Q&A with Josh Goodman of PourMyBeer

There are 6,000 core brewpubs/tap houses, 18,000 units in restaurant chains and 120,000 independent bars and restaurants in the US alone. There are also thousands of venues such as sports/music venues, hotel lobbies and co-working spaces where some supervisory staff is present and alcoholic beverages are served. In a traditionally low margin industry, draft beer sales (as well as cocktails and wine on tap) represent the most profitable items for restaurants, bars and taprooms. Although PMB has been bootstrapped with founder, friends & family capital and operating cash flow prior to this raise, the company expects to have 282 active customers in 2019. 95% of PMB customers are new construction locations that can more easily adopt new technology as they establish all parts of the operation. Target clients range from multi-billion dollar restaurant groups (e.g. Inspire Brands) to large fast-casual brands serving beer (e.g. Wingstop, Wahlburgers, Brick City Burgers, Round Table, Pizza Rev, Blaze Pizza) and single/small unit restaurant groups in PMB’s core cities. The ideal target customer is a chain restaurant or national brand where the PMB technology can be tested in 1-5 locations and then be rolled out to dozens or hundreds of locations.

The “Magic Box” is PourMyBeer’s proprietary hardware and software that connects to a vendor’s current POS (point of sales) system to allow a customer to sample and pour his/her own beer:
● PourMyBeer makes a draft system “intelligent” through its “Magic Box” that is accessed with a password protected RFID card. The consumer’s payment method and proof of age ID are checked one time upfront.
● The PourMyBeer’s restaurant grade industrial screens can connect to 1,2,3 or 4 meters and valves that control and measure the amount of beverage dispensed. The consumer gets charged by the ounce of beer poured; some restaurants use multiple “presets” such as sample, half glass, full glass. The average PMB customer is purchasing 10 screens to dispense 20 products (2 taps per screen).
● By integrating PMB with a customer’s POS (point of sales), a customer both manages inventory better and captures valuable consumer consumption data. PMB ensures that checks and balances are maintained and helps its customer monetize valuable consumer insights

● PourMyBeer has only replaced 10 competitive systems in the past 2 years and expects to replace 20 in 2019. To date, other than restaurant closures, PMB has experienced no churn.
● The three main competitors are iPourit, Table Tap, and Drink Command. PMB’s closest competitor is iPourIt, a venture-backed company that resells cheap hardware (consumer grade tablets) and requires constant service and support. The average lifetime of an iPourIt system is only 3 years. Table Tap is a 2-person reseller for Tapology based in the UK. Drink Command is an Irish based company with less than 5 US locations. PourMyBeer has rarely lost a prospective engagement in head-to-head competition with any of them.