Building GrubHub to IPO & The Future of Home Repair w/ Mike Evans (Co-Founder of GrubHub)

The Dealroom with Shamus Madan

In this episode, Shamus Madan chats with Mike Evans about his entrepreneurial journey, starting with his MIT experiences and early startup involvement. They discuss the creation and challenges of Grubhub, its profitability strategies, and Evans' reflections on the company. They delve into the role of leverage in business negotiations, introduce Fixer, and share lessons from Grubhub's success. The episode concludes with Evans' advice for startup founders and a plug for his book, "Hangry".

I am your host Shamus Madan, and today we are joined by Mike Evans, who is the founder of GrubHub. On the show, Mike walks us through his journey founding GrubHub from a website to a multi-billion dollar software platform. How did he do it? It all starts with a pizza.

More recently, after Grubhub, Mike needed his gutter fixed, but he couldn't get anybody to take on the job, so he started his new company, Fixer, which provides handyman services for an array of home repair jobs with the click of a button.

Purchase the Book Hangry Here: https://amzn.to/3X2jPYs

Learn More About Mike Evans: https://mikeevans.com/

Learn More About Fixer: https://fixer.com/

Twitter of Host (Shamus Madan): @mbitpodcast

Twitter of Guest (Mike Evans): @m_evans

(0:00) Introduction and Mike Evans' entrepreneurial journey (0:45) Memorable experiences at MIT and early startup involvement (2:12) The conception and early challenges of Grubhub (5:04) Strategies for Grubhub's profitability and future prospects (10:06) Mike Evans' evolving definition of success and reflections on Grubhub (13:02) Rule of leverage in business negotiations: A discussion (15:39) Introduction to Fixer: Its mission and business model (19:05) Lessons from Grubhub implemented in Fixer and the effectiveness of partnerships (20:51) Challenges of starting a new business and key takeaways for startup founders (21:38) Episode wrap-up and where to find Mike Evans' book, "Hangry"