Tattle presents a straightforward case for a mobile-first customer experience management (CEM) platform targeting the restaurant and retail sectors. The deck positions Tattle as a private, constructive alternative to public review sites like Yelp, using a 'feedback for deals' loop to drive repeat revenue for merchants. With a very modest ask of $150,000 at a $1.5 million valuation, the company focuses heavily on its early pilot success—specifically citing $100 in repeat revenue from just 8 purchases at a single location. While the deck lacks deep competitive analysis or a robust long-term fin…
Key takeaways
- The company defines its vision as a real-time, incentivized version of the customer comment card on slide 3.
- Tattle reports having 8 restaurant locations and 200 total users at the time of the deck's creation, as noted on slide 6.
- A pilot at 'Burger Creations' resulted in 35 feedback submissions and $100 in revenue from 8 repeat purchases, according to slide 5.
- The business model relies on a merchant subscription fee of $100 per month or $1,200 annually, shown on slide 8.
- The deck includes a specific funding ask of $150,000 at a $1,500,000 valuation on slide 9.
- Funding allocation is highly detailed, including $65,000 for founder salary and $40,000 for a business development associate on slide 9.
- The company claims to be in acquisition discussions with NCR, which owns 45% of the POS market, as stated on slide 10.
- The management team consists of two members, Alex Beltrani and Joseph Kaufman, both with degrees from 2009-2010, per slide 11.
Executive Summary: The Digital Comment Card
Tattle enters the Customer Experience Management (CEM) space with a focus on the 'private feedback loop.' By incentivizing customers to provide data directly to merchants rather than venting on public forums, Tattle attempts to solve the problem of 'scarring and fabricated' reviews. The deck is a classic early-stage seed presentation: high on vision and pilot data, but lean on long-term financial modeling and competitive moats.
Slide 1: Title Slide
The cover slide features the Tattle logo and a mobile app login screen mockup. The tagline 'For Good. For Bad. For Deals.' is visible on the phone screen, immediately establishing the three pillars of the user experience: positive feedback, negative feedback, and the incentive layer.
Slide 2: Tattle Solutions
This slide uses a side-by-side comparison to contrast current market problems with Tattle's solutions. It identifies competitors by logo, including Yelp and SurveyMonkey. The 'Problems' column lists issues like 'Outdated and time consuming' (paper cards), 'Scarring and fabricated' (Yelp), and 'Too long and off premise' (SurveyMonkey). Tattle counters these with 'Real-time feedback analysis,' 'Constructive and private feedback,' and '4 quick questions at the point of sale.'
Slide 3: The Tattle Vision
The vision slide defines the product as the 'real-time, constructive, and incentivized version of the customer comment card.' It emphasizes two value propositions for merchants: actionable operational insights and repeat revenue generated through digital deals. The language is clear and avoids excessive jargon, focusing on the 'overall value of their business.'
Slide 4: How Tattle Works
This slide illustrates the dual-sided nature of the platform. On the left, the 'Tattle App' shows a survey interface asking, 'How is our menu selection?' with options ranging from Excellent to Poor. An arrow points to the 'Merchant Account' on the right, which displays a dashboard. The dashboard breaks down feedback into categories like Service (Friendliness, Greeting, Attentiveness) and Food (Portions, Quality, Temperature), showing percentage scores and 'Category Approval' bars.
Slide 5: Pilot Location: Burger Creations
Tattle uses a specific case study to prove efficacy. At 'Burger Creations,' the manager reportedly needed insights into staff attentiveness and food temperature. Tattle collected 35 submissions, which led to improved service and $100 in revenue from 8 repeat purchases. While $100 is a small figure, the inclusion of such granular data suggests a high level of transparency regarding their early testing.
Slide 6: Tattle Progress to Date
This slide provides a snapshot of the company's current status. The product is described as a 'working prototype' with iOS and Android apps and a PHP-coded merchant back-end. Traction is quantified at 8 restaurant locations and 200 total users. The company also signals intent to expand beyond restaurants into beauty, retail, gyms, and car dealerships.
Slide 7: Market Opportunity
Tattle defines its market as Customer Experience Management (CEM). It cites a growth trend in the U.S. CEM market from $1.28 billion in 2012 to an estimated $2.68 billion in 2017. The slide defines CEM as a solution used to understand customer experiences related to specific products and services, though it does not provide a source for these market figures.
Slide 8: How We Will Make Money
The business model is broken into three segments. The 'Restaurant Market' section notes that Quick Service and Fast Casual dining comprise 850,000 locations. 'Tattle’s Opportunity' sets a target of 15 locations per month per salesperson, with a merchant subscription fee of $100/month ($1,200 annually). The 'Gross Margins' section lists annual COGS at $71,000, which includes a sales rep salary of $35,000 and commissions of 31% per month per location.
Slide 9: Year-One Financials
This is the 'Ask' slide. Tattle is seeking $150,000 at a $1,500,000 valuation. The table provides a line-item budget for the funds: $65,000 for founder salary, $40,000 for a business development associate, $30,000 for programming, $5,000 for marketing materials, $5,000 for hardware/travel, and $10,000 for office/incubator space. This level of detail in a seed ask is rare and provides investors with a clear picture of the 'burn' rate.
Slide 10: Strategic Relationships
This slide focuses entirely on a potential relationship with NCR/Aloha. It claims 'Acquisition discussions with NCR since the ideation phase' and notes that Aloha owns 45% of the POS market. The slide suggests a data synergy where Aloha provides feedback and Tattle provides purchase history. It concludes by mentioning a meeting scheduled for the 'coming months for further direction.'
Slide 11: Management Team
The team consists of two individuals. Alex Beltrani (Founder/CEO) is a University of Michigan graduate (2010) with experience in sales strategies and local advertising. Joseph Kaufman (Marketing) is a Quinnipiac University graduate (2009) with a background in business development and digital marketing. The slide lacks specific company names for their 'vast start-up experience,' focusing instead on general skill sets.
Slide 12: Closing Slide
The deck ends with the company's slogan: 'For Good. For Bad. For Deals.' There is no contact information or 'Thank You' on this final slide, which is a minor but notable omission for a pitch deck.
What Works Well in This Deck
The Tattle deck excels at transparency. By including the specific name of their pilot location (Burger Creations) and the exact dollar amount of revenue generated ($100), they avoid the 'vague traction' trap that many seed-stage companies fall into. The financial ask is also exceptionally well-defined; most founders are hesitant to list their own salary in a pitch deck, but Tattle puts it front and center, which can build trust with investors who want to know exactly where their capital is going.
The 'Problem/Solution' slide is also effective because it doesn't just list competitors; it lists the specific failure modes of those competitors (e.g., Yelp being 'scarring' or SurveyMonkey being 'too long'). This helps position Tattle not just as another survey tool, but as a strategic alternative to public reputation damage.
What Is Missing from This Deck
The most glaring omission is a deep dive into the technology. While the deck mentions the back-end is 'PHP coded,' there is no mention of how the app integrates with existing Point of Sale (POS) systems. Given that slide 10 focuses on NCR/Aloha, the technical feasibility of this integration is a critical piece of the puzzle that remains unexplained. If the user has to manually enter data or if the merchant has to run a separate tablet, the friction might be higher than the deck suggests.
Furthermore, the 'Management Team' slide is light on specific achievements. Stating 'vast start-up experience' without naming the startups or the outcomes of those ventures makes it difficult for an investor to vet the founders' track records. Finally, there is no discussion of the competitive landscape beyond the initial problem slide—specifically, how Tattle plans to defend its position against larger CEM players who could easily add a 'deal' feature to their existing survey tools.
What a Founder Should Copy
Founders should emulate the 'How We Will Make Money' slide (Slide 8). It connects the market size to a specific sales activity (15 locations/month/salesperson) and then flows that into a revenue and COGS calculation. This shows that the founders have thought through the unit economics of their sales force, not just the product. Additionally, the 'Year-One Financials' table (Slide 9) is a model of clarity for a small seed round. It answers the 'What will you do with the money?' question before the investor even has to ask it, which streamlines the due diligence process.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Tattle's core product offering?
- Tattle offers a mobile application for consumers to submit short, four-question surveys at the point of sale in exchange for deals. For merchants, it provides a back-end dashboard (coded in PHP) that delivers real-time, actionable feedback data across categories like service, food quality, and atmosphere. This is intended to replace public, often biased review platforms with private, constructive communication.
- How does Tattle plan to generate revenue?
- Tattle utilizes a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. According to slide 8, they charge merchants a subscription fee of $100 per month, totaling $1,200 annually. The deck also outlines a sales strategy where one salesperson is expected to close 15 locations per month, aiming for a total of 162 locations annually to reach approximately $117,000 in annual revenue.
- What traction does the company demonstrate in the deck?
- Tattle highlights a pilot at a location called Burger Creations, where they collected 35 feedback submissions. On a broader scale, slide 6 indicates they have 8 total restaurant locations and a user base of 200 people. They also mention seeking validation in other industries such as beauty services, retail, gyms, and car dealerships.
- What are the specific terms of the investment being sought?
- Tattle is seeking $150,000 in funding at a pre-money valuation of $1,500,000. Slide 9 provides a transparent breakdown of the 'Year-One Financials,' showing that the majority of the funds ($105,000) are earmarked for salaries, while the remainder covers development ($30,000), marketing materials, hardware, travel, and office space.
- Does Tattle have any strategic partnerships?
- Slide 10 claims that Tattle has been in acquisition discussions with NCR since the ideation phase. It notes that NCR's Aloha platform owns 45% of the POS market and that Tattle's purchase history data complements Aloha's customer feedback needs. However, the deck does not confirm a signed partnership, only 'in coming months' meetings for 'further direction.'