Migrating from Castiron?
Get set up on MyPorch free.
Castiron shut down, leaving thousands of cottage food bakers in the dark. MyPorch is built for the exact same workflow — weekly pre-orders, porch pickup, cottage food compliance — but with flat pricing instead of a 10% cut of every order, and no VC pressure to pull the plug.
Free plan includes 10 orders/month. No card required.
How we compare
The VC-Backed Trap: Why Castiron Disappeared in 2026
When Castiron launched, it promised to be the ultimate home for food entrepreneurs. But like many software platforms in this space, Castiron was built on venture capital (VC) money.
Venture-backed startups are built for massive, astronomical scale. They are pressured by outside investors to prioritize rapid, triple-digit growth over serving their actual users. When growth targets aren’t met, or the cost of capital rises, VC platforms face a harsh reality: they either spike their transaction fees, pivot entirely away from home bakers, or abruptly shut their doors.
How MyPorch is built differently:
MyPorch is **100% independent, founder-owned, and bootstrapped.** We have no high-stakes investors waiting for an exit, no board of directors demanding we squeeze our users, and no sudden pressure to pull the rug. We answer to one group of people only: the cottage food bakers who trust us to run their businesses.
The Economics of Platform Fees: Stop Giving Away 10%
Charging percentage-based transaction fees is structurally misaligned with local cottage food businesses. Your platform shouldn’t penalize you for baking more bread.
The 10% Transaction Fee Model
Used by Castiron and standard order-takers.
*A $300/mo platform cut pays for all of your flour, butter, packaging, and electric bills. It eats into your thinnest margins.
MyPorch Flat-Subscription Model
Flat billing so you keep 100% of your earnings.
*Keep 100% of your hard-earned revenue (minus standard Stripe CC processing). Scale your volume without scaling your platform costs.
Designed for Cottage Food: Why Generic Platforms Fail
Shopify, Squarespace, and general order forms are built for shipping boxed products from warehouses. Cottage bakers have a completely different operational reality.
Pre-Order Batch Windows
Open your menu on Monday, automatically cap orders at your exact baking oven capacity, and close the cart automatically on your cutoff day (e.g. Wednesday 8 PM). No more overselling.
Local Porch Pickup Rules
Coordinate Saturday pickups easily. MyPorch securely sends your pickup address and directions only to customers who have paid, helping keep your home private and secure.
Compliant Label Printing
Stop copying ingredients into Canva. MyPorch tracks your state’s exact cottage food labeling laws and automatically prints beautiful sheet or thermal labels directly from your order sheets.
The 20-Minute Migration Blueprint
Transitioning your cottage food business doesn’t have to be a headache. You can move your entire shop to MyPorch in four simple steps.
Export Your Data
Download your customer lists, email addresses, and product catalog details from your old software or order tracker as a CSV file.
Create Your Free MyPorch Store
Sign up for a free MyPorch account in under 2 minutes. There’s no credit card required to start, and you get 10 orders/month completely free.
Set Your Cottage Food Workflows
Add your product catalog, upload your state-compliant labeling ingredients, configure your local porch pickup schedules, and connect your own Stripe account.
Open Your First Batch & Reopen
Share your brand new MyPorch storefront link (e.g. myporch.app/your-bakery) in your Instagram bio, Facebook groups, and email lists to start receiving pre-orders!
White-glove migration — we’ll do it for you
Don’t have time to copy and paste your products or import lists? Sign up free and our founder will personally import your customer records and product catalog into MyPorch. We only ask for an honest testimonial once you’re live. No cost. No catch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about moving from Castiron to MyPorch? We have answers to help you transition smoothly.
Q:What exactly happened to Castiron in 2026?
Castiron was a VC-backed platform that shut down operations in 2026. Because they were funded by venture capital investors, they faced intense pressure to hit aggressive financial exits, which proved structurally unsustainable for a localized home baking niche. MyPorch is bootstrapped, profitable, and 100% founder-owned, meaning we grow sustainably and will never pull the rug on your storefront.
Q:Is MyPorch really free to start?
Yes, absolutely. Our Free plan includes up to 10 orders per month, access to our batch pre-order systems, and porch pickup coordination. There are no credit cards required to sign up. As your business grows, you can upgrade to our paid subscription plan for flat monthly billing ($24/mo or $19/mo billed annually) with unlimited orders and zero platform cuts.
Q:Can I import my existing customer list and email subscribers?
Yes. You own 100% of your customer records and lists. You can easily download your CSV file from your previous system and upload it to MyPorch, or take advantage of our free white-glove migration service where we handle the entire data import process for you.
Q:How does MyPorch handle cottage food labeling regulations?
This is our favorite feature. MyPorch has a built-in state labeling compliance registry. When you select your state, MyPorch knows the exact verbatim disclaimers, allergen notices, and address fields required by your local laws. It automatically generates beautiful, print-ready sheets (like Avery templates) or direct thermal labels (Dymo/Rollo) directly from your checkout sheets.
Q:Do you hold my order payouts, or do they go to my bank?
We never hold your funds. You connect your own Stripe account directly to your MyPorch storefront. Payments from your bakery customers go directly to your personal Stripe account, which deposits funds directly into your bank on a standard daily rolling schedule.
Q:Can I use a custom domain name for my storefront?
Yes, on our paid subscription plan, you can connect your own custom domain name (e.g. yourbakery.com) to present a fully branded storefront to your customers while utilizing MyPorch’s backend pre-order and pickup tools.
Ready to get back to baking?
Your storefront takes about 20 minutes to set up. Start free — upgrade when your volume grows.