The Cazuela · How the money works

01The deal in one line

02The two tiers

Aficionado has both annual and monthly. Gastronome is annual only — a real commitment, not a click-test.

03How a city's money splits

Every fee is split 50/50 between the city pool and the platform. Chip revenue is 100% platform.

04How the slot cap grows with the reader base

Each city has a maximum active Cazuela count. Cap grows with Aficionados — more readers means more visits means the city can support more Cazuelas without diluting earnings.

05What the pool actually pays — across 4 city scales

From a quiet launch month to a full cult city. Per-Cazuela average = pool ÷ chips planted. Top hit = single Cazuela earning the per-Cazuela cap of 10% of pool.

06What it looks like for a Gastronome — 4 player profiles × 3 city scales

All profiles assume Y1 founding rates do not apply (standard €350/yr Gastronome fee). Founding members get 50% off lifetime — their numbers are even better.

06bThe hidden multiplier — automatic tiered bonus on every chip

Every Cazuela gets scored 0-100% on four factors. Lower = more hidden = bigger multiplier on its pool earnings. Higher = mainstream = penalty. No editorial gatekeeping needed beyond initial validation. Math is automatic.

Math is REDISTRIBUTIVE — total pool unchanged. Multiplier shifts earnings from mainstream/chain chips to truly hidden chips. Net effect: top finders (who pick the most hidden places) earn even more. Bad pickers (who chase already-known places) lose money — real consequence, real lesson.

06cThe 50 Gastronomes — smooth distribution + hidden multiplier applied

Y1 mature city, pool €98,510/yr. Ranked from G01 (best finder) to G50 (worst). Distribution: Zipf power law (α=1.0) × hidden multiplier (top finders find more hidden places, bottom finders chase mainstream). No jumps. Math conserves to pool exactly.

Distribution: G_n earnings ∝ 1/n × hidden_multiplier(rank). Cost: top 25% bought 1 extra chip (€100); bottom 5% replaced 1 dead chip (€100). Math conserves — sum of 50 G earnings = €98,509 (pool €98,509). Bottom 5 G now lose money (−€100 to −€230 each) because they picked mainstream/chain places. Top G earns €1,942/month — close to the 25% per-G cap.

07What the platform makes

Costs are fixed-ish: Stripe (2.9%), Cloudflare/infra, accountant + legal, per-city ops, plus the Patron's 10% of city fees. Founder/editor salaries are the swing variable.

08Cold start playbook

A new city does not open to public Aficionados until at least 60 Cazuelas are planted. The founding cohort fills the map before opening day.

• Founding Gastronome rate · €175/yr50% off the standard €350/yr — locked for life. First 30 Gastronomes per city only. They each plant their 2 chips before the city opens to public, seeding 60 Cazuelas at Day 1.
• Founding Aficionado rate · 50% off Y1First 200 Aficionados in each city pay 50% (€35/yr) for their first year. Standard rate from Year 2.
• Patron-led launch dinnerEach new city's Patron hosts an opening dinner inviting their personal network — chefs, journalists, scene people. Real-world FOMO drives early signups.
• Editorial Cazuelas · 10-20 per city at launchDr. Ace + the Patron each curate ~10 editorial Cazuelas (no chip ownership, no pool earning). Pure brand authority layer.

09The rules that keep it fair

• Per-Cazuela cap · 10% of poolOne single Cazuela can never take more than 10% of a city's pool, even if it's the only place anyone visits. Forces the discovery layer wide.
• Per-Gastronome cap · 25% of poolOne Gastronome (across all their chips) can never take more than 25% of a city's pool. Prevents one finder from owning a city.
• Editorial approval requiredEvery new Cazuela submitted by a Gastronome must pass editorial review before going live. Editor blocks tourist traps, chains, and already-mainstream spots.
• Min activation · 3 visits in 90 daysA new Cazuela earns nothing until it has at least 3 confirmed visits in its first 90 days. Forces real validation before pool earnings start.
• Chip grace period · 6 months per chipFor the first 6 months after a chip is planted, it cannot die from the visit floor. Real protection against unlucky timing.
• Death · 0 visits in 180 days after graceIf a Cazuela gets zero confirmed visits in any 180-day window after grace ends, it dies. Gastronome gets a 30-day warning before the kill — chance to revive or pre-emptively retire.
• Patron · 10% of city fees, voted, 2-3 year rotationOne Patron per city. Receives 10% of city fee revenue (not chips). Paid from platform side. Elected by city Gastronomes. Rotation every 2-3 years.

10Legal sanity

• Pool earnings = promotional rewards, NOT investment returnsT&Cs frame chip earnings as participation rewards. No equity. No transferable instrument. No profit guarantee. Clean under Spanish/EU consumer law.
• No referral commissions to consumersNo MLM exposure. No commercial-agent regulation triggers. All member growth is organic or via paid editorial campaigns.
• All transactions via StripeClean tax trail, no cash handling, automatic VAT/IVA reporting. Standard Spanish e-commerce setup.
• Editorial gatekeepingProtects against false-advertising / defamation claims. Every Cazuela page is editorially vetted.