Our Story
With a shared recognition of the long-unaddressed needs of restaurant operators, Matt and Osa co-founded ClearCOGS. Both Matt and Osa have a deep understanding of the unique challenges and pressures faced by restaurants and are dedicated to using their knowledge and expertise to support and empower individuals in the industry.
Matt’s journey as a restaurant owner was not an easy one. At just 21 years old, he was given the opportunity to buy a struggling sandwich shop. The AC was out, you smell that the grease trap hadn’t been cleaned in months, no staff, ice buckets on the equipment compressors to keep them from overheating, the list went on and on. Despite these challenges, Matt worked tirelessly to turn the business around. He put in long, grueling hours and sacrificed his own well-being to get the restaurant back on track and went on to open and operate multiple more locations. Having put in the long, grueling hours and sacrifices required to run a successful restaurant, he knew that there had to be a better way.
That’s where Osa enters the scene. Osa, originally from Nigeria, moved to Indiana at the age of 18 to study Electrical Engineering at the University of Illinois in Champaign (Matt’s hometown). After completing his Masters in Computer Engineering and working for a few years in Silicon Valley, Osa launched his first startup, where he met Matt. After selling his startup to one of their largest customers, Osa co-founded Fifth Star Funds, a nonprofit venture capital firm focused on investing in minority-led companies in the Chicago region.
Restaurants are the heart of our communities, but the operational challenges they face are overwhelming. At ClearCOGS, we’re using AI to simplify those complexities, empowering restaurant owners with the tools they need to thrive.
Osa OsarenkhoeCTO
It wasn’t until Matt dove into the world of programming and data science that the idea for ClearCOGS was born. What started as a project between Osa & Matt to reduce food waste quickly turned into the restaurant industry’s first AI operations manager.
Now, ClearCOGS acts as a translator between complex machine learning and the needs of restaurant managers, providing real-time answers to the everyday questions faced by restaurants. Together, Matt and Osa are dedicated to helping restaurants streamline their operations, reduce their costs, and increase their profits.
Osa
Osarenkhoe
Osa is well versed in the Startup world, having launched two prior ventures as well as, co-founding Fifth Star Funds Venture Capital in Chicago where he still sits on their investment committee. Osa holds a Masters Degree in Computer Engineering from Boston University and a BA in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Matt
Wampler
He started his journey in restaurants early, taking over a failing Jimmy Johns franchise right out of college. After turning it around he spent the next 7 years opening additional units before exiting the business in 2018. After learning to code over the pandemic, Matt became consumed by the disparity between today’s technology and the tools currently available to operators. Possessed with the mission to close that gap, ClearCOGS was born.