The Koerner Office - Business Ideas and Deep Dives with Chris Koerner - 005: How I Became a Self Made Millionaire at 25 In A Third World Country

Episode Date: September 7, 2023

From selling bananas on the streets of Central America at the tender age of 7 to navigating the complexities of the seafood industry, my journey has been anything but ordinary. As a young entrepreneur, I've faced challenges that tested my resolve, from fierce competition in the coffee market to legal battles amidst a global pandemic. Yet, with determination, adaptability, and a clear vision, I've managed to turn opportunities into thriving businesses. Dive into my story of resilience, innovation, and the invaluable lessons I've learned along the way.

Welcome to Startup Gems. We find undiscovered startup growth hacks, stories, and case studies from every random nook and cranny of the internet. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur, an aspiring startup enthusiast or simply someone seeking inspiration, startup gems is your source for the stories that ignite the flames of innovation. From selling bananas on the streets of Central America at the tender age of seven to navigating the complexities of the seafood industry, my journey has been anything but ordinary. As a young entrepreneur, I've faced challenges that tested my resolve, from fierce competition in the coffee market to legal battles amidst a global pandemic. Yet, with determination, adaptability, and a clear vision, I've managed to turn opportunities into thriving businesses. Dive into my story of resilience, innovation, and the invaluable lessons I've learned along the way. Episode 5.

How I became a self-made millionaire at 25 in a third world country. I am from Central America, a truce. tropical region with lots of poverty and problems. Since I was a kid, I had the drive to put extra effort on achieving something. I started selling bananas to construction workers at seven later selling candy to schoolmates at 10. At 15, I decided to study business and become either an overachiever employee or a business owner. At that time, I didn't exactly know which path to take. While I was in university, BA studies, I noticed I had a lot of spare time after school, so instead of wasting my time on leisure, I decided to start a business.

I had no clue of which kind of business start, also to start one that didn't require much money because I had none. I met with fellow classmates that were smart and also wanted to stand out, so together we decided to start a coffee distribution company. We were offering coffee to restaurants and hotels, but competition was very tough, and we just couldn't close deals to get to break even. I started noticing the first signs of a red ocean industry and how tough it is to stand out in that kind of industry. My co-founders were not putting the same effort as I was, and that frustrated me. At a point my dorm served as the company's warehouse, packing center, and distribution center, I was closing almost all of the sales with clients and also doing the delivery. I noticed many companies offered high-quality coffee, but only a few offered high-quality tea.

Also in my region, a coffee-growing region, there are a lot of coffee sellers as we live in a coffee-growing country. Tea was always imported from Asia, and few companies, actually focused on it. I noticed there was an opportunity on focusing on tea instead of coffee. I offered my co-founders to buy their shares and they agreed. For them, it was a relief. So I started sourcing tea that was grown locally and mixing it with herbs, spiced in fruits to create tasty tea blends. The product was very good and without competitors, so I went to McDonald's HQ and offered the product for McCaffee. McDonald's loved the product and agreed on the price. They also liked that I was very young.

My tea processing was being done at my dorm, so I lacked all the licenses required to supply at McDonald's standards. So I was very sincere with the supply chain director and told him I had all the desire but lacked the money to build the proper tea facility. I offered him teapots, and with the teapot earnings, I could buy the machinery and equipment required to supply them properly, and also to get the sanitary approvals. He agreed on the teapots and gave me a 50% advance, $1.50,000. K for them. I bought 5,000 teapots in Alibaba, China for $3 each and sold them at $1.20 to McAfee.

I used all the profits to build the facility, and it took me almost one year to finally start supplying McDonald's. While I was already supplying them, I noticed the tea market was very small, a blue ocean kind, but actually a blue pond. My ambitious goals, become a billionaire at 35, would be tough to reach staying exclusively in the tea industry. I kept hustling for two years on the tea until an opportunity came to me or I came to it. While I was offering tea to a sushi restaurant, out of curiosity, asked if the fish served there was locally caught. The owner said, No, it comes from Asia because local fish has bad quality and I can't risk my restaurant's reputation or clients' health giving them bad quality fish. It startled me that local restaurants didn't use

local fish, even though we have plenty access to both Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. seemed like an obvious problem, so I started to find out why, what Asians did right and what us Central Americans did wrong. After months of obsessive research, the problem was lack of knowledge and investment in the local fishing industry, resulting in fishermen, living in poverty conditions with no ability to supply high-quality fish. The solution was to teach them good practices and invest in a high-quality seafood processing facility. The cost of the solution was over four $400,000 in investment money that I didn't have. So I decided to build a team, test out our theory, and provide the product to restaurants,

and learn form their feedback. It was a lean startup mentality to start small and cheap to prove the business thesis. We received excellent feedback and real purchase interest from restaurants. That was enough to know it was a great opportunity and also a huge market potential for growth. So I decided to pitch my way up until I could secure the funds. After a year of pitching, I was far from the goal. Securing $100K in a third world country is nearly impossible if you are a young entrepreneur with an idea. So I started enrolling in international entrepreneurship competitions. I was able to compete in GSA and then Holt Prize. I didn't win them, earned a second place in both, but it was enough to broaden my network with wealthy investors with deep pockets.

I secured funding early 2020 and started building the fish facility in February. The COVID lockdown hit us hard and we couldn't deliver what our investor expected. So legal fights came with lawyers I couldn't afford while managing a born-dead company, while also pitching again to secure more funds to get us out of the hole. Our initial investor agreed to sell his shares if given 40% ROI, paid dollar 150K up front, and semestral payments for five years. A new investment fund gave us a loan to pay back the previous investor an additional dollar 300K for working capital. Very high interest rate, but at least we got a runway to prove our business through time.

After restructuring and getting rid of internal and external bad apples, we started buying, processing, and selling fish in May 2021. We closed 2021 with $1.2M in revenue, and we will close 2022 with $10 million revenue. Beyond supplying fish to local restaurants, we also provide fresh food. airplane delivery to restaurants in Miami, NY, Louisiana, frozen fish to hotel chains all over America. We have healthy debts now, a good EBTDA and a growth trajectory that will put us in $100 million annual revenue in less than 10 years. We will keep reinvesting profits on KPEX and OPEX to keep up with the growth trajectory. God has been an integral part of my journey. Lessons learned, vision and goals must be clear. The path can change. The goals can't. Having a

mission is key. Hustle, hustle, hustle, have a great team that complements your strengths and weaknesses. From the bustling streets of Central America to the bustling kitchens of restaurants across the U.S., my journey has been a testament to the power of perseverance, vision, and adaptability. Through every challenge and setback, it's been my unwavering faith, the support of my team, and the lessons learned that have propelled me forward. As I reflect on my path, I'm reminded that while the road to success is rarely straightforward, with passion and hustle, dreams can transform into reality. To every aspiring entrepreneur, remember, stay true to your goals, embrace change, and never underestimate the impact of a clear mission. Here's to the next chapter and the adventures

it holds.