Helm Shift started behind the line at an IHOP.

Our founder, Tyler, spent just over a year there as a cook, a server, and a host before the location closed its doors. Working every side of the floor, he kept seeing the same thing: the day-to-day of running a restaurant is full of friction, for owners and staff alike. Building the schedule. Scrambling to cover a sick call an hour before service. Guessing at inventory and cost. And that was a chain, with a system already in place.

It raised an obvious question. If a big chain still struggled with this, what about the independent restaurants, the family spots and single-location owners running on tight margins and long hours? Talking to owners across the industry, the answer came back the same: the software that could help is built and priced for the big chains, or it only solves one small piece. Nothing affordable brought it together for a smaller restaurant, so most of them run on spreadsheets and gut feeling.

Helm Shift is built to change that. One tool that builds your staff schedule in seconds, covers last-minute sick calls, and keeps your inventory and food cost in check, made and priced for the independents, not the chains. It uses AI to do the heavy lifting, and you always make the final call.

We're just getting started, and we're building it alongside the owners who use it.