Silicon Valley knows John Meyer, a tech entrepreneur, as a pioneer Apple-app developer who wrote about 40 apps as an independent software engineer, including the first flashlight application for the iPhone. At age 19, he turned down a job at Apple because his passions extended beyond the corporate boardroom.
Meyer considers himself a futurist who creates and invests in disruptive businesses — from Homebound, a tech-powered homebuilding company, to Keto Kitchen, a dietary-focused virtual restaurant. The latter led to his next startup: Ghost Financial.
Running Keto Kitchen from a CloudKitchens facility in Austin, Texas, taught Meyer valuable lessons as a first-time operator. He launched Ghost Financial in April to help other restaurant operators navigate the nascent and complicated ghost-kitchen space. Ghost Financial offers restaurant operators expansion loans, insurance, educational classes, and payroll services.
“We are essentially the only players in the space who know how to underwrite the ghost kitchen,” Meyer told Insider.
The 27-year-old Meyer admits his latest move is also motivated by a clear market opportunity. Euromonitor estimates that the ghost-kitchen and virtual-brand industries will reach $1 trillion by 2030.
Ghost Financial, which has raised $2.5 million to date, cut its largest financing deal with Cruising Kitchens, a newbie ghost-kitchen operator, in July. Ghost Financial gave the company, which makes mobile ghost-kitchen trailers, an expansion loan for $100 million.
Cruising Kitchens formerly supplied food trailers to Reef Technology, a struggling ghost-kitchen operator. After Reef made operational and staff cuts in May, Cruising Kitchens decided to strike out on its own with financing from Ghost Financial.
Cameron Davies, the CEO of Cruising Kitchens, told Insider that the financing is helping his company jumpstart its fledgling ghost-kitchen operation. He bills it as a “one-stop shop” for ghost-kitchen operators. Its services include securing trailers, permits, and leasing for franchisees or restaurants looking for a mobile ghost kitchen.
Davies said that the Ghost Financial deal allows Cruising Kitchens to become “a titan in this space” with a focus on partnering with “all enterprise-level brands.”
“We will do everything except for the operations of the unit,” Davies, whose company manufactured the Wendy’s trailers for Reef, said.
On Wednesday, Wendy’s said it would be reducing its expansion plans with Reef during an earnings call.
Ghost Financial is doing more than lending money. The fintech startup is also selling advice.
In June, Ghost Financial launched GhostU, an online program to help educate ghost-kitchen operators. Meyer based the classes on his experience running Keto Kitchen, which he opened in January 2021. Meyer said Keto Kitchen became “the most successful kitchen in the CloudKitchens facility, by sales, within a few months of opening.”
The 12-episode tutorial provides a playbook for newbies in the space — from explaining how to optimize revenue through delivery apps and social media to developing viral menu items and negotiating leases.
“There’s not enough attention being put on the critically needed education on how to build a ghost-kitchen restaurant successfully and profitably,” Meyer said.
Ghost Financial also plans to help operators by launching a credit card that offers them cash back when they use the card to pay for food supplies.
Once it launches in 2023, restaurant operators using the card will get a minimum of 1% cash back. That adds up, Meyer said, when you consider the thousands of dollars restaurant owners pay for food and restaurant supplies each month. He said the company has about 1,000 restaurants on a waiting list ready to use the card when it launches next year.
By providing the “financial backbone” for the space, Meyer said his startup will help ghost kitchens thrive.
With the help of automation, he predicts ghost kitchens will be a more cost-effective dining solution for consumers five years from now.
“If you look at 2027 and ask me what a classic day in the life of an American looks like, I think cooking will be optional,” Meyer told Insider. “There will be less physical, retail-based grocery stores and a lot more ghost kitchens.”
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