Blog Post #1

I think it’s important to note that I’m writing this from my hospital bed. Since I haven’t been shy about building a startup with my husband, bootstrapping then trying to raise capital to scale, during a pandemic, while raising a toddler (with no childcare) and 8.5 months pregnant I won’t dare hold back anything now. Baby Elliott might be making an early arrival and since I’m being monitored I figured this a great time to continue onward with the hustle! Trying to reimagine this experience as a day at a spa retreat complete with ice chips. And bonus I’ve already realized a great need for our platform in a hospital setting but more on that later.
First I’ll get into how this all started. In 2017 my husband and I had just moved back across the country from NY to CA (yet again) for work. I had just started a new full-time job and was still working freelance jobs as much as possible. Juggling this new schedule left little time for socializing but when it was important I made sure to be there. That’s when I discovered my pain point: I would hold my breath when the bill would arrive. I knew it would be inevitable that we’d do an equal split even though I would have lemonade and a salad while others would have multiple cocktails (at $15/drink) and an entrée plus appetizers. Now I should point out here that I don’t consider myself to be a cheap person, having worked my entire teen and adult life in the service industry I always tip a minimum of 20% regardless. But at some point I started to feel really frustrated with dining out with friends and friends of friends. Getting together became something that I started to loathe. I was working so much in hopes of saving money, pay off student loans etc. and did not look forward to paying $100 each get together regardless of my thrifty order. Each time I would complain to my husband and he would begrudgingly lend a sympathetic ear. Finally he said enough is enough and we decided to do some preliminary research. None of these so-called solutions seemed to erase the problem of a group bill. And so we decided after to talk to friends who shared in our similar frustration among many others that it was up to us to go and build it ourselves. I will give 110% of the credit here to MJ, my husband for making the MVP happen. At this point I knew zero about tech platforms and even less about coding or how to go about building them. I always say MJ is a true Renaissance man; His variety of talents and discipline for self learning and execution is something quite remarkable. I feel like there’s nothing he can’t master and when we realized pretty quickly that we had something special there our first baby Order For Me was born. Mike soon left his job at the World Surf League to pursue OFM full time. We bootstrapped the development with an amazing team in India. I think it’s safe to say that Jude & us are now like family at this point since Mike probably talks to them on slack more than his actual family.
Not long after Order For Me was officially incorporated I came across an article about the proposed min wage going up to $15/hr in CA and the need for restaurants to pivot to counter service options to reduce labor costs. I am a huge proponent of a livable min wage especially in CA where the cost of living is so high. And I’m especially interested in solving the inequity of wages and tips between the front and back of house staff. The person cooking the food should not be making less than the person who simply takes your order. But I digress. This proposed wage increase and counter service model did make for a convincing argument as to what would happen to the dining and hospitality we had grown accustomed to. We knew change needed to happen but not at the expense of the guest’s experience. I personally do not like the counter service as a solve for eliminating waitstaff or cost cutting unless it’s a coffee shop or obviously fast casual one and done types of eateries i.e. burger, salad and smoothie places. Once I order my food and beverage I’m done there’s zero chance I’m getting back in line to pay again for something else. So the thought of trying to recreate a brunch experience w/ a group of friends who will undoubtedly order multiple cocktails getting up down, waiting in line and cashing out each time made my head spin. No thank you!
So what next? Mike decided on Stripe to handle payment processing for a myriad of reasons mainly the seamless integration. Once the MVP was viable the real hustle began. In order to keep all of our money going back into Order For Me we continued to live in our 420 sq ft beach bungalow in Santa Monica sharing our old trusty Prius. We only dined out if it was for market research purposes and lived a very lean lifestyle (still do). I’m sharing all this because what I’ve learned so far is so much greater than the 30 pairs of Christian Louboutins I have now sold. Building something you believe in. Something that motivates you to keep striving for is what has yielded more personal happiness and fulfillment than I ever could have imagined. At the risk of sounding cheesy I’m going to insert one of my favorite quotes here: “fortune favors the bold.” And I’m realizing now that this isn’t just applicable to monetary wealth. (Although one day I do hope to be in a position to be able to buy a house with a yard and room for the kids to play with a dog.) The real fortune is doing what you love, which in this case is enjoying the journey and finding solutions that will ultimately make a positive impact for the greater good. I know it sounds like a pretty lofty goal but what originally began as a solution to a annoyance has transformed into a greater purpose to help restaurants be sustainable, provide all employees with a livable wage and give back to the community ultimately guiding the principles of our mission driven company.
I was hesitant to advocate I get an actual title within the company. I know that married couple co-founders can be a red flag and my non technical background might hinder our fundraising chances. But the the truth is I’ve been hustling, immersing myself in this tech world to create a community that would only further our product market fit. I’m the team, Order For Me is my first baby after all. I’m always thinking of ways to innovate OFM, making it THE one platform for anything you’d want to order. Stadiums, poolside, airports, hotel rooms and lobby bars, heck even hospital rooms!

Alison Jordan is a host, contributor and entrepreneur. Originally from Woodinville, WA she received her M.S. in Gerontology from San Diego State University. After an unplanned turn took her to L.A. to embark on a newfound modeling career including appearing on Deal or No Deal, she went on to host various travel shows for over a decade. She enjoys experiencing new restaurants, with a deep interest in travel and adventure. Alison now resides in Santa Monica, CA with her husband and son with another baby boy on the way.
 Her latest passion is her startup Order For Me founded with her husband Michael Jordan. Order For Me is a solution for dining out in a convenience economy with compassion and safety. Their company wants to make a positive impact on the restaurant and hospitality industry; especially now during these difficult times. The Order For Me platform is currently being offered for free to any restaurant worldwide for pick up or take out.