CLOSED

Specialty roastery café opened · CLOSED after 1 yr 10 mo

Liam Rodriguez, 23 · 1 yr 10 mo

“Revenue looked great. Profit said no.”

I closed after 1 year and 10 months. What remained was $201,479 in debt and 115 regulars.

On the last day, you sat in front of the register. Cash $2,939, debt $201,479, 0 employees, 1,151 customers. You did the last count alone and pulled down the shutter. The business failed, but that time did not disappear.

How it went

1. 2026 · preparing to openLiam Rodriguez, 22. You have decided to try starting a company in Bay Area. No idea, no product yet. Savings $5,527, employed ($1,937 a month).
2. 2/2026: what now?Start a business: «Specialty roastery café» — You are going with «Specialty roastery café». Next: a location and people.
3. Where to start, and with whatGround floor with foot traffic — It is a good spot. People walking by see the sign. The money going out every month got heavier.
4. Who opens the doors with you?Hire one experienced person properly — In the interview they knew this trade better than you. A little uncomfortable, a lot reassuring.
5. 2026 · year 1 beginsChinese Demand Cooled
6. 2/3 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. $2,138 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is $169,849.
7. An insurance agent dropped byTake the full package — Signed, hoping you never need it.
8. 3/27 · Oil reached the cost baseBrent rose to $126 a barrel. Quotes for packaging and freight are not what they were last month. You redid the cost sheet.
9. 4/13 · Records requested by the tax officeIRS requested records for credit card sales and cash sales. You opened the books again.
10. You are short of moneyHold on — You closed the loan papers. Instead you cancelled subscriptions, cut what you could do without and pushed the next payment date. Holding on is also a decision.
11. 5/22 · Card terminal outageThe card terminal died at the busiest hour. You served only customers paying cash.
12. Cash ran outLet an employee go — You paid the last paycheck and severance. The next day the place was one person quieter. You hated the silence.
13. 7/14 · Street festivalA festival opened nearby. Foot traffic doubled.
14. 7/24 · Down sickYou came down with something. You took medicine and pushed through, but could not concentrate.
15. You are short of moneyHold on — Instead of a loan you opened the household budget. No more eating out; repairs that could wait, waited. Holding on needed a plan too.
16. 8/12 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. $2,138 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is $163,955.
17. Cash ran outAsk the landlord to wait — The landlord said, "This once." Ask again next month and the answer will be different.
18. 9/13 · Supplier price increaseThe supplier said prices go up 3% from the next order. You need to find another supplier.
19. 9/28 · Equipment stoppedThe fridge stopped during the afternoon rush. You threw out part of the stock and called a repair technician.
20. Cash ran outTake a credit loan — The rate is 20%. You can breathe, but the interest comes back every month. The repayment schedule in the banking app starts to look like a calendar.
21. 10/20 · A small price riseEvery day there are more customers than you can take. You raised prices 5% and they kept coming.
22. The “$20,000 a month or your money back” courseBlock the ad — You block it and another account posts the same ad. The money is still in your account.
23. 11/25 · A family emergencyAn urgent call from a sibling. You were away for half a day.
24. 12/16 · The rush before the long holidayOrders rose ahead of the long holiday. Delivery and stock both became tight at once.
25. 1/22 · Reviews piled upThree one-star reviews with the same wording appeared in one day. You could not tell whether they were customers or a competitor.
26. Financing declinedThe small business SBA 7(a) loan application was declined.
27. You are short of moneyApply for the SBA 7(a) loan — You rewrote the business plan. The officer at SBA (Small Business Administration) spent longer on cash flow and repayment than on revenue. The answer arrives by post. But underwriting declined it. Credit and cash flow need another look.
28. Chinese Demand CooledA prolonged slump in Chinese domestic demand and real estate lowered Asia's export outlook. Clients who bought raw materials cut orders, and domestic consumption turned cautious as well.
29. Year 1 closeRevenue $152,362, operating profit $18,887. Cash $17,601.
30. 2027 · year 2 beginsGlobal Energy Prices Surged
31. 2/6 · The health inspector shows up unannouncedThey checked the temperature logs and labels one by one. Two findings, no fine. Half a day disappeared.
32. 2/18 · The bank asked for documentsThe loan extension paperwork arrived: financial statements and copies of the sales tax returns, please.
33. 3/14 · Oil reached the cost baseBrent rose to $165 a barrel. Quotes for packaging and freight are not what they were last month. You redid the cost sheet.
34. 3/28 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. $2,782 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is $184,933.
35. 4/3 · Hygiene inspection noticeA hygiene inspection notice arrived from the health department. You started with the fridge temperature log.
36. You are short of moneyHold on — You closed the loan papers. Instead you cancelled subscriptions, cut what you could do without and pushed the next payment date. Holding on is also a decision.
37. 5/20 · More regularsYou now know more than ten customers by name, and you catch yourself asking, “The usual?”
38. Cash ran outTake a credit loan — The rate is 20%. You can breathe, but the interest comes back every month. The repayment schedule in the banking app starts to look like a calendar.
39. 6/7 · Street festivalA festival opened nearby. Foot traffic doubled.
40. 6/22 · A small price riseEvery day there are more customers than you can take. You raised prices 5% and they kept coming.
41. 7/4 · A competitor made a moveThe shop directly opposite started 20% off. A few regulars went there.
42. 7/21 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
43. You are short of moneyHold on — Instead of a loan you opened the household budget. No more eating out; repairs that could wait, waited. Holding on needed a plan too.
44. 8/20 · Equipment stoppedA key machine broke. Three days for the part to arrive; you did it by hand until then.
45. 9/6 · Card terminal outageThe card terminal died at the busiest hour. You served only customers paying cash.
46. 9/17 · Building repairsWater leaked from upstairs. You and the landlord argued over who pays for the stain on the ceiling.
47. 10/7 · Hygiene inspection noticeWord went round that a shop on your street was fined at inspection. You redid the kitchen cleaning rota.
48. 10/18 · Reviews piled upThree one-star reviews with the same wording appeared in one day. You could not tell whether they were customers or a competitor.
49. You are short of moneyHold on — Instead of the bank you called suppliers and asked for a month’s grace. Two said yes, one said no.
50. 11/5 · Your mentorYour mentor sent a link to an article. “This sounded like you.”
51. Cash ran outClose the shop — On the last day you closed the books. The faces of a few regulars came to mind first.

Start simulationFounder failure stories