Forkfluence Platform
A plain-English guide to the technology powering Forkfluence
Built for reliability, speed, and growth
Each box is a service. Arrows show how data flows.
📱
Diner’s Phone
Customer finds your restaurant
🌐
Forkfluence Website
Menu, ordering, checkout
🗄️
Database
Stores orders, menus, earnings
💻
Restaurant Tablet
Kitchen sees incoming orders
💳
Payment Processing
Stripe handles money securely
🔔
Notifications
SMS + email alerts
📊
Influencer Dashboard
Creators track their earnings
Every piece is independent and can be upgraded without breaking the others
What each piece does, in plain English
This is where your website lives — like the building that houses your restaurant, but online.
Vercel serves your website to customers around the world in milliseconds.
What we need: Nothing — already set up
This is the filing cabinet — it stores every order, every menu item, every influencer’s earnings, every promo code.
Without it, the platform has no memory.
What we need: Create a free Neon account → we get a database URL
This handles sign-in for everyone — diners, influencers, your restaurant staff, and admins.
It’s like having a bouncer who knows everyone and checks IDs at the door.
What we need: Create a free Clerk account → we get API keys
This processes credit card payments securely. When a diner pays for their order, Stripe handles the money.
Think of it as your digital cash register.
What we need: Your Stripe account (or we create one) → API keys
In Phase 2, Stripe also handles splitting payments between your restaurant and influencers automatically.
This powers the live order updates — when a diner places an order, your kitchen screen updates instantly without refreshing.
Like a walkie-talkie between the kitchen and the customer.
What we need: Create free Upstash account → connection URL
The platform works without this — orders just update slightly slower.
Sends order confirmations, receipt emails, influencer welcome messages, and payout notifications.
Like having a dedicated mailroom for your platform.
What we need: Create free Resend account → API key
Without this, emails are logged but not sent. Orders still work.
Sends text messages to customers when their order is ready for pickup. This is the #1 most important notification.
Like texting your customer: “Your pizza is ready! Pickup code: 7291”
What we need: Create Twilio account → phone number + credentials
Cost: ~$0.0075 per text (~$7.50 per 1,000 orders)
Watches for errors and bugs so we can fix them before customers notice. Like a security camera for your code.
What we need: Create free Sentry account → DSN key
The platform is running in “demo mode” — everything works with simulated data
A recipe for launch. Follow each step in order.
Sign up for each service (all have free tiers):
We take the API keys from each service and connect them to the platform. This is like plugging in the electrical outlets.
We run a script that creates all the tables and loads your Corner Crust menu automatically.
One command pushes the platform live on Vercel. You’ll get a real URL.
If you want it at forkfluence.com or order.cornercrust.com, we connect the domain.
We tell Stripe and Clerk where to send notifications — like giving them your mailing address.
You send invite links to your influencer contacts. They sign up, get their promo codes, and start sharing.
Place a real test order, verify payment goes through, check the kitchen sees it, verify the text message arrives.
Do you already have one for Corner Crust? If yes, we use it. If no, we’ll set one up together.
Do you want a custom domain? (e.g., forkfluence.com, order.cornercrust.com)
SMS costs ~$0.0075/text. Roughly $7.50 per 1,000 orders.
Who should we invite as Founding Creators? Names and emails.
We’ve proposed “Forkfluence” — confirm or suggest alternatives.
We loaded your full menu from your website. Review it for accuracy and pricing.
Verify the hours for both locations are correct.
Honest numbers. No hidden fees.
$0-20
per month at launch
Most services have generous free tiers
~$50-80
at 500 orders/month
Platform costs + Stripe fees
2.9% + $0.30
Stripe per order
Unavoidable for card processing
Phase 2 and beyond
Other local spots can join the platform
Stripe automatically divides each order between restaurant, platform, and influencer
Integrate with DoorDash’s driver network for delivery (pickup-only at launch)
Creators can apply directly instead of invite-only
Native iOS/Android app for diners
Built by OSOF
Ready to go from demo to live orders