Death Wish Coffee: From Flat Broke To The #4 Selling Food Product In The World
I should say #4 on Amazon. Which is still remarkable.
Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!
This is an incredible success story about a regular Joe who was working as an accountant in New York state. He knew that wasn't for him though, he got sick of it and quit. His name is Mike Brown.
Mike spent the next year just hanging around coffee shops basically. Because he didn't know what to do with his life and he loved coffee. lol.
He was 30 years old and his friends were like.."Hey man, you can't just be a bum your whole life, whattaya gonna do?"
Well, since he loved coffee but didn't like how acidic it was and didn't think the flavor was strong enough...he started experimenting with his own roasting and brewing process.
He did this in a building behind his mom's garage in her backyard. This was in Saratoga Springs, NY. When he got a chance to open a little coffee shop on Main St he went for it.
His goal was to brew the world's strongest coffee because customers kept asking for the strongest brew he had.
Sometimes you gotta put it all on the line
Since he had no help and no experience in running a business it wasn't long before he was losing money and racking up debt.
He sold his house in order to keep the business running and moved in with his mom.(Yeah, a little bit humbling!)
He streamlined his inventory from 25 types of coffee down to 5 and started selling on Amazon with the name of Death Wish Coffee and a new logo of the skull and cross bones.
It only took one lucky break
One day Mike saw an ad on facebook by Intuit QuickBooks who had a contest to find a small business that they would sponsor a Super Bowl ad for. He entered it and enough people voted for his coffee company that he won the contest.
After the ad played during the Super Bowl, business exploded. The 30 second ad cost 5 million dollars, this was in 2015. Here it is:
That single ad opened more doors of opportunity and brought in more business than Mike could imagine. Now their products are sold in 10,000 retail stores and of course, like the title says, they are really huge on Amazon.
They also have cool products like shirts, mugs, etc. I was shocked at the prices though. Like this cup for $35:
Or this Viking mug for $40:
They're cool but my gosh! lol. They'd make great gifts I reckon.
The coffee itself sounds awesome. It's made mostly from Robusta beans which have twice as much caffeine as regular beans but it's very low in acidity with subtle cherry and chocolate flavors.
He claims it's the world's strongest coffee, I'd like to try it. It's all organic and Free Trade too. The variety is astounding, like this BulletProof coffee:
It's got Collagen Protein Peptides, is Keto Diet Friendly, Sugar Free, non-GMO, organic, with Brain Octane oil and Grass-fed Butter. Dang, this is some high quality stuff here!
I can see why they're succeeding like crazy. You can check out their products here. And if you go there, be sure and hit the "about" tab and look at the photos of his company's employees. lol.
An inspirational role model
Mike is such a great leader to learn from. He's very humble, has a big heart, and his company already has programs and initiatives to help the less fortunate and give back to the community. One of the things they're doing is supporting a Veterans organization.
This is while he's still building his business and living in a small apartment and taking only 5 or $600 a month out for himself. Basically working for free, in other words!
It'll be interesting to see if he keeps it all online or branches out into franchising like Starbucks. Either way, he's a force to be reckoned with.
Thanks for stopping by folks, God bless you all!
-jonboy
Texas
I do not like coffee and strong coffee not at all. Already it's smell makes me sick, close to vomiting. It's something that remained after my pregnancy.
Still, people say I make great coffee and ask where I buy it. I guess it all depends on your taste.
We have "robusta" since years. If you ask me it's the cheap bean which was years ago cheap coffee. Great marketing if you can make a best selling product out if something...
I guess tastes change and the rest is between the ears (placebo).
I like the color and shape of the red beker but find items with a print like that ugly. I do not see the need either so pay for advertising.
It was a good read. Thanks for sharing and enjoy your (strong) coffee.
💕
Posted using Partiko Android
Howdy wakeupkitty! Are you saying that you liked coffee before you got pregnant? That would be interesting! If so, did any other of your tastes change?
It’s always nice to read a good luck story Cowboy! I’d like to try the coffee.
I would too, he guarantees that it is the strongest coffee you ever tasted or he refunds your money.
I love hearing success stories like this! ❤️
Howdy Melinda! I'm so glad you liked this guy's story, me too. And this is in New York which has tons of heavy regulations and taxes and he still made it! He has 40 employees now and 4 warehouses across the country so he's just getting started. I really want to order some of his coffee.
I don't like coffee, so I am not tempted. I'll stick with my nice strong tea!
Well you probably save alot of money that way, you can buy large packages of tea for really good prices can't you? And the flavors and types are amazing.
My favorite tea is Yorkshire, and since it is imported it is a bit more expensive, but still cheaper than !coffeea, I'm sure
Howdy tonight Melinda! Is that regular natural flavor and do you go for some of the different flavors?
I'm not a fan of flavored tea, or most herbal teas either. I like it natural and really strong!
Green tea needs milk and honey, but not black tea!
I've never had green tea with milk and honey, I guess I should try that!
I am not a coffee drinker, if I was I think I'd be curious to try something called death wish coffee. I think my problem came when I was younger and my mom gave me a teaspoon of coffee to taste, let's just say it put a bitter taste in my mouth that lasted a lifetime. Sometimes when people say I am hard to get along with I tell them it's all coffee's fault, coffee seems to be a crucial part of developing early social skills, if coffee tasted better I'd been around the coffee pot every morning with everyone else at work....lol.
lol...it IS a required taste that's for sure and I can see how that early experience would mold your view of it. I like strong, black coffee so I'll probably try it.
You're making him a great advertising here, it would be great if such a successful store could be interested in doing business through Steem... Who knows, maybe you should try to reach people like him my friend
Howdy today sir joelsegovia! Well I'm impressed with entrepreneurs like him who sacrifice everything, put every thing at risk, and come out on top. I hope Steemit will have a store someday similar to Amazon in design.
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Wow steemitboard, that's alot of upvotes! I like those numbers, thanks for keeping track!
What a nice story!! Fate and fortune waiting for special persons!
Thank you sir kaminchan! I agree, with alot of blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice and smart planning thrown in!
Well said and so true!
Hi janton, what a pleasure to see a man do so much for others and so selflessly. I am gobsmacked because this kind of giving is rare. Thank you for the story.
Howdy angiemitchell! Yes, I saw a video interview with him and he's the most down to earth guy you ever saw, even though his company has grown to be one of the most successful on Amazon and is spreading worldwide. It was inspiring to see.
We might in the minority though because I only made $1.24 on this post. lol.
It is hard work earning bitcoins. The market is negatively the bitcoins too I noticed or I think that is the case
Yes, there is a slump in the price of Bitcoin at the moment but it is just temporary and will come roaring back, it's on a significant bull run. Lots of people think it can hit $25,000 by the end of the year!
Streaming live for a little while this morning.
See what i see..... Warning.!!
Boredom Alert....!!
KrazzyTrukker™ Cam.....
https://bittube.tv/post/398977be-875e-4c5c-98e0-834f8d9866f7
I love this video. Very relaxing. Although it froze up half way fhrough and I couldn't get it to finish. But dang, where is everyone, they found out you were coming? Where is this?
Was Temple TX. 2 Waco. Now in Shreveport.....
Shreveport huh? You able to get any Cajun food while you're in the area?
A truck almost ran Mrs. J off the road tonight coming home from work. Dang near every day she sees a big rig driving like a drunk sailor or cutting her off or something, didn't used to be that way.
By the time they replace the drivers with driverless trucks the statistics will look pretty good for the driverless even if they kill a few people!
Lets think this thru Jonboy........
Big Tech,(electronic logs = Qualcomm) Big Pharma (drug screening) and Big Trucking Companies have Bought and Paid (Lobbyists in DC) They now own the FMC$A (fed motor carrier $afety assoc)
Most of this corruption was under Barry Satearo (muslim name: Barrak Hussien Obama)
Now that We got that out of the way.....
Do You think Auto Bot Trucks would have a prayer of being on our highways, (Highways We bought and paid for with hard earned tax dollars) that they now want to toll while still taxing us for them......
Auto Trucks would not be considered if the highways were safe..... So what do they do....?
Under trained foreign drivers (meat in the seat) electronic micro-manager harassment device (ELD) 1 size fits all hours of service that are a joke. over regulation, masquerading as safety.
A never ending driver shortage..... there was a driver shortage when i started in 1992. why is there a shortage..... Bacause--->
Again..... Auto Trucks would not be considered if the highways were safe..... So what do they do....?
Please get Mrs J a dashcam right away. And have her stay as far away from the trucks whenever possible. consider a diff, non (less) truck route.
because it will get worse...... MUCH WORSE
It has 2 get much worse...... So..... Auto Trucks WILL BE Considered....
Auto Trucks would not be considered if the highways were safe..... So what do they do....? "True Story"
I thought the whole reason for auto trucks was to save and make more money. They could run them 24 hours a day and not have to pay health insurance or anything.
B I N G O....!!!
Ding ding ding..... We have a winner.....!!!!
It is ALL ABOUT THE.......!!
**$$$$$$ B E N J A M I N S $$$$$$
But the only way to make the American People Accept AUTO BOTS on their highways is to first make slaughter-ways out of the highways..... You get it now...??? Follow Da Money.......
That sounds kinda cruel sir krazzytrukker. Who thought up that plan? Well 5G is supposed to allow them to do it real soon here, but are these gonna be electric trucks?
Wow I love success stories like this one @janton. I just hope he keeps it all together. Since is is an accountant by trade he's probably pretty conservative with his spending, lol Thanks for sharing,. Blessings!
Howdy birdinparadise! Yes he's done a fantastic job and he spends most of his time pouring over spreadsheets and figuring things out, he has a very well thought out process and his plans are thoroughly tested before action is taken so I think his company will grow and grow.
Actually I want to order some of his coffee too because of it's strength but low acidity, and also the fabulous Bulletproof coffee that he sales. I love his story of rags to riches too and I'm so glad you appreciate it also! He's only about 35 yrs old so he's just getting started!
Anyway, thanks so much and God bless you!