RB RunBig AI-native merchant OS
Architecture Full intake 1 / 20

Born inside a real cafe. Built so independent merchants can run big.

RunBig

The AI-native merchant OS for local businesses.

Run your shop like the big chains do: customer apps, staff ops, rewards, ordering, identity, and merchant AI agents — all in one AI-native platform.

Mobile ordering Sats rewards Staff ops AI-native agents

The merchant reality

Small merchants are running modern businesses on a pile of disconnected tools.

Independent operators need the same digital leverage as big chains, but their tools rarely talk to each other.

  • POS data lives in one dashboard.
  • Ordering and loyalty live somewhere else.
  • Staff checklists are paper, spreadsheets, or Notion pages.
  • Inventory, waste, and discrepancies are reported manually.
  • Customer communication is scattered across social, SMS, DMs, and email.
  • AI tools exist, but they do not understand the actual business.
POSOrderingLoyaltyInventory Staff checklistsProceduresReportsChat SocialPaymentsTrainingAI

The opening

The next merchant platform will be AI-native from the first workflow.

🧭

One operating layer

Connect customer ordering, rewards, staff execution, inventory, reporting, and owner updates.

🔓

Merchant-owned rails

Open-source code, portable identity, open protocols, and less dependence on closed marketplaces.

☕️

Built from real operations

Trails Coffee gives the platform a live testbed with daily customer, staff, and owner workflows.

Big chains have integrated infrastructure. RunBig brings that leverage to independent merchants.

The product

RunBig turns the Trails Coffee ecosystem into an AI-native merchant OS.

Customer layer iOS • Android • PWA • ordering • wallet • rewards • chat • community
Operations layer staff checklists • procedures • inventory • discrepancies • prep • waste • reports
AI-native operating layer Merchant agents • owner briefings • staff guidance • customer support • business memory
Open rails Bitcoin • BTCPay Server • Nostr • Square integration • hosted open-source core

Live proof point

Trails Coffee is already the reference implementation.

Native apps

iOS and Android customer apps with ordering, social, wallet, and chat surfaces.

Progressive Web App

Live PWA for browser-based ordering, wallet, rewards, chat, and Nostr identity.

Staff ops site

Checklist, procedures, prep, inventory, waste, and discrepancy reporting for daily operations.

BTCPay rewards stack

Self-hosted Bitcoin rewards infrastructure for sats-based loyalty and payment flows.

Square data bridge

Catalog, orders, forecasting, and KDS-compatible operational flows.

AI-native assistant

AI chat layer that can become the control surface for customers, staff, and owners.

Customer experience

A branded customer relationship channel the merchant owns.

Trails Coffee

HomeOrderWallet
Latte • Muffin • Pickup
Earn sats on every visit
Encrypted shop chat
  • Home, Order, Social, Wallet, Chat
  • Menu browsing and cart checkout
  • Offline-friendly menu caching
  • Social feed for shop updates
  • Events, fundraisers, and marketplace-style posts
  • Bitcoin rewards wallet
  • Lightning address and QR flows
  • Nostr identity and profile publishing
  • Encrypted Nostr DMs with the shop
  • Bitcoin education built into the customer journey

Instead of renting attention from delivery apps and social platforms, merchants build a direct customer channel.

Live product proof

Actual Trails Coffee screens show the merchant OS in motion.

Trails Coffee home screen with rewards balance
Home + rewards
Menu ordering screen with coffee items
Menu + ordering
Checkout screen with card and sats payment options
Card or sats checkout
Community social feed with zap button
Nostr community
Fundraiser detail with Lightning QR code
Fundraisers + QR
Mobile ordering Rewards balance Sats discount Community posts Events Fundraisers Lightning donations

More live surfaces

Wallet, marketplace, identity backup, and chat complete the customer relationship.

Marketplace services listings in the Trails Coffee app
Local marketplace
Wallet screen with balance, receive QR, and recent activity
Wallet + receive
Wallet settings with Spark address and Nostr identity
Spark + Nostr identity
Wallet settings with seed phrase backup and iCloud backup
Self-custody backup
Chat screen with Trails Coffee assistant helping place an order
AI/shop chat
Marketplace Lightning receive Spark address Nostr identity Seed backup AI-native agent chat

Sats rewards infrastructure

BTCPay Server gives merchants a self-hosted rewards and payment backbone.

Customer app
iOS • Android • PWA
BTCPay Server
merchant-controlled
Lightning
sats rewards + invoices
Square / KDS
paid order routing

Rewards API

BTCPay-backed Bitcoin rewards plugin powers wallet balance, history, claims, redemptions, and merchant-defined sats loyalty.

Checkout rails

Lightning invoices can settle customer orders while the operational order still lands in Square/KDS as paid.

Merchant control

The merchant owns the server, store, Lightning node, reward policy, and settlement path — no closed points database required.

Trails reference stack: BTCPay Server at btcpay.anmore.me, Bitcoin Rewards API, Lightning invoice flows, CAD↔sats conversion, and Square external-payment compatibility for kitchen routing.

Identity and communication

Nostr turns the merchant relationship into a portable network, not a trapped account.

npub

coffeelover@trailscoffee.com

Portable identity, social updates, encrypted shop chat, and merchant-owned community graph.

  • NIP-04 encrypted customer/shop DMs
  • Merchant updates without algorithmic gatekeepers
  • Customer identity that can move across apps
  • Events, fundraisers, marketplace posts, and community content
  • Foundation for zaps, rewards, reputation, and direct relationships

AI-native core

AI agents are not an add-on. They are the operating layer.

How were sales today?
Sales are up 18%. Muffins sold out early. Prep 20% more for tomorrow.
Any staff issues?
Closing checklist missed freezer temp photo twice this week. I drafted a reminder.
What should we order?
Low: oat milk, cups, chocolate powder. Suggested order is ready.
CustomersOrdering help, rewards education, events, marketplace, and support.
StaffProcedure guidance, checklist coaching, issue escalation, and training recall.
OwnersDaily briefings, alerts, reports, forecasts, decisions, and follow-up actions.

Back of house

Every checklist becomes operational intelligence.

1Staff submitsOpening, closing, inventory, waste, discrepancy reports
2System structuresTurns routine work into searchable operating data
3Owner actsAlerts, reorder suggestions, procedure updates, coaching
  • Opening and closing checklists
  • Role-based procedures
  • Training resources
  • Prep lists and supply calculators
  • Inventory reporting
  • Waste tracking
  • Variance and discrepancy tracking
  • Weekly reports and reorder alerts

Owner leverage

Financial and operational updates without dashboard fatigue.

Morning briefing Thursday forecast
Sales$1,842+12% vs last week
PrepHighRain clears by lunch
Inventory3 lowsOat milk, lids, chai
Staff2 notesClosing variance flagged
Daily salesProduct performanceLow-stock warningsChecklist completionWaste trendsReorder suggestionsFinancial snapshots“What changed?” summaries

Hosted architecture

One operating layer connects every merchant workflow.

CustomersiOS appAndroid appPWAChat / QR entry
MerchantStaff opsOwner dashboardProceduresInventory reports
AI nativeMerchant agentsBriefingsAlertsWorkflow memory
CommerceSquare POS/KDSMobile orderingBTCPay rewardsLightning/Spark
CommunityNostr identityEncrypted DMsSocial/eventsMarketplace
PlatformTenant configAPIs/workersData + backupsMonitoring

Full architecture map: architecture.html

Packaging

Sell it in modules, then expand into the full operating system.

Starter

Customer Channel

Branded PWA, menu, mobile ordering, basic rewards, customer chat, simple analytics.

Growth

Operations

Staff checklists, procedures, inventory, discrepancies, waste, prep forecasting, reports.

Platform

Merchant OS

Native apps, BTCPay sats rewards, Nostr identity, AI-native agents, POS integrations, and custom automations.

Beachhead market

Independent merchants with repeat customers and operational complexity.

CafesCoffee roastersBakeriesFood trucksSmall restaurantsBreweriesBoutique retailGyms & studiosFarmers markets

Best-fit early customer

Uses Square or similar POS, has repeat customers, needs better staff execution and inventory visibility, wants direct ordering, and is open to differentiated loyalty through Bitcoin or community ownership.

Revenue model

Open-source core. Paid hosted, branded, managed, and intelligence layers.

SubscriptionPer location / modules
SetupMenu, brand, POS, training
PremiumNative apps, AI, forecasts
ServicesAutomation, migration, support
Bitcoin onboardingBTCPay, rewards, education

The trust engine is open-source. The business is making it easy, reliable, branded, and supported for busy merchants.

Managed service

Merchants do not buy a project plan. They get a working operating system.

01

Branded customer channel

PWA/native app, menu, ordering, rewards, chat, events, marketplace, and education.

02

Staff operations layer

Checklists, procedures, inventory, discrepancy reports, prep lists, and training cards.

03

Connected commerce

Square/KDS, BTCPay rewards, Lightning/Spark wallet flows, and direct customer identity.

04

Owner intelligence

AI briefings, alerts, forecasts, financial snapshots, and operational memory.

RunBig handles the infrastructure so merchants can run the business, not the software stack.

Why this can win

The moat is not one feature. It is the connected operating graph.

Real-world loop

Built inside a working cafe, with immediate feedback from operations.

Open protocol edge

Bitcoin and Nostr create portable value, identity, and communication.

AI-native context

The platform understands orders, staff reports, procedures, inventory, rewards, and financial snapshots.

Merchant trust

Open-source architecture makes the platform auditable, adaptable, and less extractive.

RunBig is what happens when AI is native to POS data, customer loyalty, staff execution, rewards, and owner decisions.

Get started

Launch a merchant-owned customer channel and operating layer.

Connect your store

Bring your brand, menu, Square catalog, staff workflows, and rewards policy.

RunBig runs it

Hosted apps, APIs, rewards, identity, staff ops, reporting, backups, and monitoring.

Grow direct

Own ordering, loyalty, customer communication, staff execution, and owner intelligence.

Give small merchants the connected operating system big chains already have.

Start the hosted merchant intake →