Food Startups Podcast

Episode 98 – Growth Stories from Blue Crabs to Boston – Sean of LeanBox

Written by Hema Reddy / June 16th, 2016

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The original title was “Growth Stories from Blue Crabs to the Bronx to Brooklyn to Boston”.. full of alliteration but a bit too long.

Sean Butler has been moving north during his life, adding skills and experiences along the way.

The current stop of his journey is VP of Growth at one of the hottest startups in New England.

Sean joined LeanBox pre-revenue, and has grown with the company as it expanded from 3 to 42 employees in two years.

LeanBox delivers customized inventories of meals, salads, sandwiches, snacks, and beverages to hi-tech refrigerators at 200+ companies, including Uber, Amazon, and Microsoft. Cold brewed coffee, organic snacks, cold-pressed juice and more.

The million dollar question: with software, hardware, sourcing, logistics, and more, how are they able to run multiple businesses at once? We go behind the scenes:

• Culture shock: moving from the country to the Bronx
• Witnessing a shooting .. and moving to Brooklyn
• On managing multiple businesses at once
• Unusual, effective tactics to get your foot in a door at a startup
• Surviving their biggest mistakes in outsourcing and insourcing
• How to get your food product approved by their buying committee
• Mistakes that food startup brands make
• The unique pricing model – keeping it cheaper than Whole Foods
• “We do really well in places where you’ve got to drive 15 minutes just to find somewhere to eat”
• What’s next for LeanBox