Season 2, Ep. 7 | Goldi Locks In: Fixing What’s Broken in Ordering Food
In this episode of More Elephant, we sit down with Narda Malakzad and Andrea Laderman — the founders of Goldi, a food-tech platform revolutionizing how hotels and restaurants personalize menus for every guest without making a single change in the kitchen.
What began as two Moms struggling to navigate dinner with dietary needs has grown into an innovative company using data to transform how the world eats.
Goldi empowers diners with menus tailored precisely to their dietary requirements, unlocking dishes that kitchens already know how to make while reducing food waste and enhancing operational clarity and efficiency for hospitality businesses. We navigate the compelling story of a bold idea that didn’t quite scale, the strategic pivot that unlocked Goldi’s potential, and the triumphs and hard truths of fundraising as female founders.
We dive deep into the power of data to transform food service, the entrepreneurial mindset shift from “Why me?” to “Why not me?”, and the promise of making dining joyful, safe, and personalized for all.
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Show Notes
Andrea Laderman is a multi-industry, proven leader in product, revenue growth, business development and executive management. As Co-Founder of Goldi, Andrea has turned her passion for wellness into an industry-leading personalized dining platform with adoption by some of the most respected hotel brands throughout North America.
Prior to founding Goldi, Andrea was the executive in charge of driving revenue for ZING Systems, a Redpoint Ventures-backed company that was sold to Dell Computing. She has also held leadership positions in media and entertainment companies ranging from Napster to Warner Bros. to MGM
Narda Malakzad is a seasoned hospitality entrepreneur and operator with an MBA in Operations and Strategy, currently serving as the Chief Operating Officer of Goldi.
Prior to Goldi, Narda founded The Bookbindery, an acclaimed event venue and culinary space in Los Angeles. She took it from concept to one of the city’s most sought-after destinations for private events, working with luxury brands, celebrities, and top-tier clientele. She led everything from design and construction to team development and full-scale operations—growing the business from zero to highly profitable.
Her operational rigor, hospitality instinct, and guest-first thinking are rooted in both real-world experience and strategic training. With her MBA in Operations and Strategy, Narda bridges the gap between big-picture business goals and the fine details that make service unforgettable.
Key More Elephant Takeaways in this Episode:
Narda and Andrea created Goldi because feeding their own families with dietary needs was nearly impossible. The mission hasn’t changed: bring clarity, dignity, and joy back to eating — anywhere.
They learned the hard way that the last mile in delivery was a dead end. Hotels, however, had everything they needed: ingredients, staff, and a captive guest base. Goldi simply ties it all together.
They open up about the challenges women founders face in funding within the food tech space and how overcoming obstacles has made their vision stronger.
…and more.
More About Goldi:
www.ordergoldi.com | LinkedIn | Instagram | Andrea Laderman | Narda Malakzad
Transcript
More Elephant Intro
[00:00:38] Jason Rudman: It is time for the latest More Elephant podcast and we're in this series around food and entrepreneurs, and I'm delighted to welcome two great entrepreneurs to the podcast, Narda Malakzad and Andrea Laderman, co-founders of Goldi.
Goldi is a food tech platform that helps hotels and restaurants personalize menus based on guest dietary needs. It's about boosting revenues, improving communication, and reducing order errors without requiring new systems or kitchen retraining.
So as part of this series, you will have heard from entrepreneurs that are in the food business, most of them liquids. Narda, and Andrea welcome to the podcast because you're going to take us down a path on a food tech platform that's helping the B2B space to get to the C space. So, welcome, glad you're here.
[00:01:35] Narda Malakzad: Thanks for having us.
[00:01:36] Andrea Laderman: Thank you so much for having us.
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