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verdicttank/demo-case-harvestlink.md
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root 6ac8a185ef Add demo cases (HarvestLink v1/v2), subscription technical contract, portal + ops-portal HTML
- demo-case-harvestlink.md + v2: fictional staged proposals for product-marketing video (no PII)
- CONTRACT.md: subscription model / contact form / receipt fixes technical contract (read-only analysis 2026-08-19)
- portal/index.html + ops-portal/: customer portal + ops portal single-file builds
- .gitignore: demo-creds*.txt excluded
2026-08-26 02:26:50 -04:00

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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.


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.