Sizzle

What Sizzle does

Sizzle is a privately held, founder-operated software company headquartered in Ballwin/St. Louis, Missouri, that combines a self-serve product suite for schools, faith communities, and nonprofits with a fixed-price enterprise build studio. Its core products include SignUpGo and SchoolConferenceGo (event registration and parent-teacher conference scheduling, both operated in real schools daily), TradeKit (a $0/month business-in-a-box for tradespeople with transaction-based payment processing fees), and Stillago (a business continuity and succession planning SaaS featuring proprietary security architecture including AES-256-GCM encryption, a dead-man's switch called Ring the Bell, and a Fresh Check retention engine). The company also operates a broader venture studio portfolio spanning tax preparation (FileJoy), B2B outreach (UserFinder), agency operations (Aptura), budgeting (MoneyFun), email intelligence (Nivo), and sports media (United Volleyball Network), with Bear Wade as Founder and Chief Strategist.

The business model blends freemium self-serve products (SignUpGo, SchoolConferenceGo, EventTicketGo), transaction-fee revenue (TradeKit's 5.8% + $0.30 card processing), fixed-price enterprise builds ($15-60K across eight catalogued solutions including Volunteer Hub, Family Portal, Intake Tracking, Board Room, Facility Booking, Camp Registration, Fundraiser Engine, and Grant Tracker), and professional services engagements ($3,500 Discovery Sprint, $5,500 90-Day Growth Plan, $40-80K 90-Day Product Engagement). Go-to-market combines product-led growth for immediate needs with a Discovery-Sprint-led enterprise field-sales motion for organization-wide system replacements, supported by content marketing via the Sizzle Library and email newsletters. The technology stack is a modern SaaS architecture (Next.js, React, TypeScript, Node.js, MongoDB Atlas, Stripe, Vercel), and the company emphasizes data ownership, no advertising against users, and human setup coverage on every tier including free plans.

Sizzle has operated continuously since 2002, serving 100+ organizations, and is bootstrapped with six employees and no disclosed external funding rounds. The 2026 strategic positioning describes a pivot toward AI integration architecture within a venture studio model, partnering with established mid-market business leaders to build AI-powered products with paying customers.

Name

Sizzle

Legal name

Sizzle

Website

https://timetosizzle.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sizzle is a bootstrapped St. Louis-based software company operating a product suite and fixed-price build studio for schools, faith communities, and nonprofits, plus a venture studio with eleven brands spanning SaaS, fintech, and media. Founded in 2002 with six employees under founder Bear Wade.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Self-Serve Products: SignUpGo, SchoolConferenceGo, and EventTicketGo offered with free tiers for schools and organizations to get started immediately. Products solve single-night or single-season needs without enterprise commitment.
2. Enterprise Fixed-Price Builds: Custom software builds for organizations replacing entire operational systems. Eight common builds with published price bands ($15-60K) including Volunteer Hub, Family Portal, Intake Tracking, Board Room, Facility Booking, Camp Registration, Fundraiser Engine, and Grant Tracker. Discovery Sprint precedes full build.
3. TradeKit Transaction Fees: $149 one-time Business Launch Fee, then $0/month forever. Revenue from payment processing: 5.8% + $0.30 for online card payments, 5.5% + $0.10 for in-person tap-to-pay, 2.5% for ACH bank transfers, $0 for cash/check.
4. 90-Day Growth Plan: $5,500 flat consulting engagement over two weeks producing a written growth plan with lever analysis (Acquire, Retain, Upsell) and 90-day execution roadmap.
5. 90-Day Product Engagement: $40,000-$80,000 for full product development engagement covering strategy, build, brand, launch, and customer onboarding across three phases with decision gates.
6. Discovery Sprint: $3,500-$5,000 paid clarity engagement to define current process, risks, and match to product or fixed-price build. Designed to sit under signature thresholds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sizzle builds and operates a suite of self-serve SaaS products — SignUpGo (school sign-ups), SchoolConferenceGo (parent-teacher conference scheduling), EventTicketGo (reserved-seating ticketing), and TradeKit (business-in-a-box for tradespeople) — aimed at schools, faith communities, nonprofits, and solo trades operators. Alongside the products, Sizzle Enterprise delivers fixed-price custom software builds (Volunteer Hub, Family & Member Portal, Intake & Case Tracking, Board Room, Facility Booking, Program & Camp Registration, Fundraiser Engine, Grant & Compliance Tracker) for organizations replacing entire operational systems. Sizzle also runs a venture studio of additional SaaS tools (Stillago, FileJoy, UserFinder, Aptura, MoneyFun, Nivo, United Volleyball Network) plus paid services (90-Day Growth Plan and Discovery Sprint).

Product overview

Sizzle operates a product suite for schools, faith communities, and nonprofits, combining self-serve products with an enterprise studio. The core product lineup includes SignUpGo (clutter-free school sign-ups), SchoolConferenceGo (parent-teacher conference scheduling), EventTicketGo (reserved-seating ticketing, in pilot), and TradeKit (business-in-a-box for tradespeople). Sizzle Enterprise provides fixed-price custom software builds for organization-wide systems. Beyond the community-focused suite, Sizzle operates as a venture studio with additional SaaS products including Stillago (business continuity/living operations manual), FileJoy (tax prep), UserFinder (B2B outreach), Aptura (agency OS), MoneyFun (AI budgeting), Nivo (email intelligence), and United Volleyball Network (sports media). Services include the 90-Day Growth Plan consulting engagement and Discovery Sprint for software procurement clarity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SignUpGo: Clutter-free school sign-ups without ads or parent accounts.
• SchoolConferenceGo
• EventTicketGo
• TradeKit
• Stillago
• FileJoy
• UserFinder
• Aptura
• MoneyFun
• Nivo
• United Volleyball Network

Products and services

• SignUpGo Clutter-free school sign-up tool for volunteer shifts, class parties, and event coordination. Lets parents sign up with no ads and no parent accounts — two taps to complete registration. Designed for K-12 schools, PTAs, and parent volunteer coordinators.
• SchoolConferenceGo Parent-teacher conference scheduling software with one-tap booking for families and live dashboards for staff. No apps or accounts required, scales to thousands of conferences per night. Targets K-12 schools and districts running conference nights.
• EventTicketGo Reserved-seating ticketing solution for community venues with hands-on human setup included. Targets community venues, schools, faith communities, and nonprofits running reserved-seat events. Currently in pilot phase.
• TradeKit All-in-one business stack for solo tradespeople and small trades businesses (plumbers, electricians, HVAC, landscapers). Includes branded website, SEO, booking with SMS reminders, quoting, invoicing, GPS tracking, missed-call auto-text, automated reviews, growth tools, and built-in payment processing. $149 one-time Business Launch Fee, then $0/month forever, with transaction fees on payments.
• Stillago Living operations manual SaaS platform for small business owners featuring nine structured sections, Ring the Bell (graduated dead-man switch with check-in monitoring), Fresh Check retention engine, fractional CFO distribution, and Letter of Intent wizard. Security-first architecture with AES-256-GCM encryption and short-lived emergency-access JWTs. Designed for owner-operators and succession planning.
• FileJoy Tax preparation workflow tool for self-employed individuals that guides users from document chaos to filing confidence. Targets freelancers, contractors, and solo self-employed workers.
• UserFinder Autonomous B2B outreach tool that replaces multiple SaaS tools for finding first customers. Targets early-stage companies and founders seeking automated outbound pipelines.
• Aptura Agency operating system that unifies portals for media review and invoicing. Targets creative and marketing agencies handling client deliverables and billing.
• MoneyFun AI-powered budgeting tool that makes zero-based budgeting accessible and sustainable with personality-driven habit reinforcement. Targets consumers and individuals seeking structured personal budgeting.
• Nivo Email intelligence tool designed for neurodivergent founders to manage email more effectively. Targets founders and operators who need structured email workflows and inbox prioritization.
• United Volleyball Network America's volleyball news media platform spanning national teams, pro, college, indoor, and beach coverage with integrated newsletter and merchandise. Targets volleyball fans, players, and the broader sports community.
• Sizzle Enterprise (Fixed-Price Custom Software Builds) Fixed-price custom software studio that designs, builds, and launches organization-wide systems. Eight named builds: Volunteer Hub ($15-25K), Family & Member Portal ($25-45K), Intake & Case Tracking ($30-60K), Board Room ($15-25K), Facility & Room Booking ($15-30K), Program & Camp Registration ($20-40K), Fundraiser Engine ($20-40K), Grant & Compliance Tracker ($15-25K). Each build replaces one operational system (scheduling, intake, board governance, facility booking, registration, fundraising, grant compliance). Targets schools, faith communities, and nonprofits replacing duct-taped operational systems.
• Discovery Sprint Short, paid, time-boxed working session priced $3,500-$5,000 that maps current processes, names risks, and matches them to Sizzle products or fixed-price builds. Produces a go/no-go recommendation and product brief. Designed to sit under signature thresholds so organizations can buy without formal RFP process.
• 90-Day Growth Plan Two-week strategic engagement ($5,500 flat fee, $2,750 deposit to start) where Bear Wade analyzes a business's three growth levers (Acquire, Retain, Upsell) and produces a written 90-Day Growth Plan with specific owners and metrics. Targets mid-market companies and growth-stage operators.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% less admin overhead after launch at Gateway ITE (measured, not estimated)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pushpay: Pushpay is a major faith-community payments and engagement platform serving churches and faith-based nonprofits. While broader in scope, it overlaps with Sizzle's faith-community offerings (Family & Member Portal, Fundraiser Engine, giving integrations) and targets the same church and nonprofit decision-makers.
• Jobber: Jobber is field-service management software for home service trades (plumbers, electricians, HVAC, landscapers), directly overlapping with TradeKit's tradesperson target market on scheduling, quoting, invoicing, and customer communications. Jobber is the more established incumbent in this specific vertical.
• SignUpGenius: SignUpGenius is the dominant consumer/school sign-up coordination platform, directly competing with Sizzle's SignUpGo product for the same volunteer and class-party sign-up use cases in K-12 and community organizations. Both target school PTOs and community groups needing low-friction registration without parent accounts.
• SubSplash: SubSplash is an all-in-one church engagement platform (app, giving, messaging, media), comparable to Sizzle's faith-community enterprise builds. Both target the same church operations buyers seeking consolidated software in lieu of fragmented spreadsheets and binders.
• HoneyBook: HoneyBook is a business management platform for solo service providers and small businesses, directly comparable to Sizzle's TradeKit for tradespeople. Both bundle branding, booking, invoicing, and payments aimed at independent operators tired of stitching together point tools.
• Planning Center: Planning Center is the leading church management software suite (People, Giving, Registrations, Check-Ins, Services), directly competing with Sizzle's Enterprise faith-community builds (Volunteer Hub, Family & Member Portal, Fundraiser Engine, Board Room) for the same church and faith-based organization buyers.
• PTC Wizard: PTC Wizard specializes in parent-teacher conference scheduling software for K-12 schools, the exact use case of Sizzle's SchoolConferenceGo product. Both compete on one-tap family booking, staff dashboards, and the elimination of spreadsheet-based conference nights.
• VolunteerHub: VolunteerHub is a volunteer management platform serving nonprofits and corporations, directly comparable to Sizzle's Volunteer Hub enterprise build ($15-25K fixed price) and adjacent to nonprofit intake/case-tracking workflows. Both target the same coordinator pain points around scheduling, hour tracking, and credentials.
• Brightwheel: Brightwheel is a leading early-childhood education and K-12 communication/management platform. It overlaps with Sizzle's K-12 segment (SignUpGo, SchoolConferenceGo) and competes for school and parent engagement workflows in the same buying centers.

Broad incumbents

• Eventbrite: Eventbrite is the dominant consumer and community ticketing platform, competing broadly with Sizzle's EventTicketGo reserved-seating pilot. Eventbrite's scale, marketplace, and free/freemium pricing for basic events make it the incumbent Sizzle must differentiate against on human setup and reserved seating for community venues.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/time-to-sizzle

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sizzle