Flip Sasser and his coworkers at Back Forty are moving on up just over a mile to the east side.

Canton-based food delivery platform OrderUp has acquired the two-year-old Fells Point startup, Sasser confirmed. The news was first reported by the Baltimore Business Journal.

We sat down with the team at Back Forty earlier this year, and also learned about how Sasser works. Sasser cofounded the firm with Ed Schmalzle in June 2012.

“Flip and Ed grew a successful business that fits with OrderUp, both professionally and culturally. Sharing the same views and values, we can accelerate the product pipeline and ultimately the velocity of the business,” Chris Jeffery, CEO and co-founder of OrderUp, said in a company release. “Our combination of creative minds will allow us to create the best experience for all of our stakeholders.”

"We're building the 1992 Olympic Dream Team of Baltimore's tech talent at OrderUp. Bringing on Back Forty is like adding Charles Barkley to the starting lineup." OrderUp vice president of engineering Kyle Fritz

Sasser and his four coworkers have already moved into OrderUp’s Boston Street offices and are tying up loose ends for other clients. OrderUp was one of Back Forty’s 10 clients, Sasser said.

“They were one of 10, but I think they were the most active client we had,” Sasser said. “They had the most interesting problems that needed solving.”

Either by itself or through franchisees, OrderUp’s delivery drivers serve restaurants and eaters in 36 markets nationwide.

“Believe it or not, it’s incredibly complicated stuff, figuring out who to route where,” Sasser said.

Back Forty brings Ruby on Rails and iOS talent to the table at its new home.


“We’re building the 1992 Olympic Dream Team of Baltimore’s tech talent at OrderUp,” Kyle Fritz, OrderUp’s vice president of engineering, said in the release. “Bringing on Back Forty is like adding Charles Barkley to the starting lineup.”

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. It’s OrderUp’s first acquisition since Revolution Ventures and LivingSocial cofounder Tim O’Shaughnessy led a $7 million investment in the firm.

“I’m incredibly excited about the resources available to us,” Sasser said. “I guess I get to do what I really dreamt about doing, which is helping contribute to the growth of a company through user interface on a much bigger scale than I ever would have at Back Forty.”

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