Our Journey With Owner: Building the future of local business

Almost five years ago, we were introduced to Adam Guild by John Andrew, founder of Coder and Wander.  John Andrew is someone we’re proud to partner with and we have high conviction in his judgment.  John Andrew told us Adam was one of the highest-upside founders he’d ever met.  He was right.

From our very first conversation, it was clear that Adam was special. Even at 20 years old, he was sharp, intense, and had a spark that was impossible to ignore. His story was incredibly powerful. He dropped out of high school to help his mom run her small business, experiencing firsthand the challenges of entrepreneurship, and then channeled that into a mission to make things better for others.

Even then, he showed the rare combination of vision, self-awareness, and relentlessness that defines the best founders. Adam hasn’t stopped since. He believes the company you build is the product you build, and he’s built Owner with intention every step of the way. That’s why we’ve backed Owner in every round since leading their seed nearly five years ago, including co-leading their Series B last year alongside Jack Altman.

One of the things we adore about Adam is his strong instincts. When he brought on his co-founder Dean, he gave up a meaningful portion of his own equity after raising millions to make it happen because it was right for the company. That decision speaks volumes about Adam’s character. Dean ended up being the perfect co-founder & CTO to build Owner with Adam. Since then, they’ve assembled a world-class leadership team and continue to deepen Owner’s advantages across product, customer success, and growth.

Along the way, Owner has become a lifeline for thousands of restaurants, helping them to not just survive, but thrive during one of the toughest periods in the industry’s history. During the pandemic, when so many small businesses were left without a playbook, Owner helped them adapt, digitize, and grow.  Owner is now used by over 10,000 restaurants across the U.S., and more than 57 million Americans, nearly 1 in 5, have used Owner’s platform to engage with their favorite local spots.

Today, Owner has hit another milestone, raising its Series C, co-led by new partners we deeply admire: Alex Kurland at Meritech and Shalini Rao at Headline.

At Redpoint, we feel incredibly lucky to be part of this journey. Not just because of the massive opportunity ahead, but also because of the kind of people we get to work with on Team Owner. Adam’s ambition is boundless, and this is still just the beginning.

To Adam, Dean, and the entire Owner team: we’re grateful to be along for the ride. The future of local business is being written, and you’re holding the pen.

To read more about Owner’s journey and Series C funding, check out Owner.com/C.

- Redpoint team