Step 19 · Build & grow
Public chapterDistribution
Position
SwiftBite will launch through founder-signed restaurants and merchant-owned customer touchpoints, with checkout and customer records retained in its licensed platform. Expansion beyond those routes is conditional on positive contribution after courier wage protection, attributable acquisition costs, and reliable delivery inside the launch zone. Paid marketplaces and commission-bearing resellers are excluded from launch.
Channel map, channel economics per route, partner terms, ful
Route ownership. The founder owns merchant recruitment, channel attribution, partner settlement, and launch dispatch. Restaurants own menu accuracy and preparation commitments; couriers own safe transport and delivery confirmation. The software vendor supplies ordering, routing, settlement exports, and consent records under a cancellable licence.
| Route | Discovery → purchase → fulfilment → reorder | Control and capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Founder field sales | Owner introduction → signed merchant agreement → menu activation → staff briefing | Strong relationship control; founder time limits onboarding |
| Merchant-owned placement | Restaurant website button, counter card, receipt QR → SwiftBite checkout → courier → consented reorder link | Primary consumer route; scalable across the merchant base |
| Direct return traffic | Saved checkout link or consented message → checkout → courier | No referral toll; SwiftBite retains transaction history |
| Embedded local partners | Employer or apartment newsletter → tagged restaurant collection → checkout → courier | Test only after merchant placement passes; no exclusivity |
| App stores | Listing → licensed app → same checkout and dispatch | Convenience route, not launch acquisition dependency; browser checkout remains available |
Merchant agreement. Commission applies to food subtotal only, excluding tax, tips, and delivery charges. No listing, activation, mandatory promotion, or payment-processing surcharge is added to merchant invoices. Restaurants retain menu-price control; SwiftBite does not require exclusivity or parity with another platform.
| Term | Contract position |
|---|---|
| Merchant commission | Capped at 12%, as advertised |
| Consumer delivery fee | $3.99, displayed before checkout; no undisclosed service surcharge |
| Settlement | Weekly proposed schedule; itemized orders, commission, refunds, and adjustments |
| Refund allocation | Restaurant-funded only for documented preparation or missing-item fault; SwiftBite funds courier or platform failures |
| Termination | Proposed rolling agreement with 30 calendar days’ notice; immediate suspension for safety or fraud |
| Customer access | Merchant receives order-service details; promotional contact requires recorded consent |
| Embedded partner payment | $0.20 per completed order for the referred customer’s first 10 orders (estimate); no payment on refunded or self-referred orders |
| Partner restrictions | No sub-affiliates, customer-data resale, misleading discounts, or authority to change prices |
Route economics. Acquisition spend remains separate from order contribution. Referral expense is deducted from contribution whenever payable.
| Route | Acquisition hypothesis | Contribution after route fee | Test rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant QR and website | $120 spend / 40 new purchasing households = $3 CAC (estimate) | $0.71/order (estimate) | First |
| Direct reorder | No paid reacquisition; messaging included in software allowance | $0.71/order (estimate) | Retention cohort alongside first test |
| Embedded partners | $60 setup / 20 new purchasing households = $3 CAC (estimate), plus contingent referral payments | $0.51/order during referral period (estimate) | Second |
| Paid social, aggregators, resellers | No launch allocation | Unproven after acquisition and intermediary fees | Deferred |
Fulfilment procedure. Checkout rejects addresses outside the launch boundary before payment. Restaurant acceptance releases dispatch; readiness confirmation triggers pickup. Couriers verify the receipt identifier and sealed bag, then record delivery confirmation. The founder resolves exceptions through the dispatch console; restaurants never negotiate courier pay.
| Control | Launch rule |
|---|---|
| Service boundary | Grounded 4-mile radius, downtown and adjacent neighbourhoods; validate road-time feasibility before activation |
| Operating windows | Proposed lunch and dinner windows only; publish availability before accepting orders |
| Courier compensation | Published $5 per completed delivery (estimate), plus tips and mandatory wage-floor top-ups |
| Wage protection | Record accepted availability, waiting, and delivery time; top up each settlement to the applicable local minimum-wage equivalent |
| Capacity | Pause checkout when available couriers cannot meet the displayed promise; no unpaid compulsory standby |
| Delivery promise | Initial 45-minute target (estimate), revised before payment when capacity changes |
| Batching | Only compatible pickups; maximum 10 additional minutes per order (estimate) |
| Failure handling | Notify customer immediately, offer cancellation when materially late, and document refund cause |
| Launch software gate | Successful payment, refund, settlement, dispatch, data-export, and outage-recovery tests |
The numbers
| Item | Figure | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Food basket | $35 (estimate) | Pilot hypothesis, not observed demand |
| Revenue per order | $8.19 (estimate) | Capped commission plus delivery fee |
| Payment cost | $1.43 (estimate) | Assumed 2.9% + $0.30 on $38.99; excludes jurisdiction-dependent tax effects |
| Courier base / wage reserve | $5 / $0.40 (estimate) | Replace reserve with actual top-ups |
| Variable software / failure allowance | $0.30 / $0.35 (estimate) | Vendor quote and pilot validation required |
| Direct contribution | $0.71 (estimate) | Revenue less listed variable costs |
| Direct CAC recovery | 5 completed orders (estimate) | $3 acquisition hypothesis divided by contribution, rounded up |
| Merchant acquisition | $115 per activation (estimate) | $150 cash plus 40 founder hours valued at $25, across 10 activations |
| Month-12 target contribution | $6,390/month (estimate) | Grounded 300 daily orders; assumed 30 days, all direct |
| Personal-burn commitment | $67,200 (estimate) | Grounded $4,800 monthly burn across 14 months |
| Remaining capital | $17,800 (estimate) | Grounded $85,000 less personal-burn commitment; before business costs |
Decisions and trade-offs
Merchant distribution wins priority over paid reach. Restaurant traffic is not free: printed material, onboarding effort, and founder time remain in acquisition reporting.
The contribution hypothesis leaves little room for slow routing. Wage top-ups take precedence over margin; failing windows close rather than reducing courier compensation. City break-even remains unproven until fixed software, insurance, dispatch, and administration costs fit within actual contribution.
Do this next
| Action | By when | What proves it worked |
|---|---|---|
| Obtain licence, insurance, processor, and classification advice | Before accepting orders | Signed costs and lawful operating arrangement |
| Activate merchant-placement pilot | Launch week | Working tagged links and trained restaurant staff |
| Review first cohort | After 100 completed orders (estimate) | Reconciled acquisition, contribution, and delivery ledger |
| Approve embedded test | After merchant route passes | Signed terms and isolated attribution |
Risks in your situation
Low baskets, scattered demand, and restaurant waiting can erase contribution. Contractor classification and minimum-wage treatment require local review before launch. Vendor outages must disable ordering rather than accept unfulfillable purchases. Never print SwiftBite promotions inside aggregator orders without contractual permission.
Evidence gate
- ☐ Merchant cap and transparent checkout verified against settled orders.
- ☐ Actual courier top-ups included in contribution.
- ☐ Channel cohorts identify first purchase, delivery outcome, refund, and reorder.
- ☐ Acquisition cost recovered within the observed customer cohort.
- ☐ Delivery promises met consistently without unsafe routing or unpaid waiting.
- ☐ Fixed-cost budget and remaining capital support the next channel test.