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Our Story

We want to share our love of dining out with you. It’s simple.

Why we started

Inspiration for First Table sparked when our founder, Mat Weir, discovered a new approach to dining that he’d never come across before.

Tucked away in Queenstown, New Zealand, was a small French restaurant offering 50% off their first table of the night. Excited to try a new restaurant at half the cost, Mat booked the ‘first table’ for him and his family.

The experience seemed too good to be true – they ordered entrées, mains and desserts, sampled daring local delicacies and enjoyed a good bottle of wine, without breaking the bank.

Curious to understand the model, Mat asked the waiter how the restaurant benefited from the promotion. It was simple – the ‘first table’ helped build an atmosphere from the start of service to attract more customers. It was a win-win for restaurants and diners alike.

Already a tech entrepreneur, Mat saw an opportunity to build an online marketplace to solve the problem of slow starts to evenings, at scale.

Why we started
Our startup story

Our startup story

To achieve quick results, Mat needed to limit distractions and stay focused. A limited budget and sheer determination led him to Koh Samui in Thailand where he spent 12 hours a day, seven days a week buttoned up in a cheap seaside resort building a custom made booking system from scratch.

It took hard work and many sleepless nights, but six weeks later, he returned to Queenstown with a finished website, ready to get his first customers on board. Without any previous sales experience, Mat realised there was no better training ground than a humble, door-to-door effort. He walked from venue to venue learning what resonated with owners and managers, refining the value proposition along the way and officially launched First Table in September 2014 with ten ‘keen as mustard’ restaurants.

With intentions of expanding into ten cities, the hustle continued. Mat set off in a relocation campervan, driving from Christchurch to Auckland pitching to restaurants along the way. By day, he’d meet with restaurant owners, and by night, he’d drive to the next city. Fast-forward to today, restaurants and diners are using First Table in over 50 cities around the globe.

What we stand for

Our business model is unique in that it’s a win-win solution that benefits both the restaurateur and customer (very rare, so we hear!). With a compelling offer on the first table of the night, we’re inspiring hundreds of thousands of people to broaden their culinary landscapes by dining out more often. As a result, we’re cultivating an open and collaborative platform that helps restaurants leverage otherwise empty tables.

As our business has grown, we’ve harnessed the energy of startup culture at its best. We’ve built a team of smart, passionate foodies who thrive on making a difference for customers and love what they do.

In our world, we practice integrity and empathy to build partnerships that last a lifetime. While our Kiwi ingenuity gives us the drive and desire to constantly improve and reimagine the global dining experience.

What we stand for
Our vision

Our vision

The relationship between people, food and technology is continuously evolving. Our vision is to be at the forefront of the restaurant-tech industry by always innovating, and elevating dining experiences around the world.

From humble beginnings as a one-man-band in Queenstown, we’re transitioning from startup to scaleup as we bring First Table to foodies in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Our focus remains on delivering a world-class product and service as we grow to reach our goal of making First Table available for everyone worldwide.

We’re excited to ‘meet’ the world but will always remain proud to be a Kiwi business, one that does things a bit differently. With our head office in Queenstown, we remain connected to our roots and inspired by the land and people around us.

What people are saying

Sean Stack

Dined at Portlander Bar and Grill

If you want to take a risk on some new cuisine, eat somewhere that would usually be out of your price range, or make eating out more of a routine than a luxury, then I cannot recommend First Table highly enough.

Alex Tuckett

Dined at Pilu at Freshwater

First Table has allowed us to reach a wider audience, enabling diners that may not have thought to dine with us previously the chance to experience Pilu at Freshwater at a lesser cost. Our hope is that diners will enjoy a... Read more

Chassy Holden

Dined at Sweat Shop Brew Kitchen

This is what I love about First Table the most – these places we discover that we never would have found otherwise. Like this place! Wow!

Liv Reynolds

Dined at Mamacita Restaurant

We are loving First Table! It is a great model that benefits the restaurateur and the customer (very rare!).

Sarah Lane

Dined at Tamarind Restaurant

Amazing, not only was the restaurant and food wonderful... the whole process was easy and such a fantastic idea. Loved every moment and would highly recommend.

Leigh Stock

Dined at McGavins Restaurant

I must admit I was sceptical at first about this opportunity, however, after talking with the First Table team it became apparent how much of a difference they could make to our dining numbers. People attract people and by... Read more

Our Team

Mat

Mat

Founder and CEO

Casey

Casey

Chief Commercial Officer

Simon

Simon

Chief Financial Officer

Jess

Jess

Operations Manager

Robyn

Robyn

Marketing and Communications Manager

Ben

Ben

Lead Developer

Jessie

Jessie

NZ/Aus Country Manager

Ella

Ella

B2B Marketing and Partnerships Executive

Ravi

Ravi

Head of Performance Marketing

Jessica

Jessica

Marketing Assistant

John

John

Marketing Support Specialist

Damien

Damien

Senior Developer

Frans

Frans

Senior Developer

Emanuel

Emanuel

Solutions architect

Jarryd

Jarryd

Developer

Bryan

Bryan

Senior Developer

Harrison

Harrison

Apprentice Developer

Louise

Louise

Client Success Specialist

Simona

Simona

Client Success Executive

Chris (Squid)

Chris (Squid)

Business Development

Beaulieu

Beaulieu

Business Development Manager - Christchurch

Jackie

Jackie

UK Account Director - London

Elliott

Elliott

UK Territory Manager

Neil

Neil

UK Business Development Manager - Manchester and Liverpool

Brooke

Brooke

QLD Business Development Manager

Elizabeth

Elizabeth

Territory Manager - NSW

Maurizio

Maurizio

Head of Growth - Victoria

Calvin

Calvin

Head of Growth - Upper North Island

Jordan

Jordan

Head of Growth - Central New Zealand

Paula

Paula

Customer Support

Faye

Faye

Customer Support

Elaine

Elaine

Customer Support

Dia

Dia

Customer Support

William

William

Customer Support

Timmy

Timmy

Customer Support

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