# Toast: Aman Narang. How a Long Wait for the Dinner Check Launched a $2 Billion Business.

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2026-07-20
- Length: 51m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-07-20-toast-aman-narang-how-a-long-wait-for-the-dinner-check-launched-a-2-billion-busi

## Summary

Aman Narang, co-founder and CEO of Toast, explains how a failed mobile payment app for diners revealed the massive opportunity to replace the entire point-of-sale (POS) infrastructure for restaurants. Narang details the company's pivot from a consumer app to a cloud-based, purpose-built POS system, the struggle to gain traction against entrenched incumbents like Micros and NCR, and the decision to intentionally stay small before scaling. He discusses the disastrous first launch, the pivot to a new CEO to handle growth, surviving the COVID-19 pandemic by shifting to off-premise tools, and the current strategy of leveraging AI to capture the remaining market share.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-07-20-toast-aman-narang-how-a-long-wait-for-the-dinner-check-launched-a-2-billion-busi#t=0) Introduction: Aman Narang and the Origin of Toast
- [10:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-07-20-toast-aman-narang-how-a-long-wait-for-the-dinner-check-launched-a-2-billion-busi#t=601) The Failed Mobile Payment App and the Pivot to POS
- [15:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-07-20-toast-aman-narang-how-a-long-wait-for-the-dinner-check-launched-a-2-billion-busi#t=931) Building the First Cloud-Based POS System
- [24:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-07-20-toast-aman-narang-how-a-long-wait-for-the-dinner-check-launched-a-2-billion-busi#t=1472) Investor Rejection and Early Customer Acquisition
- [29:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-07-20-toast-aman-narang-how-a-long-wait-for-the-dinner-check-launched-a-2-billion-busi#t=1792) The Disastrous First Launch and Scaling Challenges
- [38:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-07-20-toast-aman-narang-how-a-long-wait-for-the-dinner-check-launched-a-2-billion-busi#t=2316) Bringing in a New CEO and Surviving COVID
- [44:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-07-20-toast-aman-narang-how-a-long-wait-for-the-dinner-check-launched-a-2-billion-busi#t=2666) Post-Pandemic Growth, AI, and Future Strategy

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up, large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Toast (product)
- Indeca (company)
- Micros (company)
- NCR (company)
- Square (company)
- Gordon Food Service (company)
- Toast IQ Grow (product)
- Firebrand Saints (company)
- PaziTouch (company)
- Level Up (company)
- Groupon (company)
- Clover (company)
- U.S. Bank (company)

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- [An AWSM (Sauce) Bonus Episode with Carl Starkey](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2023-05-04-an-awsm-sauce-bonus-episode-with-carl-starkey) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [The Recipe For Creating a Culinary Connected Device](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2021-11-09-the-recipe-for-creating-a-culinary-connected-device) (Over the Air)
- [97: Plateaus](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2023-04-06-97-plateaus) (Thoroughly Considered)
- [#48 Just TOAST-IT! Data-first, customer-focused, and expanding into Publix with Mafe & Coco](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-06-14-48-just-toast-it-data-first-customer-focused-and-expanding-into-publix-with-mafe) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [From Hand Sanitizer to Tomato Sauce - How Sauz Went From 10 Doors to 3,500 in a Year](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-08-29-from-hand-sanitizer-to-tomato-sauce-how-sauz-went-from-10-doors-to-3-500-in-a-ye) (The Startup CPG Podcast)

## Citing this page

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