We built the first and only fully automated checkout gas station in the country.
It wasn’t Amazon Go, it wasn’t Choice Markets, it was us.
We raised $100MM, kept a low profile, and were set to surprise the Denver market.
The automated checkout story you’ve never heard: 🧵
We had $100 MM in funding and two sites under construction to build West into the largest automated checkout gas station / convenience store chain in the country.... maybe the world.
How we got there and why we called it off (🧵):
We built the first and only fully automated checkout gas station in the country.
It wasn’t Amazon Go, it wasn’t Choice Markets, it was us.
We raised $100MM, kept a low profile, and were set to surprise the Denver market.
The automated checkout story you’ve never heard: 🧵
Chapter 2: Picking an ACO Vendor
In 2020, a few automated checkout tech vendors (lets call them ACO vendors) were vying for early adopters of what they were counting on being the next retail tech revolution: Amazon JWO, Zippin, AiFi, Standard Cog, Trigo, Grabango
🧵
Chapter 2: Picking an ACO Vendor
In 2020, a few automated checkout tech vendors (lets call them ACO vendors) were vying for early adopters of what they were counting on being the next retail tech revolution: Amazon JWO, Zippin, AiFi, Standard Cog, Trigo, Grabango
🧵
@MangledCapital introduced the inspiration of @fullsend_mgmt 's automated checkout store last week.
Chapter 1: Understanding the Issue & Automated Checkout as the Answer
In 2020, @MangledCapital showcased the friction in his chain of convenience stores in the STL area. 🧵
B&A:
Built this WiFi-enabled relay board to trigger cash drawer openings via our in-house payment app. Deployed at West Markets to streamline cash transactions without needing traditional POS hardware. Smart, simple, seamless.
@303Software Ha! My bad. @303Software was our technical partner for this project. Could not have done it without them. More stories from them coming soon.