Even Startup Teaching Expert Has to... Close Coffee Shop

Specifically, Mr. Tung revealed that he will close Monkey in Black coffee shop, which has been operating for over 10 years on Su Van Hanh Street, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City. 

This is the last remaining outlet of the Monkey in Black coffee chain. Previously, this brand once had four branches throughout Ho Chi Minh City.

In an interview with Thanh Nien Newspaper, Mr. Tung explained that multiple factors led to this decision.

One major reason is that Monkey in Black's business model, which combined a coffee shop with a startup incubator, is no longer suitable for today's business market. Moreover, over time, he realized that the shop had limited growth potential and was no longer playing a crucial role in supporting other brands within his business ecosystem.

Additionally, the rising cost of rent, which reached half a billion dong annually, coupled with poor business performance and low revenue streams, contributed to this decision. The situation became particularly challenging when the business started showing signs of stagnation, with diminishing returns failing to justify the increasing operational costs.

"Moreover, I realized that I wasn't managing the coffee shop operations effectively. While I couldn't find a suitable partner to support in areas where I was lacking, such as customer service and product development, I had to make the difficult decision to close the shop," Mr. Tung shared.

According to Mr. Tung, when he announced the decision to close the last remaining Monkey in Black coffee shop on social media, he received many comments urging him to continue. People wrote comments like "This is a familiar spot for students in District 10, HCMC" and "This coffee shop has been part of our student life." "However, I believe it's time to stop rather than throwing money out the window," Mr. Tung explained, adding, "During its 10 years and 3 months of operation, the coffee shop did generate profits rather than losses."

Right after Mr. Tung announced the closure of his coffee shop, there were quite a few opinions suggesting: "How can a startup expert end up in this situation?" (referring to having to stop the coffee shop business), "Isn't closing the coffee shop basically admitting failure?"...

When asked about this issue, Mr. Tung explained: "Closing the coffee shop is not a failure. In fact, closing the coffee shop is exactly what a startup expert would do."

Mr. Tung elaborated: "Because I realized that the coffee shop business model was no longer suitable for the market. When times change, we must change to adapt. But many people don't understand this. Actually, in other countries, opening and closing shops is a very normal thing. When you see that growth opportunities are no longer there but still stubbornly continue, like the saying 'in for a penny, in for a pound', that's not the right approach."

"We should be more open-minded and normalize business challenges. Maybe that coffee shop didn't succeed, but I haven't failed. I'm still continuing to invest, manage, and look for new opportunities in many other startup projects," Mr. Tung added.

Mr. Tung also shared that he plans to incorporate the story of closing his coffee shop into his upcoming entrepreneurship lessons for young people interested in business. "People often talk about success stories, focusing only on achievements and progress, but rarely dare to discuss or mention failures and setbacks. This unintentionally creates 'blind spots' in understanding failure. Many young people remain unclear and lack information about others' failures and situations where they had to close their businesses. Therefore, I believe my 'hard-learned lesson' will provide valuable insights for others," Mr. Tung explained.

Sharing further advice with young people who want to start a business, Mr. Tung said: "It's important to understand that business isn't always smooth sailing. There are ups and downs. Sometimes you rise, and sometimes you fall. What's crucial is having a plan for those down times, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. When losses start happening, you need a plan to stop at the right time. For family and loved ones, it's important to be understanding rather than criticizing entrepreneurs who face failure. Moreover, while it's natural to feel sad and disappointed when failing, consider it a lesson and learn from these experiences to do better in future startup projects."

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Source: thanhnien.vn https://thanhnien.vn/chuyen-gia-giang-day-khoi-nghiep-cung-phai-dong-quan-ca-phe-185241121111043112.htm