
SeatNinja
Best in class front of house management software Manages wait lists and reservations for a fraction of the price of other guys.
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SeatNinja, founded in 2012 by Michael Reinero and Justin Stofle, developed a reservation and seating management tool for the full-service restaurant industry. Reinero, a former CFO of an office equipment provider, and Stofle, who served as CTO, established the Sacramento-based company to provide an online platform for restaurant discovery and table booking. In a notable 2016 milestone, Reinero and business partner Matt Thompson appeared on CNBC's 'Billion Dollar Buyer' to pitch their startup. The company secured a total of $970,000 in funding over five rounds, with its largest seed round of $550,000 occurring in August 2018.
The company's core product was a software platform that integrated waitlist and reservation management, front-of-house seat management, and customer data collection into a single interface. Designed for scalability, the system was created to be easily deployed and integrated across multiple restaurant locations, including large chains. Key features included two-way texting with guests, real-time tracking of server sales and rotation, and an API that allowed for integrations with platforms like Facebook and Google for direct bookings. The business model was based on a simple monthly fee, positioning itself as a more affordable alternative by not charging per-cover fees, a common practice among competitors like OpenTable.
SeatNinja served a range of clients from individual restaurants to national chains, including select locations of Maggiano's, Outback Steakhouse, and Buffalo Wild Wings. The platform was designed to integrate with over 30 point-of-sale (POS) systems, enhancing operational workflow and enabling the creation of detailed customer profiles. On August 11, 2020, the software and payments company SpotOn Transact Inc. acquired SeatNinja for an undisclosed sum. Following the acquisition, SeatNinja was rebranded as 'SpotOn Reserve' and integrated into SpotOn's broader suite of restaurant technology solutions, which includes online ordering, contactless payments, and other digital tools.
Keywords: restaurant management software, reservation system, waitlist management, front of house, table management, POS integration, restaurant technology, seating management, customer data platform, online booking, restaurant operations, SpotOn Reserve, Michael Reinero, Justin Stofle, restaurant SaaS, guest experience, server rotation, online reservations, restaurant discovery, hospitality technology, FOH management