The Hidden Cost of a Messy Tech Stack

I'm in Dallas for the HighLevel Summit, walking around registration, and I'm reminded of what an absolute cliche I am. Marketing tech nerd, or whatever you want to call it.

And there's something just... a little off about all of us here. We get way too excited about automations and API connections and data flows. It's weird. I know it's weird.

But here's the thing I keep coming back to:

Every Restaurant Is Running On A Different Franken-Stack

Like, every single one.

Some are using OpenTable for reservations. Others are on SevenRooms. Some are using Resy. There are literally hundreds of options.

Then you've got the POS systems. Toast, Square, Clover, Aloha... the list goes on. And trying to integrate reservations into the POS? Good luck with that.

Then there's the website situation. Some restaurants are on Wix. Some on WordPress. Some on Webflow. Some guy with a nephew who "knows computers" built it in 2009 and nobody has the login anymore.

Add in who's running Meta ads, who's running Google ads, who's even thinking about how AI is changing search...

It's just a real cluster, honestly.

Here's What I'm Realizing (And Why I'm Here)

I love all the API stuff. I genuinely enjoy finding ways to connect different tools and jimmy-rig solutions that work. There's something satisfying about making systems talk to each other when they weren't designed to.

But the more time I spend doing this, the more I realize there's massive value in just... having it all under one hood.

All of it. The website. The reservations. The event inquiries. The CRM. The follow-up sequences. Everything.

And that's what I'm here to figure out more clearly.

The Problem With Predictability

When every restaurant has a completely different tech stack, it makes creating predictable, repeatable systems almost impossible.

You can't say "here's the system that works" when you're constantly adapting to whatever random combination of tools this particular restaurant happens to be using.

So I'm working on bringing everything into one place:

Websites — Built in the same system where everything else lives

Reservation tracking — Not just taking reservations, but actually tracking conversions and understanding what's working

Private event leads — Captured, stored, and followed up with strategically (most restaurants are just... winging this)

Online ordering — Integrated so you can actually see the full picture

Because here's what happens when you get all of this under one hood...

You Can Finally See The Numbers That Actually Matter

Like, okay. How much does it actually cost you to get a reservation?

Not "I think it's working" or "we're pretty busy." The actual number.

Let's say it costs you $30 in ad spend to get a reservation. And your dining room has 100 seats.

Well, if your average reservation is 2 people, you need 50 reservations to fill the room. That's $1,500 in ad spend. If it's typically 4 people per reservation? That's 25 reservations, or $750. Now you know.

And if you know that number, you can work backwards to figure out if the economics make sense. What's the average check? How often do they come back? What's the lifetime value?

Once you have those unit economics, you're not guessing anymore. You're just... doing math.

Same thing with private events. Same thing with online ordering.

But you can only see these numbers clearly when all your data is in one place.

Why We've Spent 4+ Years Building Everything On HighLevel

Let me be clear: HighLevel isn't perfect. No platform is.

But it's the closest thing I've found to making this "everything under one hood" vision actually work.

You can build websites in there. Send emails and texts. Manage reviews. Build workflows and automations. Set up two-way messaging. Track conversions. Pretty much anything you're already paying five different tools to do.

And honestly? Most of our clients have no idea we even use HighLevel.

Some agencies white-label it and make it their whole thing. We don't really do that. We're just transparent about it being the system underneath everything. When we do give clients direct access, we just tell them "yeah, this is built on HighLevel."

Because it's not about the software. It's about having a system that actually works together.

What I'm Here To Figure Out

I'm at this summit to see how other people are using this platform in ways I haven't thought of yet.

How they're packaging it. How they're systematizing things. What workflows are actually driving results for their clients.

Because I'm still figuring this out. I don't have it all solved.

But I'm convinced the answer is simpler systems, not more complex ones.

If You're A Restaurant Owner Reading This

Look, I know most restaurant owners aren't marketing tech nerds like me. And that's probably a good thing.

But if you've got one restaurant and you want to actually understand your marketing instead of just hoping it works... HighLevel is like $97 a month for one location.

And you can just take it bit by bit.

Maybe month one, you just figure out the email marketing piece. You've got a list of guests who've been to your restaurant. Start communicating with them. Bring them back. Make them offers.

Month two, maybe you add review requests into the mix.

Month three, you start tracking where your reservations are actually coming from.

You don't have to build the whole system on day one. You just chip away at it.

The Real Insight Here

The more I work with restaurants, the more I realize the problem isn't that they're not working hard enough.

It's that their tools are talking over each other instead of to each other.

And when you bring everything under one roof, something shifts.

You stop feeling like you're guessing and start actually steering.

You can see what it costs to get a guest. What it costs to get them back. Where you're bleeding money without realizing it.

And that clarity? That's what makes growth possible.

What I'm Chasing This Week

Not another hack. Not another tool to add to the stack.

A way to bring actual order to the chaos.

A system where restaurant owners can grow with less noise and more confidence.

And when I figure out how to package that cleanly — when I can show someone exactly how to connect all these pieces — that's when this whole thing clicks.

I'm not there yet. But I'm getting closer.

What does your tech stack look like? Are you drowning in different platforms that don't talk to each other? Or have you found a way to simplify things? I'm curious what's actually working for you.