? BUSINESS PLAN

Tontine Café

A Student-Run Coffee Shop Powered by Community Currency and Silver-Backed Value

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Tontine Café is a student-led coffee shop that operates using a proprietary campus currency called "Tontines." The system is designed to:

• Create a self-sustaining financial ecosystem
• Generate revenue through seigniorage
• Introduce optional silver-backed value tiers
• Serve as a real-world educational platform

The café combines retail operations with monetary innovation, allowing students to earn, spend, and store value within a closed-loop economy.

2. CORE CONCEPT

Tontines function as a campus-wide medium of exchange:

• Distributed as rewards or purchased
• Accepted at Tontine Café and partner vendors
• Optionally redeemable for premium or silver-backed value

3. HOW IT WORKS

Issuance

• Students receive starter Tontines or purchase them
• Promotional incentives drive adoption

Usage

• Coffee, food, and services priced in:
  • USD (higher price)
  • Tontines (discounted)

Circulation

• Currency moves across participating vendors

Breakage (Seigniorage)

• Some Tontines are:
  • Lost
  • Saved
  • Never redeemed

?? This creates net financial gain

4. SILVER-BACKED COMPONENT

Tontine Café introduces a premium layer:

• Select Tontines linked to physical silver reserves
• Optional redemption structure
• Creates:
  • Perceived stability
  • Store-of-value appeal
  • Differentiation from typical campus credits

5. REVENUE MODEL

1. Coffee and food sales
2. Currency issuance (primary profit driver)
3. Breakage (unused currency)
4. Partnerships and vendor fees
5. Events and promotions

6. SAMPLE FINANCIALS

• Issue: 10,000 Tontines
• Cost to produce: ~$500
• Value: $10,000

If 30% unused:

?? $3,000 retained

?? Net ≈ $2,500 after costs

7. MARKETING STRATEGY

• Launch campaign: Free Tontines
• Social media: #TontineCafe
• QR codes across campus
• Promotions:
  • "Tontines-only discounts"
  • "Earn toward silver rewards"

8. EDUCATIONAL VALUE

Students gain experience in:

• Monetary systems
• Business operations
• Finance & pricing
• Marketing & growth

9. EXPANSION

• Add campus vendors
• Introduce savings/rewards tiers
• Replicate at other universities

10. KEY SUCCESS FACTOR

?? Adoption + partial non-redemption = sustainable seigniorage

?? NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 1, 2026

STUDENTS LAUNCH "TONTINE CAFÉ" — COFFEE SHOP WITH ITS OWN CURRENCY AND SILVER-BACKED TWIST

"Drink Coffee. Earn Silver." — Campus Venture Challenges Traditional Money Model

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A student-led initiative is launching Tontine Café, a coffee shop that goes beyond serving drinks—it introduces a campus currency system designed to create its own economy and, in some cases, link everyday purchases to real silver value.

At the center of the concept is a simple but provocative idea:

?? What if students could spend money they help create—and earn something tangible in return?

HOW IT WORKS

Tontine Café will issue its own currency, known as "Tontines," which students can:

• Earn through purchases and promotions
• Spend on coffee, food, and campus perks
• Use across participating vendors
• Save for premium rewards, including silver-linked redemption options

Because Tontines are accepted locally, the system keeps spending within the campus community.

BUILT-IN FINANCIAL ENGINE

The model is powered by seigniorage:

• Tontines cost little to produce
• They carry real purchasing value
• Not all are redeemed

?? The difference helps fund the café and student initiatives.

"Instead of asking for funding, we're creating it," organizers said.

WHY CALLED "TONTINES"

Why are they called Tontines? Simple—based on the historical significance of early pooled financial systems and the role coffee houses played in launching modern markets.

The New York Stock Exchange traces its origins to traders who gathered at the Tontine Coffee House in New York—where deals, investments, and financial systems were born over coffee.

Tontine Café revives that tradition—this time, led by students.

SILVER ADDS A CONTROVERSIAL TWIST

Unlike typical campus reward systems, Tontine Café introduces the idea of silver-backed value.

Some Tontines may be tied to physical silver, offering:

• A tangible store of value
• Increased trust and retention
• A contrast to traditional fiat currency

This has already sparked discussion:

?? Why rely solely on fiat currency

?? When value could be tied to something physical?

SOCIAL MEDIA DRIVES THE ECONOMY

• Hashtag: #TontineCafe
• Real-time deals and promotions
• "Tontines-only" offers

PART OF A BROADER MOVEMENT

Community currencies like:

• BerkShares
• Ithaca Hours

have shown local economies can thrive independently.

Tontine Café pushes further—by combining currency, commerce, and commodity backing.

MORE THAN A COFFEE SHOP

Organizers describe the project as:

• A business
• A financial experiment
• A learning platform

Students will gain hands-on experience in economics, operations, and entrepreneurship.

THE BIG QUESTION

?? What is money—and who gets to create it?

Tontine Café doesn't just ask the question.

It puts the answer in students' hands.

TAGLINE

"Drink Coffee. Earn Silver."

MEDIA CONTACT

Tontine Café Initiative

Student Currency Board