Pivoting Towards Success: Key Lessons from Surasit Sachdev, CEO of Hungry Hub

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In episode 29 of the Exponential Show, host Mayank Singh spoke with Surasit Sachdev, CEO of Hungry Hub, one of the original members of the Thai food tech startup ecosystem. Surasit, who goes by Sit, shared his journey from a career in finance to founding and scaling Hungry Hub, a company that is focused on being a profitable entity.The Origin Story and Initial Pivots

Surasit explained that Hungry Hub has "two founding stories". His original idea in 2012, after leaving the bank, was to build an online travel agency for the hotel business, as his family was involved in that industry. However, a month of research revealed the immense investment competitors like Priceline Group (the parent company of Agoda and Booking.com) were making—investing a billion dollars a year on Google search alone. Given the lack of a startup ecosystem or venture capital in Thailand in 2012, and the global nature of the travel business, Surasit realized competing would be too risky.

This led him to pivot to a restaurant reservation system, inspired by the OpenTable model in the U.S.. Surasit launched Hungry Hub in 2014 after pursuing an MBA to build a team.

However, the reservation system was difficult to succeed with in Thailand. Due to an oversupply of restaurants, most seats were readily available, and customers rarely needed to book in advance, unlike in cities like Singapore, Japan, or the U.S.. Surasit noted that their initial research focused only on restaurant owners, asking if they would use or pay for the tool, but they failed to research the consumer side—whether diners actually needed to make reservations. He realized the market size for a reservation system was too small.Hungry Hub 2.0: Solving a Real Problem

The true pivot came from Surasit's company benefit of taking his team out to dinner at partner restaurants, where he found the bill was often double what he expected. This revealed a larger pain point in Asia's shared dining and split-bill culture, where unpredictable costs made treating groups or splitting bills awkward. He noted that in Asia, dining is always shared, and either one person picks up the check or it's split equally.

The current Hungry Hub model, the "second founding origin story", is built around controlling budgets for diners, especially when trying new restaurants. Hungry Hub pre-creates fixed-price packages, such as sharing sets or exclusive all-you-can-eat options, that include tax, service charge, and drinks. This predictability, or "insurance," helps people feel safer trying new restaurants.Value to Restaurant Partners

For restaurants, Hungry Hub serves as a crucial "reseller" or "agent". Surasit explained that unlike almost every other industry (attractions, airlines, hotels, or manufacturers), the full-service dine-in Food and Beverage (FnB) industry largely lacks a success-fee-based reseller focused on dine-in. Food delivery accounts for less than 10% to 20% of a full-service restaurant's revenue, while dine-in accounts for 70% to 90%. Dine-in also has higher margins and is the core of most restaurants.

Hungry Hub’s model drives incremental, sustainable revenue without relying on deep discounts that harm branding. By charging a percentage based on the packaged meal the customer chooses, Hungry Hub can charge significantly higher commissions (15 to 20 times more than their initial fixed-fee model). The restaurant remains happy because Hungry Hub is driving significant and predictable business.Constant Agility and Future Vision

Surasit emphasizes that "every year is a pivot as a startup". The company has implemented five to seven major pivots since its 2017 relaunch, including:

• À la carte to All You Can Eat: The initial "wow product" for the Hungry Hub 2.0 relaunch in 2017, converting à la carte into all-you-can-eat.

• Buffet Plus: Adding extras like a drink or dessert for existing buffet restaurants.

• Party Pack (Sharing Sets): Catering to restaurants that couldn't adopt the all-you-can-eat model.

• COVID-19 Delivery Niche: During the pandemic, Hungry Hub quickly built a delivery service focused on high-basket set menus for the mid-to-upper tier segment. This allowed them to grow about four times while many competitors struggled.

• Staycation Packages: Bundling hotel FnB with room packages to help five-star hotels maintain brand rates while offering value during the pandemic.
  

The company's long-term vision is to be the Online Travel Agent (OTA) for the restaurant industry. They are also expanding regionally, starting with Singapore and more recently in Kuala Lumpur (KL). They are leveraging their strength in Thailand, where 30% to 40% of their business now comes from the international market (tourists), to attract international diners who spend more and are less discount-oriented.

Looking ahead to 2026, Hungry Hub plans to introduce:

• Dynamic Pricing: Using eight years of data and AI tools to help restaurants change prices by the minute, hour, or day based on demand, weather, or special occasions, similar to the airline and hotel industries.

• DIY Sets: A more flexible version of their sharing set model, allowing customers to customize their packages based on preferences like mains, salads, or alcohol.
  

The Key Lesson

When asked for a key lesson for young entrepreneurs, Surasit offered advice drawn from his journey: Be passionate about the problem you are solving, rather than being stuck on a specific solution. The most logical approach does not always guarantee success; maintain an open mindset and be willing to pivot and adapt quickly.