Week 43: David Rabie, Tovala
52 Founders has primarily focused on the people behind the ideas rather than the companies themselves; it was critical to the project so as to find certain commonalities between the interviewees. Yet this week, I couldn’t help but continually probe David Rabie about his company Tovala, a proprietary smart oven that’s paired with a meal subscription service. David’s a Chicago Booth alumnus that has become something of a legend amongst students. Imagine learning about a student who came to school just a few years before you, with no mechanical engineering background, who managed to build a steam oven that cooks pre-prepped raw ingredients to perfection. Yes, I said it: perfection. I’ve tasted Tovala’s meals enough times to confidently make that claim and admit to being surprised the first time to how good the quality was. Tovala has managed to pass the high expectations of publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Fast Company, even after the latter gave a scathing review of another smart oven on the market.
It’s a novel idea that piqued my curiosity, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed learning about directly from the creator himself. I find myself enthralled by Tovala’s mission: to successfully balance convenience, health, and taste. As I love to cook, I originally didn’t consider myself the typical Tovala user. Post-interview with David, it seems I may have been shortsighted. Even I get bogged down by my hectic weekly schedule and turn to quick solutions that leave me feeling unfulfilled. As Tovala says on its website, it’s “not here to replace home cooking,” but rather it’s here to rethink it. It’s those times when you’re in a pinch and order delivery that need fixing (and let’s face it, the food never tastes that great at home). Perhaps then this revolutionary steam engine is a game changer for chefs and novices alike, because really, who doesn’t love to eat delicious food?
Stage 👉 Seed
Location 👉 Chicago
Industry 👉 Food
“Yes, you have to pitch the vision, but day to day, it’s about getting to the next goal post.”
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
- How Tovala controls the entire end-to-end experience of each meal, from sourcing the ingredients to creating unique recipes with its in-house chefs
- David’s background in the food industry, and how he found himself creating Tovala shortly after arriving at Chicago Booth
- How the advice David received from the founders of Airbnb helped him go after such a bold idea
- The decision to go through Y Combinator after winning Booth’s New Venture Challenge, and how it gave the Tovala team an excuse to focus on nothing but the business for a few months
- The benefits to growing an IoT startup in the Midwest, and how it has allowed Tovala to rapidly scale (read more from David here)
- How David’s parents, who are both Iranian immigrants, molded his ideas on entrepreneurship and healthy eating
Catch the end of the show, where David shares another Chicago startup he’s a fan of and the founder he’s most keen to interview.
P.S. Thanks to 52 Founders alumn Kevin Marvinac for the intro!
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