Fast Food’s Text Sensation: Audio Interview With Mobo Founder Noah Glass (Part 1)

Noah Glass is one of those people you want to hate, but can’t.

Yes, there’s the picture perfect resume. The political science degree from Yale. Stints at Shutterfly, Amnesty International and Braun Consulting. The acceptance letter from Harvard Business School – which he promptly declined in order to join Endeavor, an international non-profit group focused on aiding entrepreneurs in developing counties.

Factor in that he’s just been nominated as one of Business Week’s top 25 entrepreneurs under the age of 25 (yes, 25), and you might find yourself stifling dry heaves.

Or you might just reach for some comfort food – ordered via text message thanks to Glass’s ambitious new m-commerce startup, Mobo.

Mobo is the mobile age way to order food on the go. You sign up for the service, enter in your credit card information, and select short codes for your favorite meals at participating restaurants. The next time you’re jones’ing for a double bacon cheeseburger, large fries and a super size diet coke, just send the code to 4MOBO, and the order is waiting for you – in a special wait-free, cash-free line.

For the restaurant, there are no set-up charges, and Mobo collects 10% from each order. Which might sound prohibitive, until you factor in that Glass says customers can spend as much as 38% more when ordering by text message than they do with cash or credit card.

Mobo is growing at a measured pace, with $1.8 million in revenues this year from its operations in New York, according to BW. And new operations in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco are in the works.

Oh, and fast food is just the beginning: Think movie ticket sales and parking-meter payments by mobile phone.

Moments into a GENERATION WOW audio interview with Glass, and you realize he’s too cool to despise. And shoot, if he’ll help me get my cheesy steak burrito faster, how can I wish him bodily harm?

PART ONE: Fast Food Nation – A look at the inspiration for Mobo, the unexpected market for SMS ordering (hint: it’s not young, techy guys), and what m-commerce can mean to the future of local service businesses. 

(Approx. 7:31) 

Quick links:

BRANDING UNBOUND The Book
ADWEEK Magazines Excerpt
GENERATION WOW
RickMathieson.com