Sela: Slice is deliberately constraining focus to pizzerias before category expansion
Ilir Sela · Ilir Sela: How I Founded Slice Pizza & Became One of Macedonia’s Largest Employers | E1044 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings · Aug 4, 2023 · at 1:07:11
Ilir Sela is the founder and CEO of Slice, a platform for local pizzerias. He discusses Slice's five-year strategy and why they are staying focused on pizzerias first.
0:00 / 0:12exact quote · 12.3s
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube → 720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“I think that our model has the right to win in many categories, but we are deliberately continuing to constrain our focus so that we can be the best in class partner for these independents.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Ilir Sela
Ilir Sela: 'Hire great people and get out of the way' is bullshit advice
“It's complete bullshit. I mean, I used to feel like, okay, hire great people, get out of the way, and I've done that. I've done that many times, and every time I've done that, things have failed.”
Ilir Sela turned down an $18 million acquisition offer for MyPizza
“I had just gotten my first acquisition offer. You know, the offer to sell the company for eighteen million dollars would have been awesome. Sole owner. No debt. Eighteen million dollars would have been great. And I turned it down.”
Sela: Single-niche software startups face instant TAM skepticism during growth slowdowns
“And so because of our very clear focus on one segment, pizza shops, Any moment where Slice's performance hasn't been best in class, immediately the assumption is you're TAM constrained.”
Sela: Series B founders cannot step back while still figuring out product and GTM
“This is a series B company that's still figuring out what exactly is the go to, what are the go to market motions? What is the product? We are hiring people like crazy. Like, I don't think you can get out of the way at that point.”
Sela: Horizontal software like Owner.com cannot successfully vertically integrate across restaurant types
“A restaurant that sells a different product and maybe has table service is a very different business than a pizza shop, which is a very different business than a coffee shop. Now, They may all have the similar need of commerce, which is what a company like own…”