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Episode 298: Ahmed Beshry – Smart Shopping Cart, Caper Co-Founder

Ahmed Beshry, the Co-Founder of Caper, joins the show to share his journey from Y Combinator (YC) to creating the smart shopping cart. Hear how to figure out your most valuable product attributes, when to start pitching customers, how Caper got acquired by Instacart, the biggest difference between universities in the US and Canada, and the element of chemistry Ahmed geeks out about. This episode covers everything from YC to . Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• What’s the QueueHop story
• Where did the idea for Caper come from
• So many watermelons
• What has driven the growth and fundraising success of Caper
• Rubik’s Cube
• Is it called uni in Canada
• Periodic Table
• Yoda

Connect with Ahmed at Caper.Ai and Instacart.com.

Enjoy the shoooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail. You can also find the full transcript here.

Show Notes

• Intro & Y Combinator
  • [0:27] Email me at max@maxpodcasting.com to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:36] Connect with Ahmed at Caper.Ai and Instacart.com
  • [2:16] Dr. Juan Salinas – Wild Business Growth Podcast #289: Food Scientist Bodybuilder, Founder of P-nuff
  • [2:19] Hoboken ShopRite
  • [3:05] What’s the QueueHop story
  • [3:57] Brick & Mortar (B&M)
  • [4:43] Yoda
  • [4:53] What is Y Combinator (YC) actually like
  • [5:08] Unicorns
  • [6:10] Unicorns in Scotland

• The Caper Story
  • [6:53] Where did the idea for Caper come from
  • [7:16] Customer Experience (CX)
  • [7:43] Technology (Tech)
  • [7:53] B2B2C (Business-to-Business-to-Consumer)
  • [8:38] Lindon Gao
  • [10:10] IoT (Internet of Things)
  • [10:43] Stress, NFL Sunday
  • [11:19] How did Ahmed figure out the product attributes of the Caper cart
  • [12:12] Computer Vision, AI (Artificial Intelligence)
  • [12:58] Millennials, Gen Z (Generation Z)
  • [13:16] Self-Checkout (SCOs)
  • [14:15] Value Proposition (Value Prop)
  • [14:23] Brand Ambassadors, Salary
  • [15:02] Gamification
  • [15:32] How did Ahmed start pitching Caper to retailers
  • [15:59] MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
  • [16:29] Industrial Design
  • [17:04] So many watermelons
  • [18:05] It-er-a-tive
  • [18:42] How did Caper get acquired by Instacart
  • [19:25] Seed Round, Series A, Series B, Term Sheet
  • [19:44] Fidji Simo
  • [21:14] eCommerce
  • [22:20] What has driven the growth and fundraising success of Caper
  • [24:34] The Wild Business Growth podcast is on YouTube! Subscribe @MaxBranstetter to watch full video interviews with Wild entrepreneurs like Ahmed
  • [24:35] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity. It’s where podcasting meets entrepreneurship – and terrible puns
  • [24:37] Such an honor speaking at Podcast Movement ’23 in Denver! Sign up to grab the slides from my session at MaxPodcasting.com/PM23

• The Unusual: Pet Peeves, Quirks, and Weird Talents
  • [24:50] Nice, Max
  • [24:55] What’s a quirk Ahmed has
  • [25:41] Sounds delightful
  • [25:49] What’s Ahmed’s biggest pet peeve
  • [26:31] What a perfect use of time
  • [26:43] What’s a Weird Talent Ahmed has
  • [27:00] Rubik’s Cube
• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [27:46] University of Alberta
  • [28:09] What’s the biggest difference between universities in the US and Canada
  • [28:34] Is it called uni in Canada
  • [28:52] What’s an element of chemistry Ahmed geeks out about
  • [28:58] Periodic Table
  • [29:22] Biochemistry
  • [29:33] What is inorganic chemistry
  • [29:54] Solar Panel, OLED TV
  • [30:17] Has Caper ever considered partnering with a brand of capers
  • [30:25] The Caper Capers
  • [30:57] Connect with Ahmed at Caper.Ai and Instacart.com
  • [31:56] What are Ahmed’s Final Thoughts
  • [33:22] Follow the Wild Business Growth podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And show love (or roast me) by leaving 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify
  • [33:36] The Wild Business Growth podcast is on YouTube! Subscribe @MaxBranstetter to watch full video interviews with Wild entrepreneurs like Ahmed
  • [33:41] Check out the Wild Business Growth podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [33:43] Connect with me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter (aka X), and Threads @MaxBranstetter and TikTok @WildBusinessGrowth
  • [33:45] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at max@maxpodcasting.com to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [33:50] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity. It’s where podcasting meets entrepreneurship – and terrible puns
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – “Jungle Tribe” – provided by Jamendo

What is the Wild Business Growth podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur joins the Wild Business Growth podcast to share the wildly creative and unusual ways they grew their business – and teaches you how to do it, too. Hear the minds behind WordPress, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Drybar, NFL RedZone, Big Mouth Billy Bass, the voice of Bart Simpson, and more Wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding and professional-looking podcast for your brand, but don’t want to deal with the time commitment of all those behind-the-scenes details? I’ve got you covered. Email me at max@maxpodcasting.com to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Ahmed Beshry on the Wild Business Growth podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth podcast and tell a friend about it. And enjoy the Caper carts with them. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!