Should I do this? How?

[derickonfire]

This is a personal dialogue.

I'm a laboring class man.

Come from a troubled youth, but have strived and forced myself to grow and learn. I work hard. I put myself through college, but dropped out to start my 2nd business.

So far, I've started 4 businesses, 2 failed from bad execution of me/partners, one incredibly successful but I stopped because legality was a concern.. and one mildly successful before I sold it (I felt forced, because of incoming government regulations and lack of capital to satisfy those regulations.) I admit now, I should have been more ambitious to seek outside investing capital, but the locale of which the business was located - opportunities were slim. Still, it may be considered another failure on my end.

I've learned a lot in the process. Lot's of thought has gone into why they failed, and how that could have been overcame. I'm a creative type, and have vast experience in development, design, legal requirements, promotion, and delegation, etc, etc. Everything required to take a business from idea, to profit. I have a knack for seeing the BIG picture, the macro view, and understanding how minute variables effect each other - the butterfly effect in sense, everything is connected - from a name to logo symbolism to product and promotion. Business is an art.. and I'm also an artist.

I'm 30 now, but have been involved with technology for almost 20 years. My first job at the age of 15 was that of a website / graphics designer - the pay was great - but I quickly learned something about myself, I ENJOY computers and did not want to turn it into a CAREER. They say, once you start doing something for money (and survival) the fun is stripped from it. Instead, I've used my tech skills as an asset and I've utilized them in my previous business endeavors - and also my hobbies (ie, music, political activism..)

Still, Something massive is coming with the blockchain technology..

So, I've done a great many things. I have life experience beyond anyone I personally know, and my work ethic is reputable. I have over a decade of experience in the sales and service industries, and I feel that on some level - this is what I am here for now, in this life, to serve - and to create and contribute to society through my service.

The problem is, the pay is not great. Even while in management there isn't much capital for one to really gain..

for a dream. A simple dream.

I'd like to own my own coffee cafe.

I currently reside in Boston, and there is something special about the modern coffee house. For those un-aware, it has a spectacular future in regards to the current trend of people working from their computer. Most of the time, working is more productive if you suit up and LEAVE the home. The cafe is one of the fastest growing modern industries, comparable to that of the solar industry.

Something also, with coffee - the meme says "but first, coffee".. when really, it's about PEOPLE. People first. Single origin coffee, specialty coffee, is grown mostly by impoverished farmers all over the world. With the support of fair trade, it's really an amazing contribution to these people.

THEREFOR, I am here now. Strongly motivated and invested mentally and with what little capital I personally have.

I'd like to start a crypto-based cafe in Boston. I think the time is perfect, the allure and interest in a physical business focused solely on CRYPTO as payment (we would take cash/card, also required to help setup newcomers) could invite people from all over the world - especially in a city such as Boston.

I have the talents required, and I know the proper people that would work directly for me, or be an advisor in the development of the Cafe.

A business plan for said cafe is already almost complete, with multiple variations depending on locale and also - community opinion.

I need funding.

Should I start an ICO of sorts? The idea is to raise about 1 million dollars. It requires roughly $250,000 to start a single cafe. I'd like additional funding for strategic management of crypto revenue, a security of sorts - I have a plan on HOLDING paid crypto-assets, and off sourcing the management of them to a qualified person/team to hodl/profit as the market is best. I'd also like funding for a 2nd cafe opening only a few months after the first to really demonstrate prominence and fire in the space of crypto as money.

My idea, which I am seeking opinions - is to attribute a very respectable redemption for the ICO tokens to be used in the cafe, IE coffee and a meal (priced maybe $10-15 worth for a ICO price of about $1). Tokens would then be burned after redeemed in store. I am not trying to create a new currency, or even a lasting investment - but something that would retain it's value - and overall, would

help PROMOTE crypto currency to the average person.

Would also consider creating a token as a profit-share vehicle - holders of token would be paid a dividend, but - I am in the US so this may not be feasible at this time.

The cafe staff would help teach the average person, and really be amazing to educate people on using crypto in an everyday setting.

They say, once people can buy a cup of cofffee with crypto - easily, is when crypto will truly be considered to be money. We are at that gateway..

Opinions on how to proceed?

tldr

I want to start a physical coffee house that primarily accepts CRYPTO payments in Boston. Would an ICO be a good venue for capital?

[spartak_t]

I have a knack for seeing the BIG picture, the macro view...

Then I have a few questions (not because I'm interested in your idea, but because I also tend to see the BIG picture).

1. Boston is an expensive city. Do you really think you can buy a place and build a Cafe for $250k?
2. How much do you think is the turnover for such a Cafe?
3. What do you think would be the monthly/yearly profit from such business?

.. and the most important question:

4. Why people should invest in such venture?

A good business is considered one, which could make ROI in 3-5 years on average, but "investors" in digital currencies are not famous with being patient.

[derickonfire]

I have a knack for seeing the BIG picture, the macro view...

Then I have a few questions (not because I'm interested in your idea, but because I also tend to see the BIG picture).

1. Boston is an expensive city. Do you really think you can buy a place and build a Cafe for $250k?
2. How much do you think is the turnover for such a Cafe?
3. What do you think would be the monthly/yearly profit from such business?

.. and the most important question:

4. Why people should invest in such venture?

A good business is considered one, which could make ROI in 3-5 years on average, but "investors" in digital currencies are not famous with being patient.

Heya, thanks for your reply.

1) Boston is an expensive place, absolutely. However, the expense is shown on both sides. A lease for said cafe would run between 5k-15k per month, depending on locale - a tremendous expense for any operator especially compared to other cities in the US. The other side of course, a simple sandwich one may get for $5 in a small town, can cost you $10 or more here. The cost of living balances out. 250k is a rough estimate for 1 year of operating expenses, plus development, equipment expenses, etc. It really depends on the locale, of course. There are some interesting opportunities in the area, as some communities are seeing continued growth.

2) Based on my involved experience working in cafes in the Boston area, I would expect yearly revenues of $750,000 to $1.5 million per store.

3) Pending the menu decision, of which one variation of the business plan provides much higher margin profits - total monthly profits would start at about $7,500/mo or $90,000-$150,000 a year. Pending.

With an initial capital of $1 million, you can safely double those numbers as 2 or 3 cafes is do-able. At that point, a proven record of success would likely attract larger investors and dozens of stores could be opened - of course, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself here. But.. the chances of that are very likely.

Also consider the incredible potential in accepting CRYPTO as payments - and with the partnership of a fund-manager. Proper conversion / selling / holding of said assets into fiat could very well profit MORE than the actual cafe itself.

4) I ask myself why people invest in most ICO's these days - many of them have no product, and even their intended product has a HIGH chance of failure. Cafe growth in the U.S. is basically a proven fact, and in a city such as Boston - you'd be hard pressed to find a cafe where every table isn't completely filled.

The allure of this technology is starting to hit the mainstream, especially in this city - I hear people discussing crypto in private conversations on a daily basis.

Ask yourself, if you were visiting Boston - how likely would you be to seek out a crypto-based cafe? My guess is very likely..

I wish you were interested in my idea =)

It's a simple one, to the point, a very basic merging of old-world & new-world.

As far as incentivizing investment - that's a big reason for this post and discussion. How would YOU proceed?

[Vivisector999]

I don't quite understand your game plan.  You want $1 million to create tokens for a cryptocurrency that you will burn, as you don't want to create your own currency, but you want your cafe to accept this new cryptocurrency?

I also found this.  https://themerkle.com/popular-boston-based-coffee-chain-and-wholesaler-accepts-bitcoin/  So you already have coffee shops in Boston that accept cryptocurrency.

[ikilledcobain]

I don't know, man. I like your drive and the idea to an extent, but it sounds like you're trying to re-invent the wheel.

There's already crypto (and ICO's) - and plenty of them and there's already plenty of coffee houses.

I understand that you need funding, but I don't think an ICO is going to get you where you want to be. I just don't see that much interest in a crypto specifically for a coffee house in Boston.

Why not just try to raise the capital in a more traditional way and then accept crypto as payment?

I could see a potential for a straight up coffee coin or token - some way to pay fair trade prices to impoverished farmers and cut out that middle-man. Maybe if you go with something along those lines you could raise the funds and then open the coffee house as a sort of headquarters? I don't know, just brainstorming. Best of luck to you, though!

[derickonfire]

I don't quite understand your game plan.  You want $1 million to create tokens for a cryptocurrency that you will burn, as you don't want to create your own currency, but you want your cafe to accept this new cryptocurrency?

 

Easy to see how I confused you there - my bad!

With the advent of several new token swap systems / dex / whatever in the crypto world - the ability to accept any crypto as payment is becoming a reality.

That's the plan, pay for your coffee and bagel with your choice of crypto - (restricted to legitimate tokens, obviously).

A token sale would be an investment into the cafe development itself, and would retain value because it would be redeemable in the cafe at a pre-set guarantee rate.

Ie, one token = one beverage any choice any size.

Simply, this would create value - as even if you are in Russia and invest in 100 of these tokens, someone in Boston that visits the cafe on a daily basis will surely buy them up and use them. The incentive is the tokens would be sold at a greatly reduced rate.

Ie, cost of token ico is $1usd - cup of coffee is $3usd - it's smart for a consumer to buy tokens and redeem in store for as long as the price is less than $3. Cost of a large mocha with extra shot, $6usd - I'm sure after a while, the supple of tokens would be diminished - elevating the token value - and if the crypto community asserts an inflated value to the token.. that is not my direct intent, but may be an indirect result.

I am not stating as a fact that this will be how I value the ICO token, but if it is - the offer could change down the line. For exaample, maybe two years in the future, and 90% of the tokens have been burned - the market is trading them at 9$ each as some odd asset, maybe the cafe then offers a free sandwich per token..

Wouldn't a fully functioning crypto-cafe benefit ALL coins and ALL blockchain technology?

I hate to get too far ahead of myself, as I am NOT announcing an ICO - I am simply seeking opinions and input on how (if) it could be done successfully.

Perhaps community input could be incentive to the ICO? Ie, a purchaser of 100 tokens  could vote for his favourite crypto (ie, OmiseGO) - the winning crypto(s) would then become our "recommended" usage for the cafe - not only with signs on the external windows and inside, but the support team assisting non-tech savy would suggest said crypto.

There is some amazing work being done using the technology, like I said above, this is a very simple idea - but still relevant to the societal shift of blockchain acceptance.

[lokinator]

It IS a cool idea. I have a few problems with it that may have already been voiced.

First and most obviously, $250,000 won't permit you to lease even a porta-potty in Boston for a year. How do you plan to purchase the coffee equipment, furniture, decorations, merchant equipment that allows for efficient crypt exchange, etc. How do you plan to train and pay your employees? Is it all out of the initial 1 million?

In my opinion, you would need much more money than you anticipate to get this going. Especially if you are getting your start up capital from an ICO. I would assume you are going to cash out the ICO funds from either BTC or ETH for fiat. Doing so on 1 million plus USD is going to cost you probably 100-200k in taxes. Unless you have figured out how to lease commercial real estate with Ethereum (or Bitcoin) in Boston.

Other than the initial financials. What are you offering the customers? Just coffee and wifi? Why would the normal person come in? To order a cup of coffee and hang out (like Starbucks)? Can the normal person pay without crypto?

I have a bunch of other questions, but I will see what comes out of these first ...

[derickonfire]

I also found this.  https://themerkle.com/popular-boston-based-coffee-chain-and-wholesaler-accepts-bitcoin/  So you already have coffee shops in Boston that accept cryptocurrency.

Nice find, but about that..

Word on the street is they are going out of business... they are actually for sale, although I'm not sure if its public knowledge or not yet.

Good cafe with excellent locations - would actually like to outright take over at least one their current operations/locations. An owner of another small chain here, with whom I used to work, already investigated this potential to buy them out - and some internal negatives came up that turned them off from the situation entirely. Not really sure all of the details.. anways.

Imo, as a customer of theirs - they have some internal issues that is leading to their failure.

Easy resolutions, but I suppose whoever is calling the shots isn't able to overcome them.

You find that a lot in business, people who own really shouldn't be in charge - lots of times money is dropped on them from inheritance and really have no idea about the internal workings of an operation, how to lead a strong team, motivate your employees, and appeal to the public.

Ps. I had no idea they accepted bitcoin, so I'm sure most people don't know.. either.

Either way, the more the merrier - right?

The advantage I would have is 1) I am confident I can own, design, and operate a successful cafe independent of the fact it will accept cryptos 2) it will be blockchain focused, amounting to an extraordinary amount of publicity 3) there aren't any cafes that really tailor to TECHNOLOGY, they simply offer WiFi.. a cafe can offer much more than that to people working on their laptop, just a side-track - how cool would it be to have a web-interface where patrons could vote/change the music played in the cafe? There are lots of places technology can be implemented, and I believe the entire scene is grossly missing the target which the FUTURE provides

[derickonfire]

It IS a cool idea. I have a few problems with it that may have already been voiced.

First and most obviously, $250,000 won't permit you to lease even a porta-potty in Boston for a year. How do you plan to purchase the coffee equipment, furniture, decorations, merchant equipment that allows for efficient crypt exchange, etc. How do you plan to train and pay your employees? Is it all out of the initial 1 million?

In my opinion, you would need much more money than you anticipate to get this going. Especially if you are getting your start up capital from an ICO. I would assume you are going to cash out the ICO funds from either BTC or ETH for fiat. Doing so on 1 million plus USD is going to cost you probably 100-200k in taxes. Unless you have figured out how to lease commercial real estate with Ethereum (or Bitcoin) in Boston.

Other than the initial financials. What are you offering the customers? Just coffee and wifi? Why would the normal person come in? To order a cup of coffee and hang out (like Starbucks)? Can the normal person pay without crypto?

I have a bunch of other questions, but I will see what comes out of these first ...

Good points here, thank you for your time!

I don't think I'm under-estimating funds required - but if I am - would seeking additional funds via an ICO be wise? 5 million? 10 million?

I'd rather cash out eth/btc to fiat as a need to basis. We all know prices are going higher, so funds kept in eth/btc may very well increase 25-50% before they are actually needed to pay bills.

There could be some interesting strategies implemented in a business plan to execute this. I'd have to speak more with a taxman but there could most definitely be room for traditional private investors, and at that point - there could be an exchange of eth/btc from the ICO to a private party already holding fiat, who then pays rent.

The thing is, it's nearly impossible to find ANY interested private party without a sufficient amount of capital and/or a running business already. I've tried =)

As far as customer offerings, would be simply coffee, food, and WiFi. With my experience in the industry thus far, I have a knack at increasing restaurant revenue with menu changes and new offerings. For example, a most recent change I implemented increased smoothie sales from an average of $1,500/mo to over $5,500/mo sustained.

I'm confident that the current direction of my business proposal as it stands now will lead to a successful and profitable cafe.
It's still, obviously, in development - and the points of that are not quite the focus of this thread (yet).

The conversation is really about raising funds via an ICO.

If yes, there are all sorts of things to be planned out in detail - many of which can involve community discussion, participation, and voting.

[derickonfire]

^^ reported for link spam

I'd also like to briefly drop the idea that this cafe would be MORE than a place to buy coffee and use WiFi.

It could and most likely would become a venue for people to come and learn about crypto, to get setup with their first crypto purchase.

I'm telling you guys, the opportunity is huge here.

If "Bitcoin" had a store-front in down-town boston.. do you think it would be packed with people? Of course. Too many people don't really understand what Bitcoin even is, most people aren't even at the point of thinking "internet money". But those that are at that point, we can take a senior citizen for example, may want to walk in somewhere physically and speak with a fund manager in regards to investing. This sort of cafe could be a great venue to do just that.

[sylance]

**leaving business justification aside, other issues arise*

This would be a wonderful reason to hold an ICO, but sadly the US isn't very friendly to ICO's and I suspect Boston is even more unfriendly.  You'll need fiat to pay your lease, contractors, workers, and others, so which means you'll need to convert from crypto to fiat.  The minute you do that and move cash to a bank, red flags will go up and regulators will ask where that money came from.  As soon as you say you held an ICO then you'll probably be arrested or least be swamped with mountains of paperwork to go through.  I really don't see how you can create a physical on the books company with ICO money.

[lokinator]

**leaving business justification aside, other issues arise*

This would be a wonderful reason to hold an ICO, but sadly the US isn't very friendly to ICO's and I suspect Boston is even more unfriendly.  You'll need fiat to pay your lease, contractors, workers, and others, so which means you'll need to convert from crypto to fiat.  The minute you do that and move cash to a bank, red flags will go up and regulators will ask where that money came from.  As soon as you say you held an ICO then you'll probably be arrested or least be swamped with mountains of paperwork to go through.  I really don't see how you can create a physical on the books company with ICO money.

I am sure you could consult with an attorney about this aspect. If you paid the proper taxes and properly accepted payments of ETH/BTC from ICO participants only after they agreed to the terms of an attorney drafted contract, I feel like you would be okay. Depending on local and state laws (I don't live in that area of the US), you could run into some additional hurdles or even show stoppers.

In fact, I think this might be the first thing I would investigate if I were you...


Like I said before, I am intrigued by the idea -- I would be willing to discuss it further with you over PM.

[derickonfire]

**leaving business justification aside, other issues arise*

This would be a wonderful reason to hold an ICO, but sadly the US isn't very friendly to ICO's and I suspect Boston is even more unfriendly.  You'll need fiat to pay your lease, contractors, workers, and others, so which means you'll need to convert from crypto to fiat.  The minute you do that and move cash to a bank, red flags will go up and regulators will ask where that money came from.  As soon as you say you held an ICO then you'll probably be arrested or least be swamped with mountains of paperwork to go through.  I really don't see how you can create a physical on the books company with ICO money.

I am sure you could consult with an attorney about this aspect. If you paid the proper taxes and properly accepted payments of ETH/BTC from ICO participants only after they agreed to the terms of an attorney drafted contract, I feel like you would be okay. Depending on local and state laws (I don't live in that area of the US), you could run into some additional hurdles or even show stoppers.

In fact, I think this might be the first thing I would investigate if I were you...


Like I said before, I am intrigued by the idea -- I would be willing to discuss it further with you over PM.

Thanks for your support and for the invitiation. I've been busy working on internal documents, business plan, roadmap, web-site, etc.. just to see how things LOOK and FEEL before going to far into the investment.

I do have a local blockchain investor on tap, but am not yet confident with my planning to attempt a crossing of any significant bridges.. yet.

I will keep you in mind once I reach a point where more focused discussion is required.

I really appreciate everyone's input, the points made here are all fantastic and I've added a lot of items to research and ponder.

Lots of work to do.

Please continue to add your feedback, opinions, criticism, support.. whatever!

[sylance]

**leaving business justification aside, other issues arise*

This would be a wonderful reason to hold an ICO, but sadly the US isn't very friendly to ICO's and I suspect Boston is even more unfriendly.  You'll need fiat to pay your lease, contractors, workers, and others, so which means you'll need to convert from crypto to fiat.  The minute you do that and move cash to a bank, red flags will go up and regulators will ask where that money came from.  As soon as you say you held an ICO then you'll probably be arrested or least be swamped with mountains of paperwork to go through.  I really don't see how you can create a physical on the books company with ICO money.

I am sure you could consult with an attorney about this aspect. If you paid the proper taxes and properly accepted payments of ETH/BTC from ICO participants only after they agreed to the terms of an attorney drafted contract, I feel like you would be okay. Depending on local and state laws (I don't live in that area of the US), you could run into some additional hurdles or even show stoppers.

In fact, I think this might be the first thing I would investigate if I were you...


Like I said before, I am intrigued by the idea -- I would be willing to discuss it further with you over PM.

As you can see, I'm biased against government intrusion and regulation.  So take my opinion with that grain of salt.  I agree with you that it can be done with proper legal consultation but I have to assume that'd be really expensive.  Attorneys charge 100's of dollars an hour and I suspect the amount of paperwork involved would be huge; and it wouldn't surprise me if this would require 100's of hours of legal consultation.

That said... I wish you luck OP!!!  Please keep us up to date... if you get any momentum I'll buy your coin.  I would love to support a dedicated individual with a vision and a dream.

[derickonfire]

As you can see, I'm biased against government intrusion and regulation..

Aren't most of us? =)

Would it help to mention that I aim to be the first cafe in Liberland?

I applied for citizenship months ago, and a cafe was specifically in my application.

[awilliams]

Boston may be a good area to open up a coffee shop, but keep in mind operational costs with coffee shops. I have some background with them and it is definitely a passion business.

[derickonfire]

Boston may be a good area to open up a coffee shop, but keep in mind operational costs with coffee shops. I have some background with them and it is definitely a passion business.

True, I have that passion.

I went to school for business administration, and have a life-history of entrepreneurship.

There is something unique about the coffee shop, which I'm sure you may understand... the integral importance of coffee/caffeine is staggering, I imagine if all coffee shops closed for a day - the city would stop working.

Not to mention of course, the office-away-from-home aspect which is so obvious with people working from their computer these days.

Boston, home of Harvard, MIT, pharma companies, tech companies..

What do you think?

[derickonfire]

Hey, where's that late night love?

[pey]

In fact your idea could work but before starting a ico, you should prepare marketing and business plan very well. This could be successful ico, totally depends on you.

[adam1230]

For a new coffee shop that accepts crypto coins you don't need to create your own crypto coin. You can simply accept bitcoins.
You don't need to much fundings so you can try to get loans from local banks instead of crowdfunding.
just my thoughts don't get offensive.