RecTable — aka Learning on the Job

I joined Shift with a background heavy in robotics, a major distaste for computer science, and absolutely no idea was Shift was. But now, looking back, I have realized just how much all of that has changed- and how essential it is to keep learning.

My Project

This year, I worked with a small team to start the development of RecTable, a SaaS product that performs automated data analytics for small restaurants.

The product is not yet complete, and the algorithms are frankly boring to read about (I know, shocking that deep data analytics about the latest trends in hamburgers isn’t a jaw-dropper), so the following is a story of how we used many resources available to students to our advantage.

We started working in November, after two of my partners and I were able to optimize staffing for a local restaurant based on historical data. They were very interested in how we did this, and we decided to automate the process. Many months and many new features later, we have had the opportunity to work with the Zell Lurie Institute, Spark Ann Arbor, the Center for Entrepreneurship, and more. Through the process, I have never stopped learning. From R to data analysis in Python to how to map a customer journey, this opportunity has given me the most learning experiences out of any part of college (especially the classes).

The biggest thing I have learned through this process is the need for a strong business plan. It is not enough to be able to develop a piece of software, but it must be proven to be valuable enough for a real person to spend money on it. In this sense, sales and marketing strategy has been the hardest part of the process, especially since our clients (restaurant owners) rely heavily on proven case studies to invest in new technology.

Overall, this has been a great experience. We are all working on the product over the summer and are going through application processes for accelerators currently.

Julia is a student studying Business and Industrial Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. Aside from mitigating the technology gap between small restaurants and massive chains, Julia loves traveling and Scuba diving.