Business Brief · October 2026Business Brief · October 2026A short business brief on what two Bay Area companies, and two friends, could build for the restaurants they both care about, and why the timing is now.
Jonatan,
Some of the best things in this business begin the way good dinners do: friends at the same table, talking about what's working and what's hard. That's the spirit of this page. It isn't a pitch. It's me putting on paper something I keep thinking about every time I look at what you've built.
Solia was born on a real floor, in the 6 pm crunch, and it shows. Gaian was born the same way: standing next to owners at the counter, helping them get paid, run lighter and stay open. We serve the same people from two different sides of the night. I think we'd serve them better side by side, and the sooner the better.
— André
Solia reads the POS and turns last night's sales into tonight's sixty-second lesson, gives every server the line to use at the table, sends a private recap after close, and lands a clean closeout in the owners' inbox before they're awake. It respects the people on the floor: no leaderboard, numbers kept private, a manager who always makes the final call.
Casa Sofia, San Francisco · June–August 2026, as published by Solia.
Hardware, processing and the hands-on setup, with merchants we serve personally across the Bay Area.
Integrations that connect the POS to the rest of the business, so owners run lighter with fewer logins.
A personal AI agent that answers, follows up and handles the work in between, including a WhatsApp agent for customer conversations.
Today the connection is Toast only, in Solia's own words: "Toast today, more POS coming." The next connection decides the next market.
Our merchants run Clover, and they have the same gaps Solia closes: training, follow-through and a clear morning report. Right now there's nothing like Solia we can offer them.
Both teams are Bay Area, both come from hospitality, and both sell on trust. Starting together locally costs little and teaches a lot.
Solia's partner program (referral, certified sales, implementation) means a shared path doesn't have to be invented from scratch.
Solia opens to Clover, and Gaian opens its Clover restaurants to Solia. We help test and shape the connection with friendly venues, then introduce it to our merchants as part of how we serve them. Solia gains a second POS and a ready audience. Gaian gains a meaningful reason for merchants to stay.
Gaian joins the partner program and brings Solia into the restaurants we meet every week, starting as a referral partner and growing into certified sales and on-site implementation. We'd agree on simple house rules up front, so nobody ever steps on anyone's toes.
Solia makes the floor sharper. GAI could cover what happens before guests arrive: messages, WhatsApp follow-ups and reservation reminders. Those are the moments that could one day feed Solia's guest cards. It complements Solia's own coaches rather than replacing them.
| Solia | Gaian | |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | A second POS and a warm path into Clover restaurants | A proven, floor-tested product to offer its merchants |
| Trust | Introductions from someone the owner already buys from | A partner with real results from a real dining room |
| Revenue | New venues on recurring plans, no extra sales headcount | Recurring partner income and implementation work |
| Loyalty | Restaurants that stay because training runs on the shift they already work | Merchants who stay because their POS now does more |
| Learning | Feedback from Clover venues before scaling the connection | A deeper view of what restaurants need after the sale |
"Nobody remembers the software. They remember their server."
Solia's own line, and the reason we'd love to do this together. People first, then the tools.
Everything here can start small and stay friendly. The restaurants we both look after don't need another vendor. They need people they trust, working together. Let's find a date and talk it through over a good meal.
André Rennes · Gaian · (415) 758-8644