A prediction I didn’t want to be right about
Fast forward to 2019. I was in South Africa attending an international development event. During one of the conversations, I made a comment that sounded dramatic even to me at the time.
If something big ever hit the restaurant industry, most places wouldn’t survive.
A few months later, COVID shut the world down. Dining rooms went silent. Chairs stacked on tables. Over half of restaurants disappeared. Not because the food wasn’t good, but because the industry had almost no flexibility. No digital backbone. No way to adapt fast.
That moment stayed with me.
Turning frustration into something real
In February 2024, that long-running idea finally turned into action. Together with my partner, Andrian, we launched our startup. The first name was M-EAT, short for “Meet and Eat”. Clever, we thought.
Turns out, not everyone loved the unintended carnivorous vibe. Especially not our vegetarian friends. Fair point.
So we went back to the core of what we were building and rebranded to Oto, short for One-Tap Ordering. Clear. Simple. Exactly what we wanted the product to be.
Finding our footing in the startup world
Our real takeoff started with an accelerator program powered by Dreamups. If you’re ever thinking about building a startup, I can’t stress this enough: the right accelerator changes everything. Mentors who actually care. A team that pushes you. A feeling that you’re not alone in the chaos.
That journey led us to Demo Day, where we walked away with the Best Idea Pitch Award. Not bad for a team that was still figuring things out.
A few months later, in August 2024, we applied for a Digital Startup grants program financed by the European Union and Sweden. We won. That moment gave us both validation and fuel. Suddenly, this wasn’t just an idea anymore. It was a mission.
Where we are now, and where we’re going
As of February 2026, Oto is built by a team of nine. Dreamers. Builders. Tech people. Food lovers. All aligned around the same goal.
We’re not just creating a digital menu. We’re rethinking how people interact with restaurants. How guests choose. How staff work. How places adapt instead of breaking when the world changes.
From the historic walls of Casa Botín to a product used across restaurants, hotels, and spaces that actually need flexibility, the journey feels like it’s only getting started.
We want to grow the team. Take Oto global. And maybe, finally, help dining catch up with the modern world it serves.
Here’s to innovation. To curiosity. And to always asking: “Why does it still work this way?”
Oto.
One world. One menu. One tap.