Please Don’t Invest in Us

Aiki Tran
Aiki Tran
Jul 10, 2017 · 5 min read

No gimmick. Just a sincere plea for you to read this before even thinking about talking to us. Investing is a tricky emotion. It implies that a transaction of something of value of both parties and one or both will get equal or great value in return. As our company grows and our quest to transform into a unicorn in our industry, we have all types of “investors” looking and speculating if we are worth their resources and time. Some investors put money in while others put time (our team members), and some like vendors bend a little to gain a bit more in returning business. Our guests invest in us on a daily basis to get a return of an experience and that we are around when they decide they need an experience instead of a meal. At the end of the day, as entrepreneurs, investing is all we know how to do!

Because it’s very difficult in this day and age to learn to process information on investing. I want to help you and convince you NOT to invest in us. This applies to investors, crowd funding, bankers, vendors, team members, and even guests! This will prevent so much unecessary stress in your life. It will also save us so much time, heartache, and resources if you just read this and really think about your investment. Here are the top 3 reasons:

  1. The hospitality industry is VERY VERY DIFFICULT. Everyone knows it! It is one of the toughest industry with highest failure rate. The stats don’t lie. 60% to 80% fail within one year and 80%+ of those that make it past the first year fail within 5 years. That is the real stats. People that does well in the restaurant industry knows it and thrive within those death zone reality. (just google the stats and the reports!) Here’s why it’s hard: the only real product we provide is an emotion, a feeling. That feeling influenced by you, our team members, the weather, the economy, the internet, and anything and everything in between. Our mission statement or our WHY for our company is to INCREASE HAPPINESS in the WORLD. (side note, we are not there to just create it, just to increase your happiness) How do we go about increasing your happiness? That is an art. It is not formulaic but it does follow a pattern. Our “product” has an emotional attachment to our guests, hence it is very difficult to “sell” in the traditional sense. It is one of the toughest but also one of the easiest! We exist to make people happier!
  1. As an investors, YOU are ALWAYS last! You are a nobody. We,as the management team will NOT cater to your needs and can not put your needs above our team members, our guests, and our community. IN THAT ORDER. You get the left over time, resources, and attention. You will be treated WORSE than the owners (or at least close to it). The myth that owners are treated above everyone is one of the cruelest myth to continue to the young entrepreneurs out there seeking an identity in the marketplace. If you are a team member (an employee) that doesn’t mean your needs are met first. It means that the team member’s collective needs are met first. Then our guests comes 2nd, and then our community, and then everyone in between, and finally, the “investor” collective as a whole. Some people that do not truly understand business thinks it’s the other way around but this is NOT our reality. The old world they lived in happened 20 or 30 years ago. The watches WE wear has an apple in it that connects us with the world and has more power than the super computers in in 1980. Welcome to the new reality. If you don’t like this reality, than please do not invest in anything. Take your money and time, and go to the mountains and enjoy the rest of your days. There is a long term logic to this. The unicorn status is one that is a WIN-WIN-WIN 3 strand cord. It has to be that way. There is NO other way.
  1. Our culture will destroy your EGO if #1 and #2 haven’t done it’s job. The culture we’ve been curating for the past 8 years is one that allows WHY to actually happen in a very difficult environment. Our culture lead by myself, Thomas, and Paul walks the fine line of brilliance and insanity. A culture that doesn’t put up with BS for one person but looking at most things holistically and we will outlast you because it’s not US, it’s our message. Our WHY will be carried out because it is a pure message. Will there be a return for your investments? Probably if the 3 strand cord of WIN-WIN-WIN is played out for our team members, our guests, and our community. More than likely, you will not be able to change it or US. You can help us be crazier or be better brilliant at what we do but changing us is harder than running 100 miles. We will outlast you. Don’t try. Go and invest the many dying brands out there. We strive to be the Costco, the Amazon, the Uber, the Zappos, and the Teslas of the world. They all beat to a culture that allows it.

In conclusion, please reread this if you ever want to continue to work with us, to invest in us, or even visit our restaurants to eat. We hope you do but I’d rather be honest with you before any transactions happen. We are people just like you. We want to be appreciated and loved but our WHY is bigger than ourselves and we are NOBODIES. We just really don’t care about the titles, and the world of 30 years ago with it’s crazy rituals and ego driven practices. If you want a very fun ride, we welcome you with open arms and let us drive and you can appreciate a magical ride on a magical unicorn!

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