Fourth Enterprises

Fourth Enterprises

Fourth traces its roots to 1999, when two separate companies — one in the US (HotSchedules) and one in Europe (Fourth) — began building restaurant-specific software. They merged in July 2019 under the Fourth name, combining workforce management and inventory management into a single platform. The company sells into three overlapping asset classes: workforce management (scheduling, HR/payroll, compliance), inventory management (purchasing, recipe management, production planning), and data analytics (AI forecasting, business intelligence). Customers include Chili's, Noodles & Company, Lou Malnati's, and Pluckers Wing Bar. Fourth operates across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with offices in Austin, Tampa, Denver, London, Macclesfield, Sofia, Dubai, and Shanghai. The platform counts over 15,000 customers and 2.5 million users across 100,000 sites globally. Marlin Equity Partners, a Los Angeles-based investment firm with over $8.5 billion under management, backs Fourth. Scott Collison became CEO in 2023; he previously led Personify through an acquisition by Momentive. The company operates eight offices on four continents. Fourth's structural differentiator is its vertical focus: the platform is built exclusively for retail, restaurant, and hospitality operators. That narrow aperture lets it embed deeply into workflows — from hiring and scheduling to purchasing and production — rather than competing with horizontal workforce tools like UKG or Kronos across all industries.