Goldbely (YC W13) Raises $3M Led By Intel Capital | Hacker News Reader

Goldbely (YC W13) Raises $3M Led By Intel Capital

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53 pointsericdykstra15 comments

Fantastic idea.

However, I'm at a complete loss when trying to understand why Intel Capital would lead or even participate in the financing of an e-commerce merchant. I can't imagine Intel Capital's investment mandate is this broad.

Goldbely is a logistics company. While it's true they're doing food, logistics of this nature could be applied to other fields pretty easily.

The hardest part is setting up initial distribution and sourcing; once that's done, adding product lines becomes fairly trivial. That's how I perceive the Intel involvement.

Once you've sent the consummate bottle of scotch, round of golf, cigars, etc to long time clients / vendors it's remarkably hard to figure anything else out.

Never heard of these guys, will spend at least $500 this holiday season on corporate gifts once I try them out myself ;)

Very cool idea, can't wait to try it.

Glad you like it! We have a service to help you select and serve your clients and vendors for corporate gifts: https://www.goldbely.com/concierge or email concierge@goldbely.com

Of course, feel free to browse and choose for yourself :)

Goldbely is fantastic. We (SendHub) are on a plan with them where we are shipped foods for employee birthdays. We've had everything from cheesecakes, 14 flavors of ice cream, and cupcakes to full BBQ spreads. Delicious.

We sent our first hire a King Cake from Goldbely — and he (along with his family) loved it!

Goldbely is a great way to gift someone something special.

This article seems to indicate that YC participated in the series A. Is this correct, and has YC done this before?

Hmm. Goldbely's funding round was a seed round.

so this appeals to people who have moved away from home I presume?

This is an incredible logistics challenge, especially insuring the food arrives edible. I wouldn't want to pay $40 for a sandwich to have it show up soggy and falling apart.

People who have moved away from home is definitely one market, but it's just a small part. There's also gifting (corporate and personal, it's a way more interesting gift than a basket from somewhere), events (wings from Buffalo for game day, cupcakes or pies for a corporate event), and of course, personal use, both just exploring and getting a taste of home, like you said.

For those who love the food when it's served fresh, I wonder how the experience holds up to shipping. The Philly Cheesesteak from Campo's Deli, for example, is flash frozen and shipped to you on dry ice. That's gotta do a number on the taste and texture. At $95 for two sandwiches (that would cost $16 for both at Campo's), that's a bit too much of a leap of faith for me.

Getting the best cheesesteak sandwich in my city might only be an 8/10 compared to a 10/10 one from Campo's Deli, but a frozen and then reheated Campo's Deli cheesesteak might only be 8/10 compared to its fresh version. And ordering fresh local is not only way more convenient and cheaper, but significantly more environmentally friendly. I could pay someone $60/hour to fetch a couple of the best local cheesesteak sandwiches, reimburse them for the food, and still come out ahead with fresh sandwiches when I want them, not two days later.

It's an interesting concept and obviously people are willing to pay for the luxury, convenience, and getting authentic food. I suppose I'm not one of them.

I think they're squarely aiming it as a high-end gift, which is smart. I'd never pay $50 for a dozen links of Kreuz sausage, but I'd flip out with joy if someone sent them to me unexpectedly.

This guy gets it :)

Great idea. As a native Memphian, I am a little disappointed they offer Rendezvous, one of the worst BBQ joints in Memphis. Though it is the most popular tourist trap so there is a reason why it is offered.

Congrats to Trevor and team!

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