Investment Review: The Essential (formerly Move.co)

This post is part of my angel investing series where I review investments after they’re completed. These posts are not investment advice, solicitations, or offers of any kind. They are simply my thoughts on companies I’ve invested in and how they fit into my thesis.

For background on my approach to angel investing and my investment thesis, see my introduction to this series.

Company Overview

The Essential (formerly Move.co) is a members only, private label delivery food service. Think costco, but online, and high end.

Thesis Fit

Macro trends:

• The pandemic led to massive investment in the cold chain
• The pandemic led to massive investment in the delivery space
• A whole lof the the delivery food is not good, and people are looking for better options

Founder fit:

• The founders have good backgrounds for the business
• They have a really sharp model around data analytics and customer acquisition
• Their process and thoughts around what products to offer are really good

Conclusion

This investment aligns well with my thesis around businesses that are capitalizing on permanent behavioral changes accelerated by Covid-19. The cold chain investments aren’t going away, and the demand for better food delivery is only going to grow. The Essential is well positioned to capture a lot of that demand.

Note: This review is written after the investment was made and is not intended to be forward-looking or to provide any form of investment advice. It represents my personal views and learning journey in angel investing.