What is ToGoBOX’s origin story? Why was Providence, RI the right place to start this company?
ToGoBOX is an online lunch marketplace for corporate employees that offers $1 delivery service. Born out of Providence, RI in August 2017 from a Facebook page receiving orders, ToGoBOX is now a company with hundreds of customers. During college, co-founders Taegon Lee (CEO), Glenn Jeon (CCO), and David Kim (COO) realized that while lunch delivery is often the most convenient option for students, many students (and professionals!) experience the need to limit their number of deliveries per month due to expensive delivery fees and tips. In an effort to figure out the solution to this problem, ToGoBOX was born. As two co-founders are RISD grads, it felt right to launch ToGoBOX in Providence, especially given the co-founders’ knowledge of restaurants in the area.
How does ToGoBOX work? What are the top three reasons a young professional in Providence should give it a try?
From 10:00pm the night before to 11:30am the following morning, you can place your lunch order and lunch will be delivered right to your workplace at a designated pick-up location. All menu options are first-come, first-serve, and the number of each menu item is limited to ensure the quality of the food. Orders are paid in advance using a credit/debit card and receipts are sent through email for confirmation within a minute.
The reasons a young professional in Providence should give ToGoBOX a try is because we solve three typical daily problems most people encounter. “What should I eat for lunch today?” “Delivery is so expensive with high delivery fees, tips, and tax.” “I don’t have enough time to go out and buy lunch.” We have the solution to all three! Visit our website at https://www.letstogobox.com/ and give us a try!
What is your larger vision for ToGoBOX? What is one thing you wish you knew about finding investors before you started?
We hope to expand the ToGoBOX network and build meaningful relationships with our customers and clients – relationships that are mutually beneficial. We didn’t network as much when we began our venture but we believe and now realize how important it is. Networking helped us to get where we are today.
Having a meaningful relationship with trusted investors (who trusted the ToGoBOX team) is the most important resource a startup can have – especially during times of financial crisis. There is a huge difference between having an established relationship with an investor during a time of financial uncertainty and needing to go out and find new investors during a time of financial uncertainty. This is definitely a lesson that we have learned!
What does a typical workday look like? Do you have a daily routine or ritual that you swear by / that helps you stay focused?
The ToGoBOX team always has breakfast and coffee together in the morning. This is our daily routine. Having a moment to connect as a team before work begins energizes us and helps us to stay focused throughout the day. We start work at 8am and work for 2 hours and 30 min focusing on individual tasks. We then hold a 30 minute meeting to discuss progress towards our goals (daily, weekly, and / or monthly!). Starting at 11am, the team is at the ready to collect lunch orders, interface with our partner restaurants, and do deliveries to our customers. We then have a late lunch together as a team and continue to work on individual goals and tasks until the end of the work day.
Do you have a favorite quote or mantra that inspires you?
We have a few!
“Get busy living or get busy dying.”
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
“I’m a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn’t have the heart to let him down.”
Tae, a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) with a BFA in Architecture (May 2018) Co-founded ToGoBOX Inc. (Aug 2017). with his current partner Glenn Jeon.
