Zitti

Zitti is a financial technology company focused on the restaurant and foodservice industry, founded in 2020 by Dante DiCicco and Erek Benz. The company is headquartered in the Los Angeles area and aims to provide independent and small-to-medium-sized restaurants with the operational advantages typically enjoyed by larger chains.

The founding of Zitti is rooted in personal experience and professional expertise. CEO Dante DiCicco grew up in a family of independent restaurateurs, giving him a firsthand understanding of the financial and operational hurdles smaller establishments face. His professional background includes roles at BlackRock and nearly seven years at Snap, where he focused on corporate partnerships, monetization, and international expansion. Co-founder Erek Benz brings experience in building marketplace platforms, having co-founded CREXi. This combination of deep industry knowledge and tech-sector experience underpins Zitti's mission to address longstanding challenges in the food supply chain, such as unfavorable payment terms and manual, paper-based processes.

Zitti's core offering is a platform that integrates payments, credit, and analytics for restaurant back-office operations. The business model is designed to streamline accounts payable, allowing restaurants to manage all their vendor invoices and payments in one cloud-based portal. A key feature is the ability to offer flexible and extended payment terms, helping restaurants manage cash flow more effectively. The platform also provides AI-driven analytics and insights into purchasing patterns and spending, helping owners identify areas for cost savings and negotiate better prices with suppliers. For early users, the company waived transaction fees, indicating a strategy focused on user acquisition and demonstrating value. The company has successfully raised a total of $12 million in funding over two Series A rounds to fuel its growth and technology development.

Keywords: restaurant fintech, foodservice payments, invoice management, restaurant operations software, supply chain finance, food industry analytics, accounts payable automation, restaurant credit solutions, vendor payments, back-office technology, food cost management, restaurant procurement, AI-driven insights, purchasing analytics, restaurant financial tools, cash flow management, food and beverage tech, hospitality technology, SMB restaurant solutions, digital payments