The check is cut. So, we bought a mill. Well, we kind of bought a mill. What we definitely did do is sign an agreement to buy one and send a check for the deposit.
Suddenly, this whole thing is more than just a blog and PowerPoint deck. ($25,000 has the power to make something very real, very quickly.)
When I started this blog, I was also doing some hard core research. I read analyst reports and consumer studies and visited thousands of food and beverage websites. I even built a huge spreadsheet to assess the competition by scoring food companies against my own grading system. (It was almost 3,000 brands and 8,000 products.) Then, I distilled that research into 20 PowerPoint slides that present a clear opportunity to develop a differentiated brand and business.
What I discovered is that nobody in the whole-grain industry is using fresh milling and farm-to-table to convey their value. They can’t. They’re all captive to the same industrial supply chain. Meanwhile, in the larger Food & Beverage space, it feels like most have the same tone, visual aesthetic, and social mission strategy. It’s like there’s a template for creating the brands. So, I think we can create real differentiation and disruption by breaking the mold: enter a commoditized, un-trendy category; have a purpose and story that’s bigger than healthy food and an inspired founder; own the craft of actually making the products and creating the supply chain; and last, design the business to stand for systemic change instead of adopting somebody else’s cause.
Lately, I’ve been validating the opportunity by pitching my PowerPoint to smart people who know food, business, and brands. So far, so good. Everyone agrees that there’s something potentially big here.
But, until I signed the agreement for the mill and cut the check, there was never anything tangible. (It doesn’t get more tangible than a huge machine that spins 48” stones that weigh more than a car.)
I’m blocking out the very stressful reality that we bought a mill without a place to put it. (Unless, I want to move a big grain mill into my 2 bedroom apartment with my wife, 3 kids, and dog.)
In 10 weeks it’ll be our’s.
I got next! 