Turn your best regulars into owners.
A founding-member club with capped perks + year-end give-back.
Raise $150k–$500k in 30 days, fill your slow nights, and share a small slice of profit at year-end—no coupon wars, no new debt.
90-Day Founders Sprint
Exact timeline from launch to locked-in weeknight traffic
Prep
Menu guardrails, POS hookup, calendar slots, staff brief
Founders Sale
500–1,000 members @ $500. No discounts, capped perks only
Programming
2 anchors/week + 1 flex. Track margin, refine, optimize
Review
Scale to venue #2, continue, or pause with exit ramp
Timeline = certainty. Operators commit when they see an exact run-of-show with clear milestones and off-ramps.
No Margin Erosion Guardrails
We protect your margins with hard caps and smart programming
Capacity Windows Only
Mon–Thu off-peak slots. No weekend or peak-hour redemptions.
Hard Cost Cap Per Visit
Prix-fixe or bounded menu keeps food cost % locked in.
Bev Cross-Subsidy
Cocktail/wine attach pre-modeled to offset food perks.
Auto-Pause Kill Switch
If net margin dips below baseline for 2 weeks, redemptions pause.
10% Discount Cap
$300/year maximum. Server-enforced at POS.
Profit-Only Give-Back
20% of incremental profit. You keep 80% + all founder cash.
Show me the math
Illustrative scenario: 700 founders @ $500
Upfront Capital
Incremental Profit
*All figures illustrative. We model with your P&L, seats, tickets, and COGS before launch to show exact targets and guardrails.
Why not Groupon / loyalty / investors?
| Option | Cash Now | Margin Impact | Customer Quality | Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Loan | Yes (debt) | Neutral | N/A | Covenants |
| Equity Investor | Yes (dilution) | Neutral | N/A | Loses control |
| Groupon / Deals | No | High negative | Bargain hunters | Low |
| Generic Loyalty | No | Mild negative | Points chasers | Medium |
| Co-op Founders Club | Yes (no debt/dilution) | Protected | Regulars & referrals | Full |
No debt. No dilution. No bargain-hunter damage.
You transform regulars into founders who plan their weeknights with you.
90-Day Performance Guarantee
Risk-reversed. You're protected at every milestone.
Performance Promise
If we don't beat your baseline by $25k net incremental profit in 90 days, we work an extra month at no fee and tighten guardrails. Still under? Walk away clean with all your founder cash.
Pause Switch
Pause member redemptions during kitchen outages, private buyouts, or staffing constraints. Members see alternate dates. You stay in control of your capacity.
Exit ramp at Day 90. No penalties. No forced commitments. If it's not working, you keep your founder capital and walk.
Who this is perfect for
- ✓Chef-led independents with 60–180 seats
- ✓Venues with two softer weeknights (Mon–Thu capacity)
- ✓Strong neighborhood followings and special-occasion traffic
- ✓Operators willing to earmark weeknight inventory for member programming
- ✓Small groups that want a repeatable club model across multiple venues
Who this is NOT for
- ✗QSR chains or franchises
- ✗Venues already at or above capacity nightly
- ✗Kitchens unwilling to offer prix-fixe or bounded menus
- ✗Teams allergic to community messaging or member events
- ✗Concepts that require deep discounting to move traffic
Operator quotes
"$312k in 28 days. Tuesday is our favorite shift now."
Chef/Owner
South Suburban Steakhouse, Chicago IL
"The guardrails saved our margin. We're not discounting strangers anymore."
GM
Multi-Venue Group, Detroit MI
"Members brag about being 'owners.' It's community with receipts."
Partner
Neighborhood Kitchen & Bar, Portland OR
Typical outcomes in 60–90 days
in founding support
of Tue–Thu sales from members
extra visits per member (break-even)
Straight answers
Is this legal?
Yes. Members buy access and capped perks; no equity is sold, no revenue share. Year-end give-back is a discretionary, formula-based member benefit from incremental profit only. We'll align with your accountant—this is a marketing/membership program, not a securities offering.
Are we just discounting people who'd come anyway?
No. Benefits are small, capped at $300/year, and aimed at your quieter weeknight windows. The point is incremental visits. We stop you from discounting strangers and reward the people who already believe in you.
Will this crush our margin?
We design it so it won't. Prix-fixe/bounded menus, weekday-only windows, beverage cross-subsidy, and an auto-pause if net margin dips for 2 weeks. Guardrails, pacing, and smarter programming protect your bottom line.
Will we be slammed on weekends?
No. Founder perks are weekday-weighted with blackout windows on peak nights. You earmark Mon–Thu off-peak inventory, not your profitable Saturday service.
What if members only order water?
Prix-fixe menus + beverage incentives + server prompts keep attach rates at or above target. We model the cross-subsidy before launch.
What if it works too well?
Capacity governor caps redemptions per slot. We scale to a second seating, add a third weeknight, or expand to venue #2.
What if it flops?
90-day performance guarantee + exit ramp. You keep your founders' cash and assets. No penalties. No forced Year-2 commitment.
What if our list is small?
We start where you are. Founders-300 is a powerful, realistic first cohort that can generate $120k–$150k upfront.
Ready to make Tuesday feel like Saturday?
Get your free Founders Sprint Plan (15-minute fit check).
We plug in your seats, tickets, COGS, and staffing to show targets and guardrails—tailored to your P&L.