Seed Round · $750,000 · Open

The model
no one else
has tried.

PlateLocal is a food marketplace where home chefs keep 100% of every sale. We earn through a $1.50 flat transaction fee and optional chef subscriptions. Three service-disabled veteran co-founders. Portland beta launching 2026. Meal prep subscriptions start at $195/week (15 meals · 3/day · Mon–Fri) — Factor's comparable coverage costs $142–$170 at their best discounted rate, from anonymous commercial kitchens, shipped nationally.

$750K
Seed target
0%
Chef commission
5
Revenue streams
Request the pitch deck
Full financials, model, expansion roadmap, and team deck sent within 24 hours.

Deck sent to qualified investors within 24 hours. invest@platelocal.app

📬
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We'll follow up at your email within 24 hours with the full pitch deck and financials.

Mercury Business Banking · Account Active

Financial infrastructure
built for investor confidence.

Mercury business banking approved. EIN established. Texas LLC active. SDVOSB certification in progress. Every dollar accounted for from day one.

🏦
FDIC Insured to $5M
Via Mercury's banking partners. Wire-ready for investor deposits.
Stripe Connect integrated
Chef payouts flow through Stripe to Mercury. Every transaction traceable.
📊
Three dedicated accounts
Operating · Chef Payout Reserve · Seed Capital — separated from day one.
🔐
Audit-ready books
Clean financials from the first dollar. No co-mingling. Due diligence ready.
Revenue Model

Five streams.
Zero chef commission.

Stream 1
Transaction Fee

$1.50 flat fee per order, charged to the customer. Not deducted from the chef. Scales linearly with volume.

$1.50
per transaction
Stream 2
Chef Pro Accounts

Optional monthly SaaS subscription for chefs. Standard $29 · Certified $19 · Elite $12. Free base tier for all.

$12–$29
per chef per month
Stream 3
Diner Plus

Consumer membership unlocking exclusive access to private chef bookings and meal prep subscriptions — free members cannot book these. Meal prep pricing starts at $195/week and varies by chef and plan. Diner Plus members get priority matching. Access scarcity drives conversion and retention.

$9.99
per diner per month
Stream 4
Event & Dinner Upcharge

A 5% platform booking fee applied to private chef dinners and corporate catering events — charged to the client on top of the chef's rate. Chef quotes their full price; client pays the fee separately. Chef keeps 100%.

5%
on events & private dinners
Stream 5
Promoted Listings

Chefs pay for priority search placement — like Google Ads inside PlateLocal. Chefs keep 100% of sales; they pay for visibility only. High-margin, no operational cost.

$40–$200
per chef per month
Competitive Advantage

The model that changes
chef recruitment forever.

Platform Chef Commission Chef Keeps (on $25 order) Differentiated?
DoorDash Marketplace15–30%$17.50–$21.25No
Uber Eats15–30%$17.50–$21.25No
Grubhub5–25%$18.75–$23.75No
PlateLocal0% — zero$25.00 — full amountYes

No major competitor offers 100% chef payout. Switching from 25% to 0% commission would cause investor backlash for any existing platform — this moat cannot be easily copied. Factor (formerly Factor 75), the leading meal prep subscription service, charges $7.94–$11.50/meal at discounted intro rates ($9.49–$13+ at full price) for food produced in anonymous commercial kitchens and shipped nationally. PlateLocal's meal prep starts at $13/meal — cooked fresh this week by a named local chef, delivered Sunday, with full macros. The premium is local, fresh, and chef-direct.

Named chef
Not a factory
Real food
Made today
Fresh ingredients
No preservatives
Subscription model
Recurring revenue

Three veterans.
One platform.

PlateLocal was founded by three service-disabled veterans — Portland OR, San Antonio TX, and Augusta GA. SDVOSB certification in progress. This is not a backstory. It is our primary investor targeting strategy and our community acquisition channel.

SDVOSB certification unlocks Hivers & Strivers, Warrior Rising, Bunker Labs, and federal contracting eligibility
SAM.gov registration in progress — required for all federal grant programs
Hivers & Strivers identified as lead investor — veteran-founded company thesis aligns directly
Grant pipeline: Hiring Our Heroes · FedEx Entrepreneur Fund · Warrior Rising — all applications in progress
Expansion Roadmap

From Portland to national
in 24 months.

Beta · Now
Portland, OR
Launch 2026

Beta market. Dense food cart culture. Active fitness community. Strong home cooking scene. Demand data already collecting via national ad targeting.

Market 2 · Month 6
Austin, TX
Mid 2026

Large young professional demographic. Strong fitness culture. Tech-forward food scene. Waitlist signups already appearing organically from national targeting.

Market 3 · Month 9
San Antonio, TX
Late 2026

Large military community creates natural demand for SDVOSB-founded platform. Rich home cooking culture. Strong meal prep market.

Market 4 · Year 2
Atlanta, GA
2027

Large food culture, diverse culinary community, strong Black entrepreneurship ecosystem. Co-founder based in Augusta — natural regional network.

Use of $750K Seed Round

Capital deployed precisely.
Runway extended intelligently.

App Development (React Native)$80K–130K
Chef Recruitment & Onboarding$40K
Marketing & Waitlist Ads$30K
Operations & Delivery Infrastructure$25K
Legal, Trademark & Compliance$20K
Working Capital & Reserve$505K+

Remaining capital extends runway 12–18 months post-launch. Profitable on transaction fees alone at 200+ daily orders. Capital-efficient by design.