Ecotrak LLC, an Irvine upstart whose enterprise software allows restaurants and other businesses to automate repairs and maintenance work orders and service providers, has landed funding from a local private equity firm, and has also linked up with a high-flying Internet of Things firm in the Bay Area.
The 5-year-old firm, run by CEO Matt Singer, a former VP of finance, controller for Costa Mesa-based restaurant chain Lazy Dog Restaurants, said last month that it had secured a bridge funding round led by Costa Mesa-based private equity firm Gala Capital Partners LLC.
Gala Capital invests in franchised restaurant chains as well as software companies whose offerings are often used in restaurants. Gala Capital’s website says it has been a backer of Ecotrak since 2020; the amount of financing in the latest deal was undisclosed.
The bridge funding’s backers also included restaurant technology-focused private equity firm Rellevant Partners in New York.
“This round of funding propels us into the next phase of Ecotrak,” Singer said in a statement.
Ecotrak, founded in 2018, has raised over $20 million in funding to date, according to SingerÂ.
IoT Tech Link
Ecotrack’s software aims to reduce equipment downtime and saving costs on repairs and maintenance.
The company’s software creates profiles for business’ equipment, from air conditioning to sinks and cooking appliances. When Ecotrak’s users report that a machine breaks, the software automatically notifies the company’s technicians.
“We’re the software between our customers and their vendors, to make sure that everything’s working,” Singer told the Business Journal.
Ecotrak’s customers include coffee chain Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE: BROS), steak restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse, and Flynn Restaurant Group, a franchise operator for Applebee’s, Taco Bell, Panera, Arby’s, Pizza Hut and Wendy’s restaurants.
Its lifecycle management system “creates seamless repairs and maintenance requests to a network of reliable vendors if and when equipment needs attention,” it said last year, when highlighting how the Mendocino Farms restaurant chain uses its platform to accurately plan for equipment repairs and replacement in their commercial kitchens.
The company expects to see its products get more use, following a partnership with San Francisco’s Therma, an equipment monitoring firm that uses IoT technology for refrigeration and HVAC applications.
The deal, announced this month, integrates the two companies’ offerings, allowing restaurant customers to reduce food waste, carbon emissions and save on energy and maintenance costs, according to a statement.
The combined technologies from Ecotrak and Therma will provide software users with real-time emergency alerts and workflow analysis, made possible by Therma’s IoT sensors, which will send temperature and humidity data to refrigeration, heating, ventilation and air conditioning facilities monitored by Ecotrak.
Therma announced its own funding deal last month, a $19 million Series A deal.
Ecotrak 2.0
Ecotrak is releasing an upgraded version of its software next month. The upgrade, Ecotrak 2.0, will simplify its process of onboarding users to the platform and introduce new features such as inventory management and parts ordering.
Later this year, Ecotrak plans to implement AI and machine learning into its software to predict equipment failures before they happen, Singer said. The technology will analyze a piece of equipment’s age, service history and manufacturing data to predict the next time it will fail to reduce and potentially prevent downtime.
“The stretch goal for us is to create a world of automation so much so that your equipment never fails,” Singer said.
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Gala Capital Ups Investments
The investment in Irvine’s Ecotrak LLC continues a busy stretch for Costa Mesa’s Gala Capital Partners LLC, founded in 2015 by Managing Partner Anand Gala, a longtime operator and investor in franchised restaurants.
Brands in the private equity firm’s portfolio include Plano, Texas-based Mooyah Burgers, CiCi’s Pizza of Coppell, Texas and Hopkins, Minn.-based Famous Dave’s BBQ (Nasdaq: BBQ).
Gala last summer acquired 35-year-old coffee chain Dunn Brothers Coffee, which counts over 50 franchise locations across seven states.
At the end of 2022, the PE firm added another restaurant chain, Atlanta-based Rusty Tacos, which has 30 locations across the country. Terms of the deal were undisclosed; the fast-casual taco chain was previously owned by Inspire Brands, which bought a controlling interest in Rusty Taco in 2018 as part of its purchase of Buffalo Wild Wings. The prior owner grew the brand 50% over the past four years, according to industry reports.
Gala Capital, in addition to its restaurant investments, also counts eight active software investments in its portfolio, according to its website.
—Mark Mueller
