Capisara Platform - Case Study

The Challenge

Live event producers at comedy venues spend 15+ hours per week on manual administrative tasks instead of creative programming. They juggle multiple sales channels (Eventbrite, direct website, door sales) using error-prone spreadsheet coordination, leading to overbooking incidents, lost revenue, and operational chaos during show times.

Primary Pain Points Identified
Manual inventory sync across 3-5 platforms with different formatting requirements
15+ hours weekly on administrative tasks vs. creative programming
$5K-10K annual losses from overselling incidents
Show-day check-in chaos with paper lists and confused staff

User Research Methodology

I conducted one-on-one validation sessions with five stakeholders at Cheaper Than Therapy Comedy: three co-producers, one bar manager, and the primary box office associate. Each session started with workflow mapping of current manual processes, followed by prototype demonstration and iterative feedback collection.

All users loved the idea, direction, and potential for how much it could improve their processes. One co-producer pointed out event publishing automation as an easily automatable task that could save significant time and reduce errors.

— Stakeholder Feedback Summary

Development Process

Technical Architecture Decisions

I chose Supabase over alternatives like Neon because it provides real-time subscriptions, built-in authentication, row-level security policies, and edge functions—features I'd need to build from scratch with other solutions. This decision proved crucial for the multi-tenant architecture and real-time inventory sync requirements.

React 18 + TypeScript Supabase (PostgreSQL) Square API Tailwind CSS Cloudflare Workers CronJob.org

Development Workflow Evolution

I started with no-code platforms (Lovable, Bolt, v0) for rapid experimentation but found they eventually got stuck in self-created error loops. This led me to switch to Claude Code for the core platform development, using the no-code tools only for initial UI concepts and visual inspiration.

Key Learning: Tool Selection Strategy

No-code platforms excel for rapid prototyping and stakeholder demos, but become limiting when building complex, interconnected features. Claude Code provided the flexibility needed for sophisticated API integrations and custom business logic.

Square API Integration Deep Dive

The most technically complex achievement was building automated scheduling logic that updates inventory item variant availability based on organization-specific configuration. The system handles single vs. double show nights, differentiating between door sales for early vs. late Friday/Saturday shows.

// Example: Automated scheduling configuration
const scheduleConfig = {
  single_show_nights: ['Sunday', 'Monday', 'Tuesday', 'Wednesday', 'Thursday'],
  double_show_nights: ['Friday', 'Saturday'],
  early_show_time: '20:00',
  late_show_time: '22:00',
  cutoff_hours: 1
}
                

🔄

Automated Scheduling

Cron jobs update Square inventory variants at precise times based on venue's show schedule

📧

Smart Monitoring

Email notifications classify runs (NO_OP, CRITICAL) with detailed execution metrics

📱

Mobile-First UI

Box office management optimized for tablets with offline capability

🔍

Intelligent Search

Progressive attendee lookup across events with 7-day look-ahead/back

Technical Implementation

Email Monitoring System

I built a comprehensive monitoring system that tracks execution timing, classifies run types, and provides actionable feedback. The system monitors GitHub Actions delays, critical window execution, and business impact assessment.

Monitoring Metrics Tracked
Execution timing: Expected vs. actual minute with delay calculations
Business impact: CRITICAL, MODERATE, NONE classification
Run classification: NO_OP, STANDARD, CRITICAL types
Action details: Which variants changed and why

Box Office Management Features

The current UI handles complex real-world scenarios: full/partial check-ins, no-show marking, cross-event attendee search, comp ticket management with organizational policies, and offline-capable operations for unreliable venue WiFi.

API Integration Lessons

I discovered that Facebook and Google severely restrict API access for event publishing, making those integrations impractical. This taught me to validate API accessibility early in the planning phase. I'm now focusing on Eventbrite integration for bi-weekly event publishing as the next development priority.

Impact & Learning Outcomes

75%

Projected reduction in box office setup time

0

Overselling incidents since automation

5

Stakeholders validated approach

15→5

Target: admin hours per week

Technical Skills Developed

Product Management: Feature prioritization under time constraints with real user feedback loops
API Integration: Complex scheduling logic with error handling and monitoring
User-Centered Design: Balancing powerful functionality with operational simplicity
Stakeholder Management: Addressing AI concerns through disciplined architecture and gradual autonomy models

Cross-Industry Pattern Recognition

This project reinforced my ability to apply methodical problem-solving across domains. The inventory management concepts from live events could apply to restaurant reservations, equipment rentals, or any multi-channel booking scenario.

I had to assuage fears about AI by building a disciplined software architecture and designing a process where organizations can start with less AI autonomy and gradually increase trust as they see the platform correctly categorize emails and recommend responses that match their brand voice.

— Addressing stakeholder concerns about AI integration

What's Next

Current development priorities include Eventbrite API integration for automated event publishing, enhanced box office UI based on initial user testing, and expanding the platform to support additional comedy venues in San Francisco.

Immediate Roadmap
Eventbrite Integration: Bi-weekly event publishing with template system
Multi-venue Support: Scale architecture for additional comedy venues
Advanced Analytics: Show performance metrics and attendance patterns
Customer Portal: Self-service transfer and refund capabilities

This project demonstrates my ability to combine technical implementation with user-centered design thinking, turning operational chaos into systematic efficiency through methodical problem-solving.