ASK

💶

$1M SAFE · 18 months runway · Path to $3M ARR

The strategic case for $1M

We're not raising to survive — we're raising to compound.

Profitable May 2026 — $19K+ combined monthly revenue ($11K SaaS MRR + $8K Coca-Cola brand revenue) with 80%+ GM on subscription, 90%+ on brand. Payback period 2.5 months.
US market validated — 4 paying restaurants live in NYC, 10+ in pipeline; foodie GTM channel validated at 60% engagement rate vs ~2% from cold outreach (30× hit rate, validated Q1 2026)
Coca-Cola accelerating + Birell next — Coca-Cola commercial rollout across 120 restaurants from May 2026 with +30% sales lift validated; Birell (Asahi group) 20-venue pilot launching ahead of the original September plan as second brand deal; expansion to Sprite, Fanta, Smartwater, Costa Coffee lined up across 25+ brand managers inside Coca-Cola alone

This $1M is offense capital, not survival capital.

The play — inventory first, brands follow

The traditional playbook: land a brand → onboard restaurants for their campaigns. We've proven we can do this (Coca-Cola pilot).

The bigger play is the inverse: build inventory (restaurant network) independently of any single brand → create competitive bidding on the brand side.

Why this works now

Brand demand exceeds our current supply — Coca-Cola live + Pepsi, Red Bull, Liquid Death, Olipop in active conversation. We're rate-limited by inventory, not interest.
Brand auction mechanics — when 5+ brand managers want the same restaurant network slice, we set the price. CPM goes from negotiated to bid.
Defensibility compounds — every restaurant added before a brand contract becomes locked-in inventory for the next brand to access. Supply head-start = pricing power head-start.
The window is now — we're past two-sided cold start. Momentum is fresh, brand-side demand exceeds supply, US market tested. Optimal moment to scale supply aggressively before competition catches up.

The strategic shift

From brand-led demand chasing → supply-led market making. Approach brands from a position of strength: "Here's the inventory. Here's who else is bidding. What's your offer?"

The ask

Amount: $1M
Instrument: SAFE
Receiving entity: HeroContent Inc. (Delaware C-corp)
MFN: yes · Pro-rata: offered to lead + first commits
Valuation & terms: discussed on call

Use of funds

50% — US restaurant growth — free-tier rollout, onboarding ops, AI Curator Network scale (organic, ~\$70 CAC), lock in 1,000 active restaurants across 5 target markets
25% — Brand sales — land 2–3 more beverage brands alongside Coca-Cola; brand-side ops to capture US-originated inbound
15% — Product and AI — campaign automation, scale infra, Tier 2/3 monetization (offer integration + in-venue push), content modalities (video / reels)
10% — Operations and runway flexibility — G&A, legal, US Country Manager hire (Q3 2026), buffer

Milestones (18 months)

3,000 restaurants in network + 1,000 active in brand campaigns
4 brand partners live (Coca-Cola + 3 new anchors)
US market launched with first US-side brand campaign
$3M+ ARR run-rate by month 18 (path to seed)

Why now

Coca-Cola anchor secured — commercial launch May 2026 on 120 restaurants delivers measurable ARR foundation
Category window — Restaurant Commerce Media (RCM) growing 30%+/yr (Uber Ads +60%, DoorDash +40%, Meituan +33%) but no off-platform player has won the category
Non-alc heat — \$30B+ US trade marketing in non-alcoholic beverage; Liquid Death \$1.4B, Poppi → PepsiCo \$1.95B exits prove brand investor appetite
Team validated — Elisey (food + tech-enabled SMB exits), Anton (20+ yrs IT, ex-WhoAPI/500 Startups), David (CCO Commercial, ex-Head of Sales NutritionPro \$0 → \$7M ARR across 3 countries)

Path to break-even

With $19K+ combined monthly revenue (subscription 80%+ GM, brand 90%+ GM) and Coca-Cola commercial scaling from May 2026, HeroContent reaches profitability this quarter. The $1M raise extends runway to 18 months and funds the transition from pilot to scale.