gtm_report
6.2 Channels
Go-to-Market Report
Forge
How Forge wins regional chains store by store, then unlocks national
Chain HQ direct sales backed by integrator distribution
Founder-led HQ sales, 55% of new ARR by month 18
NRA Show and FSTEC events, 25% of pipeline annually
Welbilt and Heritage integrator channel, 20% of new contracts
HQ intro > pilot 1-3 stores (45%) > multi-store rollout (70%)
CAC $18k, pilot-to-production 70%, payback 3.6 months on a $144k contract.
Founder-led sales into regional chain HQs
Andre owns every ops conversation, converting 4x cold rep teams.
Chain HQ deals
First contract is 1-3 stores; scale within the chain post-validation
Industry events
NRA Show and FSTEC reach every chain decision maker once a year
Foodservice integrators
Lease through Welbilt and Heritage; familiar contracts for operators
Founder-led sales
Andre runs ops conversations; conversion 4x vs cold rep teams
Pilot-to-production
Three paid pilots active; nine stores in production conversations
Pilot proves savings, savings unlock chain rollout, rollout funds capex.
Current: 3 paid pilot chains and 9 stores in production conversations, with first multi-store contract expected Q3 2026.
One cell type, every chain menu
Recipe OS lets a single Forge cell run wok, pasta, and grill chains.
Modular cell platform
One hardware SKU serves every chain, cutting build cost 40%.
Recipe OS
New menu loaded in 72 hours, no hardware change.
In-house build
From three cells today to seven hundred by year five
Integrator leasing
Welbilt and Heritage handle financing, install, and field service.
Remote ops desk
24/7 Brooklyn team runs 100 cells per operator.
Every chain win compresses build, deploy, and service cost.
Target: 700 active cells by end of Year 5, each generating $72k annual subscription revenue at 65% gross margin.
Three-channel cell production and deployment stack
Brooklyn in-house build line, 60% of Y1 cells, full margin control
Welbilt and Heritage integrators, 30% of cells, national field coverage
Contract manufacturing partner online Y2, 50% capacity by Y3
98% uptime, 14-day deploy, $2,110 monthly COGS per cell
Cell ships from Brooklyn, wheels into the kitchen in one closed shift, plugs into 240V, live within 14 days of PO.
One pain point, three chain buyers at HQ
The Regional Chain COO
40-55, COO at 5-50 store fast-casual chain, $20-150M revenue
Loses 6 hours daily covering unfilled line-cook shifts across stores
NRA Show, FSTEC, Nation's Restaurant News, peer COO Slack groups
14-day deploy, no capex, single-vendor accountability for uptime
Pays $7,000 monthly loaded labor per cook, will pay $6,000 for Forge cell
The National Chain Innovation Lead
35-50, VP Innovation at 100+ store chain, $250M-$2B revenue
Board pressure to show automation roadmap with hard ROI numbers
FSTEC, FSR Magazine, Hospitality Technology, corporate procurement networks
Proof at peer chains, integrator-backed contracts, multi-site service SLAs
Test budget $500k annually for pilots, scales to $5M+ at rollout
The Multi-Unit Franchisee
45-60, owner-operator of 3-15 franchised units, $5-30M revenue
75% line-cook turnover wipes out store-level margin every year
Franchisee associations, NRA Show, peer referrals, brand-mandated tech lists
Cash-flow neutral month one, brand approval, financing through integrator
Pays $84k yearly per line cook, willing to lease cell at $72k yearly
Direct-first to chain HQ, integrator-led national scale
DirectAndre-led HQ sales close 55% of new ARR through month 18
IndirectWelbilt and Heritage lease channel drives 20% of contracts
CommunityNRA Show and FSTEC put Forge in front of every chain decision maker
Channel StrategyDirect (55%, live now), Integrators (20%, Q4 2026), Events (25%, annual cycle)
Strategic PartnershipsWelbilt (national lease + install network), Heritage Foodservice (mid-market chain access), NRA (event credibility plus chain decision-maker reach)
