# David Rabie

> David Rabie is the Chicago-based co-founder and CEO of Tovala, a vertically integrated food-tech company that pairs smart ovens with chef-prepared meals. The idea began during his MBA at Chicago Booth, won the school’s 2015 New Venture Challenge, entered Y Combinator, and found its first large audience through Kickstarter. After a financing deal collapsed with only weeks of cash left in early 2020, Rabie and his team secured bridge funding, improved pricing and margins, and kept building. Tovala has since reached profitability and, in 2026, announced its 50 millionth meal.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Tovala
- **Organizations:** Tovala, Y Combinator, Google, Foundation Capital, Veggie Grill, Groovy Spoon, Draftpedia
- **Education:** BA in History, University of California, Santa Barbara, MBA in Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Marketing, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- **Known for:** Won the University of Chicago Booth School of Business New Venture Challenge in 2015, receiving $70,000 in combined prize money., Led Tovala through Y Combinator’s winter 2016 program., Raised $255,603 from more than 1,000 backers in Tovala’s 2016 Kickstarter campaign after passing the $100,000 goal within 24 hours.

## Career timeline

- **2009** — Graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in History; later spent time in China and worked in food businesses.
- **2012-2014** — Co-founded and led Draftpedia, a sports reference app.
- **Before 2013** — Worked with a Veggie Grill co-founder and ran the bi-coastal frozen-yogurt chain Groovy Spoon.
- **2013-2015** — Earned an MBA at Chicago Booth, with periods at Google and Foundation Capital.
- **2015** — Founded the company first known as Maestro, won Booth’s New Venture Challenge and brought technical co-founder Bryan Wilcox aboard.
- **2016** — Joined Y Combinator’s winter batch and raised $255,603 from more than 1,000 Kickstarter backers.
- **2017** — Tovala began shipping ovens and meals to customers.
- **2020** — After a planned Series B collapsed with about three weeks of cash left, Rabie secured bridge financing and then completed a $20 million round.
- **2021** — Tovala announced a $30 million Series C to expand production, team and service reach.
- **2024** — Rabie said he had continued a nearly decade-long practice of sending a Monday email to the full team.
- **2025** — Rabie wrote that Tovala had reached profitability while continuing to grow.
- **2026** — Tovala announced that it had served its 50 millionth meal.

## Achievements

- Won the University of Chicago Booth School of Business New Venture Challenge in 2015, receiving $70,000 in combined prize money.
- Led Tovala through Y Combinator’s winter 2016 program.
- Raised $255,603 from more than 1,000 backers in Tovala’s 2016 Kickstarter campaign after passing the $100,000 goal within 24 hours.
- Guided Tovala through a failed financing and near-cash crisis in 2020, securing emergency capital and subsequently closing a $20 million Series B.
- Led Tovala to profitability while maintaining growth.
- Built Tovala to 50 million meals served by 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Tovala announced its 50 millionth meal, including one million chicken parmesan meals and more than 16.4 million hours of cumulative oven runtime.
- **2026-04** — Rabie discussed Tovala’s near-collapse, vertical integration, talent development and profitable growth on The Kara Goldin Show.
- **2026-03** — Inc. profiled how Rabie recovered from the 2020 funding collapse that left Tovala with about three weeks of cash.
- **2025-01** — Rabie wrote publicly about Tovala reaching profitability while continuing to grow, and Kickstarter profiled the company after it passed 30 million meals.
- **2024-12** — In a leadership interview, Rabie described his nearly decade-long Monday email ritual and Tovala’s evolving culture.

## Links

- Website: https://www.tovala.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrabie/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/daviderabie
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Tovala
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tovalafood/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tovalafood

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/david-rabie
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27