inKind is an investment company, based in Austin, Texas, working to aid small independent restaurants. Founded by Johann Moonesinghe, the company has helped to finance and support over 1,500 restaurants and plan to finance hundreds more this year.
Moonesinghe, a restaurant owner and investor, launched inKind when he recognized a lack of accessible funding in the hospitality industry. He wanted to help finance his friends’ restaurants, and make these small, independent businesses more economically viable.
“We really started inKind as a way to offer restaurants financial support in a sustainable way. So, for me, when I talk about sustainability, specifically related to inKind, it’s financial sustainability,” Moonesinghe tells Food Tank.
The inKind model involves a customer credit system—eaters can purchase the company’s app. Restaurants can use funds that are distributed to them without waiting for customers. And customers can stretch their dollars further: The inKind platform allows them to earn 15 percent back on their bill when they dine at participating restaurants.
“Everything we do has to be a triple win,” Moonesinghe says. “The consumer has to win, the restaurant has to win, and inKind has to win. And if anything, we suggest doesn’t result in that triple win, we don’t do it.”
Moonesinghe and his team draw on years of experience in the hospitality industry to help restaurants with marketing, lease agreements, and networking. In addition, he sees opportunities in bringing restaurants together to join forces. Affiliated businesses, he says, can often negotiate better prices with suppliers, access more resources, and identify new opportunities.
inKind is also looking to increase diversity of restaurant owners. They are currently carrying out a US$250 million commitment to support underrepresented restaurant operators by 2025. Around 75 percent of the restaurants funded by this initiative are minority-owned businesses, Moonesinghe shares. He hopes that the increased resources will help business owners overcome hurdles associated with starting and maintaining a business and ultimately level the playing field.
“There is more we can do to create pathways to financial sustainability,” Moonesinghe says, “especially around property ownership.”
inKind is also not done growing, according to Moonesinghe, and they plan to expand Asia by the end of the year and into Europe the year after.
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Photo courtesy of Jeff Siepman, Unsplash
