chocolate icing and garnished with red, green and white nonpareils.
The Christmas Fudge Kringle is available in stores and online through Dec. 31. The holiday season is O&H’s busiest time of year making up to 7,000 Kringle a day in December.
— David Schuyler
Jersey Mike's shop opening in Kenosha
The Milwaukee area gets another Jersey Mike’s Subs location when the new shop opens at 5836 A 75th St. in Kenosha this Wednesday.
It will be the fifth location for franchise owner Tom Kenny, who will hold a grand opening and fundraiser from Wednesday to Sunday, Dec. 12 to support the Indian Trail High School, Mahone Middle School and Tremper High School.
“I was born and raised in New Jersey and came to Wisconsin 25 years ago to marry the woman of my dreams," Kenny said in a press release, "and 25 years later, my wife and I fell in love with the Jersey Mike’s brand, the fantastic sandwiches, the culture of giving back to the community that every Jersey Mike’s serves, and we have opened 4 stores in less than 3 years."
The restaurant’s hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. The chain, which has more than 2,000 locations across the U.S., began in 1956 and serves a menu of hot and cold subs.
Recap
- The new restaurant coming to 88Nine Radio Milwaukee's Walker's Point home now has a name, Deadwax. Read more about goals the operators have set for the venue.
- As Milwaukee's newest food hall nears its public debut, it plans to offer help for the victims of the tragedy in Waukesha. See the plans the 3rd Street Market Hall has set for the Dec. 22 fundraising event.
- And don't miss the latest local news on the evolving pandemic, which has the city issuing a mask recommendation for public spaces, which would include restaurants, and state officials warning the pandemic is far from over.
