Restaurant Business
As financing dries up, companies turn to crowdfunding
Tapville
A technology integrated taproom franchise
Naperville, IL
Food & Beverage
Hospitality
Tapville Franchising Inc., dba Tapville, is a tech-forward food and beverage franchising concept that makes it easy to integrate self-pour technology. Innovations like advanced data collection and self-service technology give Tapville Franchising Inc locations the capacity to take remarkable strides in the optimization of the customer experience, all while drastically cutting costs of a traditional restaurant.
$1,064,450
raised
1,924
Investors
$4.5M
Valuation
$1.00
Price per Share
$200.00
Min. Investment
Common
Shares Offered
Equity
Offering Type
$1.07M
Offering Max
0
Days Left
This offering ended on April 27, 2021 and is no longer accepting investments.
Reasons to Invest
Self-service technology and advanced data analytics give Tapville Franchising Inc locations a major edge when it comes to cost-cutting, and also position the brand to appeal to tech natives
Tapville Franchising Inc’s self-pour technology allows for endless taste-testing possibilities, tapping in to the growing trend in craft beer consumption
Founded by a former consultant with expertise in technology integration, Tapville Franchising Inc also has votes of confidence from advisors with formidable credentials in franchising and tech
Welcome to Tapville
We’re the franchisor of a unique data-integrated taproom, on a mission to redefine the hospitality space as we know it. Our franchisees provide a customer experience uniquely tailored to each and every customer. Our goal is to grow the infrastructure of Tapville so that more and more locations can open up with a product we’ve seen people love.
“A category creator: Bringing tech to hospitality.”
The Problem
Restaurants are facing rising costs and providing guests with a personalized experience is incredibly challenging
For years restaurants have operated the same way, based on the same old assumptions.
They’re absorbing the rising costs of labor (the minimum wage was raised in half of all U.S. states in 2020), tolerating naive operational practices resulting in unnecessary waste, and a missed opportunity to adapt to changing market demand. Accenture’s survey found that an astonishing 82 percent of consumers prefer loyalty programs that are tailored to their specific profile.
With the rise of craft beer, very few bars are equipped to offer cost-effective sampling experiences for beer-loving guests.
We believe restaurants are also one of the few industries that have severely lagged in the adoption of smart data strategies to help scale and run their businesses.
*Photos that appear on this campaign page are from franchise locations that are not owned by Tapville Franchising Inc. They are examples of franchised locations.
The Solution
Tapville offers a franchising model for the age of optimization
Tapville is a franchising model that will use the latest in data analytics and self-serve technology to offer guests a smooth experience, and franchisees a system that provides a competitive advantage. As well as offering advertising support with unprecedented access to user data … that they can actually use to engage with current and future guests.
Between our Brick & Mortar, Kiosk, and Mobile Kiosk concepts for shopping malls, airports and superstores, every location has the ability to offer exactly what their target market needs, without wasting a dollar.
We take major steps to reduce the cost of labor through innovations like self pour taps (also reducing wasted draft beer), table tablet ordering, and a smartphone loyalty app, while upping the ceiling for customer satisfaction through an increased level of possible customization.
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By using advanced data collection, our locations are able to create highly specific profiles on all of our customers, and use these insights to market to similar demographics on social media platforms. This also gives up a leg-up when it comes to tweaking the customer experience, adapting the menu options, and more.
*These images are from franchise locations that are not owned by Tapville Franchising Inc. They are examples of franchised locations.
The Market
Gen Z is becoming an increasingly impactful demographic for restaurants and bars
Peak restaurant consumption tends to occur in one’s late 20s and early 30s, and as Gen Z (Born between 1996-2010) ages into that sweet spot, these tech natives will be clamoring for a hospitality brand that mirrors every other part of their lives.
We believe we are also well-positioned to capitalize on the craft beer trend. The craft beer category continued its steady rise, growing by 4% and topping 13% of all beer sales. Thanks to our self-pour taps, our franchisees can offer a beer-sampling experience unparalleled by traditional bars, satisfying guests while collecting higher margins.
In addition to craft beer, our concept also provides wine, cider, kombucha, and craft cocktails all available for self-pour.
In 2019 there were over 770K franchise establishments, and Tapville intends on fusing the massive franchising market, as well as the increased demand for fast-casual, with a data-driven experience in order to become a major disruptor and category creator in the restaurant industry.
We believe we are positioned for growth and success in the post COVID-19 world
Now more than ever, with the lasting effects surely to be caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe our contactless operating procedures, smartphone app ordering, and self-pour technology will be even more desirable to guests with public health concerns.
Our concept has procedures, technologies and workflows to position us as the premier hospitality establishment mitigating guest concerns for COVID-19. For example, guests can enjoy a visit to Tapville using our smartphone app for ordering, pouring beer, and paying for their visit without even touching a tablet, credit card, or paper check. Plus, we’ve been doing this for over 4 years and in our opinion have perfected the guest experience.
It’s very unfortunate that many restaurants will not survive the pandemic. However, we believe the market opportunity for restaurants that are tech-forward with new ways of operating will not only survive but thrive.
“In Our View Restaurants Will Not Just Survive But Thrive After The Pandemic”
In our opinion, Tapville has growth opportunities that haven’t been available since the Great Depression. When many restaurants close locations, we believe operators, labor, and equipment will become plentiful for Tapville. In addition to the excess real estate inventories, workforce and equipment, costs will reduce as well.
Our Traction
Two affiliate locations already notching combined lifetime sales over $5M and spawning major buzz
The concept for Tapville began with two affiliate locations. These 2 affiliate locations already open are generating combined lifetime sales over $5M since their openings in 2016. In addition, we have a franchised kiosk location open. We expect to have additional franchises opening in 2020. Our 2 affiliate locations are majority owned by our CEO, Joseph Tota. As of 2020, Tapville collects a royalty from both Red Arrow locations. The Red Arrow locations will be re-branding to Tapville this year.
Investors are investing only in the Tapville Franchising, Inc., which is selling the Tapville franchise model. Investments in this raise are not investments in the entities that own any of the existing brick and mortar or kiosk affiliate locations. These affiliate locations currently pay a royalty to Tapville Franchising, Inc.
Our brand has also become a hot topic for outlets throughout the Chicago area like the Chicago Tribune, and the Daily Herald.
Through these flagship Brick & Mortar prototypes, we’ve been able to refine our product (thanks to our innovative approach to data analytics), and further establish Tapville to franchise our brand.
*Our 2 affiliate locations, currently under the Red Arrow brand, are majority owned by our CEO, Joseph Tota. As of 2020, Tapville collects a royalty from both Red Arrow locations. The Red Arrow locations will be re-branding to Tapville this year. The Coming Soon locations are franchisee deals that are currently in development and we expect to be official franchised locations, however, this may be subject to change.
We’ve since added a new product that customers can franchise in the form of a kiosk location. The first one is already open in a Chicago shopping mall, where patrons can stroll through the shopping center with adult beverages in tow. Since then, we have had 250+ franchise inquiries hoping to become our next franchisee.
Additionally, 7 of the top 10 REITs (real estate investment trusts) have contacted our team to inquire about adding our concept to their retail centers.
*This image is from a franchise location that is not owned by Tapville Franchising Inc. It is an example of a possible franchise location.
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What We Do
We’re a highly specialized franchising opportunity
Our Brick & Mortar Restaurants are our largest franchised locations. Every element operation is carefully optimized to bring together efficiency and outstanding customer experience.
This starts the moment guests walk in the door: They receive an RFID card (pre-authorized via their credit card), which keeps track of their tab throughout their visit. On their way out, they simply drop their card in an Express Check-out box and they’re free to go. Takeout or delivery is also available via the Tapville mobile app.
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Our other two models are Kiosks and Mobile Kiosks, smaller locations that can be opened in places like retail centers or airports, or, in the case of our Mobile Kiosks, dynamic locations outdoor events, festivals and private events.
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*Images are computer generated demo versions. These are demo locations of potential Tapville models.
The Business Model
Our revenue comes directly from royalties and franchise fees
Franchisees pay us a franchise fee for the right to open up one of our locations. We collect a one-time franchisee fee of approximately $34.5k from brick & mortar and approximately $19.5k from kiosks. We train, market, and support our locations — allowing us to ensure a high degree of consistency among our locations.
We also receive royalty fees from every location, and in return, we give them the right to operate using our brand and trademark.
All capital required to open a location is provided by the franchisee, which helps greatly reduce our upfront costs and risk.
We expect our royalties to scale with the revenue of our locations - we take 5% of the location's total sales annually:
Based on the historical performance of Red Arrow locations, we anticipate new franchise locations to generate once fully operational in the range of $1.2M - $2.5M annually, in which Tapville collects $75K - $125K in royalties per location.
We expect fully operational Kiosks to have unit volumes from $350K - $800K in which Tapville collects $17.5K - $40K in royalties per location.
With our systems, our past franchisees have already outperformed large chains and still haven’t fully realized the economies of scale
The prime cost, which is the metric to gauge the success of a restaurant is the cost of goods sold such as labor, food, and beverage costs. Most large successful chain establishments typically yield 60% - 65% prime cost.
Using our technology and business model built into our franchise can deliver prime cost targets in the 48% - 55% range. We expect Tapville kiosks to deliver a low 30% - 35% prime cost.
We believe that our model for Tapville Franchised locations cuts down on the industry average waste levels by 20%, allowing us a potential gross profit on beverage sales over 82%.
We believe our business model has the ability to outperform large chains when operating at the highest level. Even though we’ve seen this performance at some of our first affiliate and franchised locations, that is not a guarantee that we will see the same performance at new locations. Opening new locations and new businesses contains inherent risks. We are hopeful though that as our franchise system grows, we will further increase our buying power with suppliers to reduce our cost of goods sold. In our view, large chains would have to reconfigure their entire business and operating model to realize these metrics. Today, you would be investing in the Tapville Franchising brand and helping us continue to grow.
How We Are Different
We believe our proprietary data insights give our franchisees a leg up on competitors
We compete with other food and beverage concepts to attract franchisees, and we believe one of our most valuable advantages lies in our tech-forward approach. When we pitch our concept to franchisees, we are able to back up our approach with the latest in data analytics, and promise that their franchise will have the full weight of our optimization strategies behind them.
All of our data is shared among all of our locations, and the larger we grow, the more powerful our data becomes.
Larger chains have tried to copy our model, but we believe that their ingrained processes and intractable investments make the switch far too disruptive.
There are also technology companies who sell relevant self-serve tech, but in our view cannot offer the same level of expertise and hands-on knowledge that we provide to our franchisees.
The Vision
Using technology to disrupt the hospitality industry and become the premier self-service franchisor
We want to completely redefine the hospitality industry by making Tapville known to everyone. Through the number of franchise applications we’ve been seeing, as well as the success of the 3 active affiliate locations that are currently in operation, we truly believe that Tapville has the potential to create a completely new type of experience.
Our Team
Major players with a history of bringing tech to hospitality
Our Founder and CEO Joseph Tota has spent over 20 years as a consultant to some of the world's largest brands in areas like technology integration and organizational development and decided to take all he’d learned and combine it with his love of excellent food and beer to start Tapville.
Alongside Joseph are a team of advisors and investors who run the gambit from franchising experts like Sean Thomas (Grandson of Dave Thomas, Founder of Wendy’s), to data gurus like Brandt Kucharski, Chief Accounting Officer of Grubhub.
Why Invest
We’re a proven concept with a clear path toward fast-paced scale
There’s one thing that every industry has in common: Technology will always be around the corner and poised to disrupt.
Hospitality is an old-fashioned industry, with a ton of inertia, but we have already proven that our concept of bringing tech to the industry was a smashing success, and our waitlist of franchisees can attest to that.
We believe that by taking the best parts about classic bars and restaurants — great beer and delicious food — and eliminating the costly elements that are getting in the way, we have a business model that can become a category-defining phenomenon.
*These images are from franchise locations that are not owned by Tapville Franchising Inc. They are examples of franchised locations.
In the Press
Offering Summary
Company | : | Tapville Franchising Inc. |
Corporate Address | : | 216 S Washington Street, Naperville, IL 60540 |
Offering Minimum | : | $10,000.00 |
Offering Maximum | : | $1,070,000.00 |
Minimum Investment Amount(per investor) | : | $200.00 |
Terms
Offering Type | : | Equity |
Security Name | : | Class B Common Stock |
Minimum Number of Shares Offered | : | 10,000 |
Maximum Number of Shares Offered | : | 1,070,000 |
Price per Share | : | $1.00 |
Pre-Money Valuation | : | $4,500,000.00 |
*Maximum Number of Shares Offered subject to adjustment for bonus shares. See Bonus info below.
COVID Relief
This offering is being conducted on an expedited basis due to circumstances relating to COVID-19 and pursuant to the SEC’s temporary COVID-19 regulatory relief set out in Regulation Crowdfunding §227.201(z).
Expedited closing sooner than 21 days.
Further, in reliance on Regulation Crowdfunding §227.303(g)(2) A funding portal that is an intermediary in a transaction involving the offer or sale of securities initiated between May 4, 2020, and August 31, 2020, in reliance on section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act (15 U.S.C. 77d(a)(6)) by an issuer that is conducting an offering on an expedited basis due to circumstances relating to COVID-19 shall not be required to comply with the requirement in paragraph (e)(3)(i) of this section that a funding portal not direct a transmission of funds earlier than 21 days after the date on which the intermediary makes publicly available on its platform the information required to be provided by the issuer under §§227.201 and 227.203(a).
Investment Incentives and Bonuses*
Time-Based Perks
Friends and Family Early Birds
Invest within the first 72 hours and receive an additional 20% bonus shares.
Super Early Bird Bonus
Invest within the first week and receive an additional 15% bonus shares.
Early Bird Bonus
Invest within the first two weeks and receive an additional 10% bonus shares.
Amount-Based Perks
$250+ | The Beer Expert
Invest $250+ and you’ll receive a 10% Tapville discount, just for owners, to use at all Tapville locations, plus you will receive free access to our online beer education course to become a world-class beer expert.
$500+ | I Am Beer Legend
Invest $500+ and not only will you receive the “Beer Expert” reward, but we’ll commemorate your legacy by putting your name (and photo) on one of our beer wall tap screens. Your legacy and photo image will be digitally engrained on the beer wall until we kick your keg.
$1,000+ | The Pour Master
Invest $1,000+ and you'll receive two Tapville Belgian 16 oz glasses, a Tapville Flight Tasting box with 5 oz tasters, and a 15% Tapville discount card, just for owners. You’ll be set to pour any beer in your Tapville glassware.
$5,000 | My Beer
Invest $5,000+ and you’ll receive The Beer Expert and The Pour Master perks, plus we’ll work with a partner brewery and brew a beer with your name. Your beer will be featured at one of our locations!
$10,000 | The Owner
Invest $10,000+ and you'll receive not only the lower tier merchandise perks but also a 50% discount card for all locations with access to our Rewards Program - this will be sure to impress your friends.
$25,000 | VIP Beer Experience
Invest $25,000+ and we'll provide a guided tour of Chicagoland Breweries with private tours. Additionally, you’ll receive all lower tier merchandise perks and the 50% Tapville discount card.
$50,000 | Keg Stand
Invest $50,000+ and we’ll ship you a kegerator for your home! You will also receive all perks from lower-tier merchandise perks and the 50% Tapville Owner discount card.
If you are interested in purchasing a franchise (qualified applicants), we'll subtract your StartEngine investment from our franchise fees for your own location.
The 10% Bonus for StartEngine Shareholders
Tapville Franchising, Inc. will offer 10% additional bonus shares for all investments that are committed by investors that are eligible for the StartEngine Crowdfunding Inc. OWNer's bonus.
This means eligible StartEngine shareholders will receive a 10% bonus for any shares they purchase in this offering. For example, if you buy 100 shares of Class B Common Stock at $1.00 / share, you will receive 110 Class B Common Stock, meaning you'll own 110 shares for $100. Fractional shares will not be distributed and share bonuses will be determined by rounding down to the nearest whole share.
This 10% Bonus is only valid during the investors eligibility period. Investors eligible for this bonus will also have priority if they are on a waitlist to invest and the company surpasses its maximum funding goal. They will have the first opportunity to invest should room in the offering become available if prior investments are cancelled or fail.
Investors will only receive a single bonus, which will be the highest bonus rate they are eligible for.
*All perks occur when the offering is completed.
Irregular Use of Proceeds
The Company might incur Irregular Use of Proceeds that may include but are not limited to the following over $10,000: Vendor payments.
Show More
Most recent fiscal year-end:
Prior fiscal year-end:
Total Assets
$102,673.00
USD
$20,000.00
USD
Cash And Cash Equivalents
$1,886.00
USD
$20,000.00
USD
Accounts Receivable
$1,843.00
USD
$0.00
USD
Short Term Debt
$1,955.00
USD
$0.00
USD
Long Term Debt
$90,000.00
USD
$0.00
USD
Revenues And Sales
$6,684.00
USD
$0.00
USD
Costs Of Goods Sold
$0.00
USD
$0.00
USD
Taxes Paid
$0.00
USD
$0.00
USD
Net Income
-$9,282.00
USD
$0.00
USD
Risks
A crowdfunding investment involves risk. You should not invest any funds in this offering unless you can afford to lose your entire investment. In making an investment decision, investors must rely on their own examination of the issuer and the terms of the offering, including the merits and risks involved. These securities have not been recommended or approved by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority. Furthermore, these authorities have not passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this document. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not pass upon the merits of any securities offered or the terms of the offering, nor does it pass upon the accuracy or completeness of any offering document or literature. These securities are offered under an exemption from registration; however, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not made an independent determination that these securities are exempt from registration.
Updates
Thank you for helping us reach our goal!
about 1 year agoThank you to our team of supporters for helping us to reach our goal. There is still time to join our waitlist if any spots open up for Tapville.
Read our press release here: https://www.tapvillesocial.com/press-release-tapville-raises-1m-startengine
Last call for Tapville, we raised over $1,000,000 and our campaign is almost closed
about 1 year agoThank you to our community of investors. It's the last call for Tapville. We've raised over $1,000,000 and our campaign will be closed very soon.
Investors: We will be fulfilling perks when our campaign is over. Look for emails when our campaign closes about fulfillment of perks.
Hurry, don't miss out!
about 1 year agoTapville just passed $900k raised! Thank you again for all the support. Our campaign ends in just 17 days. Don't miss out on the opportunity to invest in our growth.
Read more press releases here: www.tapvillesocial.com/press
We reached a $875k milestone, campaign closing soon
about 1 year agoThank you to our community of investors for your support. We reached a $875k milestone. Our campaign will be closing in 19 days.
Check out our new TapWall licensed product
about 1 year agoJust earlier this year we announce the launch of our new product, TapWall. It's a self-contained system that can be shipped and installed directly by a customer. Tapville brings the latest in data analytics and optimization to our industry partners. TapWall is a licensed product available to industry partners. Learn more here: www.tapvilletech.com
Tapville is coming to Raleigh, North Carolina
about 1 year agoTapville is very excited to announce the signing of a franchise agreement for Raleigh, North Carolina. We are very excited to enter the North Carolina market with our concept.
Notice of Funds Disbursement
about 1 year ago[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello!
As you might know, Tapville has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in Tapville be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.
This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.
Thanks for funding the future.
-StartEngine
Tapville signs agreement for hotel industry
over 1 year agoTapville is excited to announce our partnership with My Place Hotel. Read the press release here: http://tapvillesocial.com/press-release-tapville-agreement-my-place-hotel
We made the news
over 1 year agoAt Tapville, we value spending precious time with friends & family. Our business model is focused on bringing friends & family together to enjoy a social experience. We deliver on that through our technology and the venues where we install our locations.
The retail sector has been hit very hard throughout the pandemic. Before the pandemic, Tapville installed a kiosk in a shopping mall in Rosemont, IL to introduce local craft breweries to shoppers. The concept was to enable the purchase of local craft beer, mimosas wine and host events. Tapville also enables patrons to stroll around the mall. We were able to carefully partner with local municipalities to change their liquor ordinances for Tapville's use.
We are very excited to announce that we added another location in the retail sector in Aurora, IL, The Fox Valley Mall. Read more about how Tapville is partnering with large retails to help bring shoppers back to brick & mortar.
https://www.nctv17.com/news/self-serve-tapville-social-kiosks-coming-to-fox-valley-mall/
https://wgntv.com/news/vote-for-self-serve-booze-at-fox-valley-mall-set-for-tuesday/
We achieved a $700k milestone
over 1 year agoThank you to our investors and community! We've reached $700k in investments. We have more exciting updates coming soon!
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