Per Diem vs Hey Telo

About

Per Diem is a white-label mobile app platform that enables independent restaurants, coffee shops, and food businesses to launch their own branded customer loyalty and subscription apps — providing the Starbucks-style mobile ordering, subscription (daily coffee programs), and loyalty points functionality that enterprise brands have but which small businesses can't afford to build custom. Founded in 2020 in San Francisco and a Y Combinator W21 graduate, Per Diem raised $2.3 million in seed funding led by Two Sigma Ventures in April 2021, growing revenue from $2.3 million in June 2024 to $24.6 million in December 2024 — extraordinary 10x growth in six months.\n\nPer Diem's platform provides independent coffee shops and restaurants with a branded mobile app (their own logo, colors, and brand identity) that customers download from the App Store or Google Play — enabling mobile ordering ahead (skip the queue), loyalty point earning and redemption, and subscription programs (e.g., "unlimited lattes for $29/month"). The subscription model has been particularly successful at independent coffee shops where regular daily customers with predictable visits are the most loyal customers. Per Diem handles the app development, payment processing, and loyalty mechanics, charging a percentage of revenue or monthly subscription.\n\nIn 2025, the revenue growth from $2.3M to $24.6M in six months represents one of the most dramatic growth trajectories in the restaurant technology space. Per Diem competes with Square Loyalty, Toast (POS with loyalty), and white-label app providers including Olo for restaurant loyalty and mobile ordering. Independent restaurants and coffee shops are highly underserved by enterprise loyalty platforms priced for Starbucks-scale operations. The explosive growth suggests Per Diem hit a critical viral loop — each coffee shop customer who downloads their local café's Per Diem app becomes a user who may download other café's apps, creating network effects. The 2025 strategy focuses on growing the merchant network, deepening the subscription product, and potentially expanding beyond food/beverage into other retail verticals.