Nick Stone

And I didn't have the requisite operation skills. I was going to be much better at overseeing a larger organization that had more complexity and different verticals. So I think I summed up that, well, ultimately, if I make this investment, this financial investment, If I lose it, it's not that much money where I can't recover.

And I didn't have the requisite operation skills. I was going to be much better at overseeing a larger organization that had more complexity and different verticals. So I think I summed up that, well, ultimately, if I make this investment, this financial investment, If I lose it, it's not that much money where I can't recover.

And it's also, I'm doing it a period of time where time's on my side and I am going to be in my early 30s in New York City and I'll bounce back and I'll take all these lessons and I'll recover. And my way of thinking has always been a little bit contrary to some advice from entrepreneurs, which is you've got to go all in early.

And it's also, I'm doing it a period of time where time's on my side and I am going to be in my early 30s in New York City and I'll bounce back and I'll take all these lessons and I'll recover. And my way of thinking has always been a little bit contrary to some advice from entrepreneurs, which is you've got to go all in early.

I'm more of the view that you should go in when the signals are there and the business can afford you. I'm not saying to earn the same amount if you're working in another career, but I think having significant personal stress when trying to build a company is a huge distraction. If you can't pay your rent and you're trying to build an organization and put in the requisite I think that's tough.

I'm more of the view that you should go in when the signals are there and the business can afford you. I'm not saying to earn the same amount if you're working in another career, but I think having significant personal stress when trying to build a company is a huge distraction. If you can't pay your rent and you're trying to build an organization and put in the requisite I think that's tough.

Now, some people can fall back to home and leverage those benefits. But for me, I just summed up that no matter what, this is going to be amazing learning experience and I'm going to do something and operate a business. And I went from football to banking and I didn't have the tangibility and understanding of running a business. And my father, who's in property development,

Now, some people can fall back to home and leverage those benefits. But for me, I just summed up that no matter what, this is going to be amazing learning experience and I'm going to do something and operate a business. And I went from football to banking and I didn't have the tangibility and understanding of running a business. And my father, who's in property development,

And in construction, when I first told him, he said, oh, that's great. That's great. I assume you're buying the store. And I said, no, I'm going to be the tenant. He goes, oh, no, no, no. You can't be a tenant. You can't do retail. You can't be a tenant. This is not going to work. And I said, no, no, it's all right, Dad. Like, no matter what, I'm going to learn from it.

And in construction, when I first told him, he said, oh, that's great. That's great. I assume you're buying the store. And I said, no, I'm going to be the tenant. He goes, oh, no, no, no. You can't be a tenant. You can't do retail. You can't be a tenant. This is not going to work. And I said, no, no, it's all right, Dad. Like, no matter what, I'm going to learn from it.

But, you know, that was his mentality. You're going to be a lessee? Are you serious? In New York? Good luck. So not everyone was 100% convinced. But looking back on it, I probably proved a few people wrong.

But, you know, that was his mentality. You're going to be a lessee? Are you serious? In New York? Good luck. So not everyone was 100% convinced. But looking back on it, I probably proved a few people wrong.

Yeah.

Yeah.

This is a fantastic question. Certainly when I was starting Bluestone Lane, I had an extraordinary amount of people that said to me, what do you know about hospitality? You've never worked a day in hospitality. It won't work. I just sort of blocked them out and just be really confident that I understood the market.

This is a fantastic question. Certainly when I was starting Bluestone Lane, I had an extraordinary amount of people that said to me, what do you know about hospitality? You've never worked a day in hospitality. It won't work. I just sort of blocked them out and just be really confident that I understood the market.

I'd spent enough time in New York observing the consumers and I could see how other brands had been successful in different verticals. I knew that we'd have a similar core customer.

I'd spent enough time in New York observing the consumers and I could see how other brands had been successful in different verticals. I knew that we'd have a similar core customer.

And ultimately, I broke it down that if a value proposition is so strong, if we know everyone's name, make them feel like they're part of our community, like they're a local, if we've got great quality coffee that stacks up to the coffee you expect in Melbourne or Sydney, and if you've got food that you can't find in other coffee shops, the probability of success is, and the cost structure is understood, and you don't have to sell $2 million worth of coffees to break even.

And ultimately, I broke it down that if a value proposition is so strong, if we know everyone's name, make them feel like they're part of our community, like they're a local, if we've got great quality coffee that stacks up to the coffee you expect in Melbourne or Sydney, and if you've got food that you can't find in other coffee shops, the probability of success is, and the cost structure is understood, and you don't have to sell $2 million worth of coffees to break even.