How Tenacity and Perseverance Led to Lasting Success The Nitro Cart
Audrey Finocchiaro and Sam Lancaster, a couple in Rhode Island, literally built their business from scratch. Before they ever sold a single cup of nitro cold brew, Finocchiaro maxed out her credit card purchasing construction materials. Then, in her parent’s basement, the couple cobbled together a cart, outfitting it with bike tires and a kickstand; thus, The Nitro Cart was born. It was as humble as beginnings get, and the business was far from an overnight success. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS In the beginning, The Nitro Cart struggled to gain traction. They parked their cart throughout Providence, Rhode Island. They brought their nitro cold brew to several locales, from farmers markets to sheep shearing events. Despite that, they were selling less than $100 of product per day and were considering giving up altogether. Finocchiaro and Lancaster had a difficult decision to make with a cold New England winter approaching and their profits dwindling. But, as fate would have it, things changed when they brought The Nitro Cart to Brown University. There, they found their audience. Their nitro cold brew was an instant hit with the students, and they sold out — for the first time — in just 30 minutes, raking in $400 in sales. They decided to return every day, earning themselves a reputation and a profitable venture. Despite their newfound success, winter still posed a serious problem. They navigated this by partnering with several local restaurants, who agreed to carry and sell their nitro cold brew. This worked like a charm: Over 70 restaurants have it on tap today. THE GAMBLE Two investors sampled The Nitro Cart’s cold brew at a farmers market and decided to invest. They offered Finocchiaro a deal: a $100,000 loan, with a 10% interest rate, to help the couple expand their business. Additionally, the deal stipulated that the investors could turn the loan into a 10% equity investment in The Nitro Cart. It was a gamble because they risked losing all they had built if they could not keep up with payments. But they took it, and the money provided a financial safety net for them.
However, their newfound finances did not stop them from working to their full potential. Instead of slowing down, they sped up. The couple proceeded to work weekends, spending 80-hour work weeks and willing themselves to succeed through tenacity and hard work. They could no longer give up. They had to persevere. BRICK, MORTAR, AND TIKTOK Finocchiaro and Lancaster did not rely on word-of-mouth alone. They started a TikTok channel, creating content showing their hard work and innovative cold brew. By giving their audience a look into their lives and processes, they have become social media influencers on top of business owners. To date, the channel has accrued over 220,000 followers, and Finocchiaro’s personal TikTok account has nearly 100,000 subscribers. Now, The Nitro Cart is known as The Nitro Bar. They currently have three brick-and-mortar stores and over 60 employees. They made less than $100 a day when they started, and now they earn $4.5 million annually. It does not matter how you start but how you finish.
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MASTERING THE MARKETING TOOL MAZE Naturally, not all of today’s online business solutions are created equal. As even the simplest Google search will reveal, the marketplace is flooded with products of varying usability, capabilities, and pricing structures. Also, tech providers are prone to mergers and rebranding, so a platform known by a certain name today may change monikers overnight. Before selecting any software or service, dive into free demos/ tutorials, customer reviews, and what competing vendors offer. Above all, research with patience, as something that seems like a quick fix today could become a costly tech-ache in the long run.
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