# VerdictTank Demo Case: HarvestLink

Staged proposal for the VerdictTank product-marketing video. Fictional company, no real
people, no PII. Intentionally a "typical first-draft" with realistic texture and gaps so the
panel has real material to score.

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## HarvestLink: Direct Farm-to-Restaurant Sourcing

### The Problem
Independent restaurants lose roughly 30% of their produce spend to spoilage and distributor
markup. Small and mid-size farms have no efficient channel to reach restaurants directly, so
they sell through aggregators that take the margin.

### The Solution
HarvestLink is a marketplace and logistics platform connecting local farms directly to
independent restaurants. Restaurants order through a mobile app; farms fulfill through a shared
cold-chain delivery network. Built-in demand forecasting tells farms what to plant and
restaurants what to order, cutting waste on both sides.

### Market
US independent restaurants spend an estimated $28 billion a year on fresh produce. Our three
launch cities (Sacramento, Austin, Portland) represent a $1.9 billion served market.

### Business Model
8% take rate on marketplace transactions plus a $99/month restaurant subscription after a
60-day free trial. Farms sell at a 12-18% premium over wholesale by cutting out the distributor.

### Traction
12 pilot farms and 9 restaurants live in Sacramento. $18,400 GMV in three months, 71% repeat
order rate. Two restaurants churned over delivery windows.

### Team
Founder with seven years in restaurant operations and supply chain at a regional chain. One
contract engineer. No full-time hires yet.

### The Ask
$500,000 seed to build the logistics layer, hire a head of sales, and launch Austin and Portland.

### Use of Funds
40% engineering, 30% sales and onboarding, 20% cold-chain logistics partners, 10% operations.