January 29, 2026

Pitch The Tide – Kim Modeste: Founder and CEO, S’more AI

57 minutes

In this Pitch The Tide session, Kim Modeste, founder and CEO of S’more AI, shares what she learned from years of watching how restaurants actually try to drive sales. She explains the simple truth about contests: they work, but only for as long as people stay excited about them. Kim walks through why most contests fizzle out once the spreadsheets come out, and how S’more AI keeps the energy going by making incentives easy, automatic, and part of the flow of service. The result is a system that helps operators motivate their teams, see real results on the P&L, and turn the people on the floor into one of their most powerful growth tools, without adding more work to anyone’s plate.

Interview Takeaways:

Turns Contests Into a Real Growth Tool – S’more AI takes something restaurants already do and makes it work at scale. By automating tracking, keeping score in real time, and handling rewards instantly, contests stop being a short-term boost and start becoming a reliable way to drive sales.

Removes Friction From Motivation – No apps to download. No spreadsheets to manage. No managers chasing updates. By running everything through simple text messages and real-time data, S’more AI keeps teams focused on guests while motivation runs quietly in the background.

Proves ROI Instead of Promising It – Instead of hoping contests work, S’more AI shows operators what changed. With clear sales lift and ROI right in the dashboard, restaurants can see exactly what their team-driven incentives are delivering to the business.

Episode Links:

Kim Modeste LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberley-modeste-277858105/

S'more AI: https://smoreai.io/

Cali BBQ Media: https://content.calibbq.media/

Join Our Next Show: https://betheshow.media/rising-tides/

Shawn Walchef on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnpwalchef/

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