If you’re building or scaling a restaurant technology company, one truth stands out: great products don’t sell themselves.
I’m Paul Molinari, Founder and Principal Consultant at Popcorn GTM. I’ve worked with early-stage startups and high-growth teams across the restaurant tech landscape. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that success comes down to how well you go to market—not just what you’re selling.
Here are the three GTM strategies every restaurant tech founder needs to master.
- Click the image above for the presentation.
1. Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Too many vendors start with “we sell to restaurants.” That’s not a strategy—that’s a category.
The real move is to narrow in on a clear ICP. Are you going after QSRs, full-service independents, or enterprise groups with national scale? Are your best-fit customers SMBs with specific tech stacks or franchise groups in growth mode?
Your ICP shapes your messaging, your sales targets, even your product roadmap. And when it’s clear, everything else gets easier—because your solution speaks directly to the problems your customers actually face.
2. Master the Sales Process
Sales and marketing alignment isn’t optional—it’s essential.
You need to define your pipeline stages and agree on what qualifies as a lead. What does a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) look like in your funnel? When does it become a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)? What triggers handoffs, and how are you tracking conversion rates?
Founders who ignore this lose momentum, burn leads, and can’t forecast effectively. But when your sales and marketing teams are in sync and working from the same playbook, you unlock efficiency and repeatability—two things that fuel growth.
3. Leverage Strategic Partnerships
Here’s where the most successful restaurant tech brands really separate themselves: they don’t go it alone.
Integrations with POS systems, partnerships with other tech providers, and placements on key marketplaces aren’t just added value—they’re growth multipliers.
Operators want tools that work together. The more embedded your solution is within the restaurant tech ecosystem, the more valuable—and sticky—it becomes. Strategic partnerships are the unlock that expands reach, accelerates adoption, and strengthens your competitive position.
Ready to Build Smarter?
If you’re a founder in the restaurant tech space and want support building a go-to-market engine that actually drives results, let’s talk. At Popcorn GTM, we help early- and growth-stage teams turn strategy into traction with proven playbooks and real-world expertise.
And if you’re looking for more insights like these, check out Savor.FM—home to some of the best voices in the industry. I also co-host Restaurant Masterminds, where we dig deep into the strategies, stories, and lessons that matter most for tech builders in the restaurant space.
Let’s make your GTM strategy a growth engine—not a guessing game.
→ Reach out at Popcorn GTM and follow along on Savor.FM.
