This post was originally published on this site
TONY SMITH
CO-FOUNDER / CEO
RESTAURANT365
WHY: In 2011, co-founded Irvine-based restaurant-specific accounting and back-office software platform, Restaurant365. Firm has topped $100M in annual revenue and is among Orange County’s most valuable privately held companies with a valuation of $1B or above. Total employee headcount up to 900 after acquiring ExpandShare firm in 2024. Smith says “an IPO is one potential route” among several options in the future.
IN THE NEWS: Restaurant management platform added two new executives in 2025 with backgrounds at DocuSign, Adobe and Stack Overflow. NOTABLE: Winner of 2021 Business Journal Innovator of the Year award. Oversees 40K-plus outlets for clients such as franchisees of Burger King, Taco Bell, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Wetzel’s Pretzels. Reported that its clients reduced food waste in 2024 by nearly $400M thanks to Restaurant365’s inventory, reporting, forecasting, and purchasing tools.
IN HIS WORDS: “This year more than ever it is so important for restaurants to operate smarter with key insights to combat headwinds. That’s why we’ve placed all recent product investment behind helping operators control food and labor costs and skill-up their workforce.”