On today’s episode, we welcome David Rabie, Founder and CEO of Tovala — the smart oven and chef-prepared meal service transforming how people cook and eat at home. What started as an idea while David was earning his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business has grown into a category-defining business that combines food, software, and hardware to make fresh meals easier than ever. With a simple scan of a QR code, Tovala’s countertop smart oven automatically cooks chef-prepared meals using thousands of tested cook combinations — eliminating the need for planning, chopping, or cleanup.
Inspired by the everyday challenge of finding time to cook fresh meals at home, David combined his passion for food and technology to build a completely new model for modern home cooking. Since launching in 2017, Tovala has sold more than 40 million meals nationwide and built one of the most loyal customer bases in the meal delivery category. By vertically integrating the oven, software, and food experience, the company has been able to deliver consistency, convenience, and quality at scale.
In this episode, David shares the early inspiration behind Tovala, how he thought about margins and business fundamentals from the very beginning, and why vertical integration became the key to unlocking the company’s success. We discuss navigating near financial collapse in 2020, the leadership lessons that shaped him as a founder, and why cooking at home still matters in a world dominated by delivery apps. From building smarter with limited capital to creating a culture that promotes talent from within, this conversation offers a candid look at what it takes to build and scale a truly differentiated consumer business.
If you’re interested in the future of food technology, building capital-efficient companies, or how founders navigate the toughest moments of scaling a startup — this episode is for you. Tune in now on The Kara Goldin Show.

Are you interested in sponsoring and advertising on The Kara Goldin Show, which is now in the Top 1% of Entrepreneur podcasts in the world? Let me know by contacting me at karagoldin@gmail.com. You can also find me @‌KaraGoldin on all networks.

To learn more about David Rabie and Tovala:
https://www.tovala.com
https://www.instagram.com/tovalafood/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-rabie/

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Check out our website to view this episode’s show notes: https://karagoldin.com/podcast/824