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Mark Wattles opened the first Hollywood Video in 1988 and grew it to 2,000 company-owned stores. Now he's running the same playbook with drive-thru coffee. He joins Chris Lustrino to talk about 151 Coffee, the chain he founded in 2017, and his plan to take it from 15 stores to 1,000.
151 Coffee's stores in Dallas-Fort Worth and Kansas City average about $1.5 million a year, with around $350,000 in store-level profit. Mark explains why drive-thru coffee has exploded without hurting Starbucks. He also covers why sweet, customised drinks are what customers actually buy, and why a coffee shop doesn't need you every day of the week.
Mark also compares opening video stores with opening coffee shops ("you're really managing people, not a business"). He covers his years as an activist investor and why he came back to building. And he explains why he refuses to franchise when 7 Brew has shown how well franchising can work.
In this episode:
● Why drive-thru coffee took off, and the "elasticity of the consumer" nobody accounted for
● 151 Coffee vs. Dutch Bros and 7 Brew: high volume, sweet drinks, fast, fun, friendly
● Hollywood Video: one store in 1988, a 1993 IPO at 15 stores, 1,000 stores six years later
● Store economics, 15–20% same-store sales growth, and a food rollout adding ~$150K per store
● Doubling to 30 stores in 24 months with a former Hollywood Video real estate VP
● Why the exit plan is an IPO, and why every store stays corporate-owned
● Boba, matcha, and building a kitchen that can survive a fad
Guest: Mark Wattles, Founder, 151 Coffee
Host: Chris Lustrino, Founder & CEO, Kingscrowd
151 Coffee is not raising right now. It plans a new Reg CF offering and has a waitlist at 151coffee.com/waitlist. Research 151 Coffee and other startup investment opportunities at kingscrowd.com.
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151 Coffee has not yet filed a Form C with the SEC for its planned Regulation Crowdfunding offering. No money or other consideration is being solicited, and if sent in response, will not be accepted. No offer to buy securities can be accepted and no part of the purchase price can be received until the offering statement is filed, and only through an intermediary's platform. An indication of interest involves no obligation or commitment of any kind.
Disclosure: This episode is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy any security. Investing in early-stage companies is risky and illiquid, and you may lose your entire investment.
