How Restaurant Labor Management and Tech Support Are Evolving with Angelo Esposito

00:00:53 – Anthony Presley:
Welcome to another episode of WISKing It All. We’re here today with Anthony Presley, CTO at CBS NorthStar and Managing Partner at TimeForge. Anthony, thanks for joining us.

00:01:08 – Angelo Esposito:
Thank you so much for having me. Happy to be here.

00:01:11 – Anthony Presley:
Excited to chat with someone who has experience in both hospitality and tech. What is TimeForge, and what is CBS NorthStar? Let’s start with what you do today.

00:01:40 – Angelo Esposito:
Happy to explain both. I used to think working with two companies was unique, but it’s actually common among entrepreneurs. TimeForge focuses on labor management—from hiring to payroll to retention—and we’ve used AI since 2007. CBS NorthStar started as a POSitouch reseller and later built our own mobile-first point of sale system. We specialize in table service but also serve some QSR clients.

00:03:13 – Angelo Esposito:
Both companies have long histories. We didn’t raise a ton of VC, so we’re not fly-by-night; we’ve been building for decades.

00:03:50 – Anthony Presley:
How did you first get pulled into restaurant tech?

00:04:07 – Angelo Esposito:
Two accidents. One involved driving my roommate to his job just to check the posted schedule because they had no phone support. I was in IT and saw how inefficient it was. I later lost a business due to a client’s legal troubles, which made me want to build a product I could control. That led me back to restaurant scheduling.

00:07:15 – Angelo Esposito:
Over the years, my advice to entrepreneurs has evolved. Previously, I’d say interview 100 people. Now, AI tools allow rapid prototyping. Tools like Lovable.dev can help you validate ideas fast.

00:09:21 – Angelo Esposito:
Just don’t over-engineer. Many companies run on Excel and CSVs. Get business done before chasing fancy tech.

00:14:02 – Anthony Presley:
How did you get your first customers?

00:14:13 – Angelo Esposito:
Our first TimeForge customer came through SEO. They paid $19 and gave immediate feedback. We iterated fast. Later, we got more customers by partnering with POS resellers like Aloha and Micros.

00:19:29 – Angelo Esposito:
A big shift has been in service expectations. Centralized tech made it harder to offer the local, urgent support restaurants expect. Operators are realizing again how much service quality matters.

00:23:58 – Angelo Esposito:
At both CBS and TimeForge, support is the largest department. We pride ourselves on fast response times and high-touch onboarding. Mondays are like all-hands-on-deck days due to payroll needs.

00:28:19 – Angelo Esposito:
Compliance is the real reason labor systems matter. Scheduling is helpful, but compliance mistakes lead to lawsuits. POS systems often offer basic scheduling, but they fall short on compliance.

00:34:32 – Angelo Esposito:
Get a system with good forecasting if you have variable staffing. And it should double as a strong communication platform. A lot of tools oversell AI but don’t deliver.

00:36:00 – Angelo Esposito:
Small operations need all-in-one tools. Larger ones need modular systems and APIs. Our system is built to scale from a few locations to tens of thousands of employees.

00:39:38 – Angelo Esposito:
At timeforge.com, you’ll see we offer modules from hiring and onboarding to scheduling, HR compliance, time tracking, surveys, and earned wage access.

00:41:49 – Angelo Esposito:
We acquired Lineup AI for advanced forecasting based on POS data and item-level sales. Their tech integrates seamlessly and gives us better predictive capabilities.

00:44:34 – Angelo Esposito:
When choosing a POS, build a list of your must-haves and see them in action before committing. Don’t buy based on promises—test the features yourself.

00:48:19 – Angelo Esposito:
Underspending on infrastructure can cost you more in downtime. Invest in backup routers, redundant networks, and a solid foundation.

00:50:32 – Angelo Esposito:
For full-service, POS must handle coursing, check splitting, and handheld devices elegantly. It’s about the guest experience—timing, payment flow, pacing.

00:53:01 – Angelo Esposito:
Having the data isn’t enough—you need to use it. We integrate reservations, POS, and CRM data to enhance guest experience, like recognizing anniversaries automatically.

00:54:43 – Angelo Esposito:
Two trends I’m watching: gamification in customer and employee engagement, and kitchen optimization tech. The back of house still has many inefficiencies.

00:57:51 – Angelo Esposito:
Find us at timeforge.com and cbsnorthstar.com. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn. Happy to help anyone in the industry however I can.