Marc Lapides, Former National Restaurant Association Executive, Joins Booming Food Safety Company
PathSpot is proud to announce and welcome Marc Lapides to lead sales and marketing for the company. Marc joins PathSpot most recently from the National Restaurant Association and Winsight Media, where he was Vice President, Marketing, Programming & Communications for both organizations.
On August 1st, PathSpot closed $2MM Series II Seed Funding round that brings the total series seed funding to $4MM, led by FIKA Ventures and Walden Venture Capital. The funds will be used to add development, sales and marketing talent as well as ramp up production to keep up with strong demand.
PathSpot manufactures a system that protects food service companies and their customers from the threat of foodborne illness. The PathSpot device scans employees’ hands to identify the presence of harmful contamination, all in less than 2 seconds. A number of large chains, smaller operators, and universities across the food service industry have launched PathSpot, where the system is alerting employees of invisible contamination, enhancing a positive culture around sanitation, and using data to help plan and protect against future risk.
“I’m thrilled to join PathSpot and founders Christine Schindler and Dutch Waanders,” said Lapides. “I instantly liked Christine and Dutch when I met them at this year’s National Restaurant Association Show, but what made the decision easy was their sincere commitment to making a difference in public health. That’s an easy mission to rally around.”
“We’re so happy to have Marc on-board,” said Schindler. “His time at the NRA, years in the restaurant space, and experience with brands and organizations including Coca-Cola, Hershey, Cosi Restaurants, the White House, Leo Burnett, Razorfish, and others made for a great match for PathSpot. Demand for PathSpot is off the charts from restaurants taking a serious look at food safety. Marc is here to help identify new partners and spread the word about our simple, yet effective tool in the fight against foodborne illness.”
“There are 48 million cases of foodborne illness every year in the US,” said Waanders, “and proper handwashing is the most effective way to reduce the incidence of Salmonella, E. coli, Norovirus, Hepatitis A and Listeria. PathSpot monitors the frequency and efficacy of handwashing of every front line and back-of-the-house employee, ensuring compliance with proper procedures. Every restaurant of every size – and their diners – can benefit by ensuring workers hands are clean when preparing and serving meals.”
Lapides joined the New York, NY company on August 1st.
PathSpot is a company dedicated to improving public health by protecting diners in restaurants and other foodservice locations from foodborne illness. Founded in 2017 by Christine Schindler and Dutch Waanders, biomedical engineers from Duke University, PathSpot’s hand scanner instantly detects invisible signs of bacteria and viruses that cause foodborne illness including Norovirus, E. coli, Listeria, Hepatitis A, and Salmonella. New York-based PathSpot is backed by Fika Ventures, Walden Venture Capital, and other leading investors.
