Meeting Purpose
Discuss a case study about two brothers who retired their parents through their business at a young age

Encourage dreammakers to pursue entrepreneurship and calculated risk-taking

Key Takeaways
The story highlighted the power of entrepreneurship to achieve financial freedom and support family

It inspired dreammakers to be intentional about involving family in business ventures

It reinforced the importance of having a strong “why” and vision to drive goals

Topics
Case Study Overview
Two brothers started a meal delivery business in their 20s while in university

They grew it to retire their parents by age 27, funding their lifestyles

Key factors: family unity, frugality, investing profits back into the business

Reflections on the Story
Encouraged calculated risk-taking vs staying in unfulfilling jobs

Showed power of entrepreneurship to rapidly achieve goals like supporting family

Inspired dreammakers to be intentional about legacy/generational wealth

Importance of Vision/Goals
Reviewing goals regularly is crucial for taking aligned action

Having a strong “why” (e.g. supporting parents) provides powerful motivation

Long-term goals should be broken into focused, bite-sized steps

Next Steps
Attend upcoming sessions on emotional intelligence, wisdom sharing, and wellbeing

Review the Financial Joy book chapters on setting long-term goals

Reconnect with personal goals/vision during this quieter week

Consider how to intentionally involve family in wealth-building efforts

Meeting Purpose

Discuss a case study of a successful cafe business and extract key learnings

Key Takeaways

• Importance of creating a standout product/experience that resonates with customers
• Leveraging personal experiences, backgrounds, and inspirations to differentiate the offering
• Perseverance, hard work, and willingness to make sacrifices in the early stages
• Strategic use of equity investment to fuel growth at key inflection points
• Diversifying revenue streams beyond the core offering (events, merchandise, etc.)
• Long-term vision to build a lifestyle brand beyond just a restaurant business

Topics

Background and Inspiration

• Couple spent $250K to open their first cafe location in NYC in 2014 after gaining restaurant experience in Spain
• Drew inspiration from their childhoods, travels, and desire to create a “home away from home” vibe
• Differentiated with a multi-sensory, antique-filled, warm environment vs. industrial cafe trend

Product and Early Traction

• Focused on creating high-quality products like the “best cookie in NYC” that generated buzz
• Oprah endorsement of their nutty chocolate chip cookie was a major breakthrough
• Reinvested all profits in the early years to fund growth

Expansion and Investment

• Brought in $1.5M investment from brother in 2015 to bring on staff and expand
• Signed many new leases during COVID by negotiating favorable deals
• Raised $20M from PE firm in 2020 while retaining 50% ownership to accelerate growth to 34 locations

Diversification and Brand Evolution

• Moved beyond just cafes/bakeries into events (20% revenue), merchandise, cookbooks, etc.
• Vision to become a multi-faceted lifestyle brand, not just a restaurant business
• Achieved $50M revenue in 2023 through restaurants (75%), events/catering (20%), and retail (5%)

Next Steps

• Explore personal experiences, inspirations and differentiation opportunities for our own ventures
• Prioritize creating a remarkable core product/service before pursuing growth
• Investigate strategic investment/equity partners to provide growth capital at key inflection points
• Consider diversifying revenue streams complementary to the core offering
• Develop a long-term vision for building a multi-dimensional lifestyle brand