DOT-COM STARTUP OF THE MONTH.

• Author: PETERSON, ERIC
• Position: Catering 101 - Brief Article

INITIAL LIGHTBULB: The founding husband and wife team behind Catering101, Meg and Todd Ballinger, took cues from their past experiences in drafting their business plan. Meg's former career (she was in national sales in the contract-furniture industry) led her to recognize catering as the element of a boardroom meeting most often left to chance. "Food makes a big impression -- or depression -- in a meeting," she said. "If the food is really lousy, people don't even remember what you're saying." After adding her husband Todd's entrepreneurial instincts to the mix (Area101 is his third Internet startup in the B2B space) and seeking out the advice of a food industry veteran (Todd's uncle), Catering101.com began to evolve from concept to marketable product.

IN A NUTSHELL: Catering101 sells E-Cater, an end-to-end, e-commerce and business management application for caterers. Using proprietary software that was developed with input from working caterers, Catering101 builds a caterer an independent Web site that includes everything from menus and special requests to order confirmations and billing. Additionally, clients can choose to be listed at www.Catering101.com's online marketplace, essentially a "mall" of caterers targeted towards meeting planners. Corporate purchasers register at the site and search for a caterer who fits their needs. "If you logged on as a purchaser, the site remembers you and gives you your own navigation bar," explained Meg. "Everything you've ever done on the site is recorded." Catering101 generates revenues via set-up costs charged to caterers -- $1,500 and up -- and a 3 percent cut of every order. The company also offers a business management system for larger food companies, starting at $48,000. It recently landed Outback Catering, a d ivision of Outback Steak House, as one of those clients. As of early November, Catering101.com featured 15 caterers, the majority of which were Denver-based; it plans to broaden its reach to...