Roy Choi a.k.a. Papi Chulo a.k.a. Kogi Taco Man a.k.a. LocoL Warrior here, reporting for Quora duty.
We initially had the same thoughts -- why not just raise through traditional investors, as per usual? But the more we thought about it, the more crowdfunding made sense.
First, I want to remind everyone of the improbability of what we're trying to do. We want to make fast food with real and wholesome ingredients. We want to make it affordable and serve those most poisoned by the corporatization of America's food. We want to use good, honest food as a starting point to nourish and uplift these communities. As one example, we're building commissary kitchens into our restaurants as a community asset. That way, we can support groups like The Cooking Project, a Tenderloin non-prof founded by Chef Daniel that teaches at-risk youth to cook real food. You can get the big picture mission here: Loco'l - Revolutionary Fast Food
So there are significant startup costs. Money is a small part of it, and we're currently going through the process of finding compatible financial partners (harder than you think!). But this isn't just another business; funding is a small part of the answer.
And don't worry about the food -- we're chefs, the food will be delicious. Trust.
It's the community part that we need to get right, and it's probably going to be the hardest part. That's where crowdfunding comes in.
Building Community
We've said this from the beginning... Loco'l is about something much bigger than just making food and money. It's about building and uplifting community.
Crowdfunding is the umbilical cord to really connect with our supporters and build a community. Especially outside of the neighborhoods of where we're (currently) at. Sure, there's a transaction that kickstarts the relationship (pun intended ha!). Even at just one dollar, it's an act of love and good faith. We're going to honor your love by keeping you in a tight loop every step of the way. We owe you that much.
Some of yall want to wait and see if the food is worthy. That's cool too... see you when we open!
Hooking the Community Up
You know, when some people see us doing the crowdfunding thing, they come with certain preconceptions -- mainly, this idea that we're "asking for money."
We're asking for money in the same way Amazon.com asks for money. I mean, have you even seen the rewards? Most of them are just good deals, straight up.
Take for example the 25 dollar perk: you get your money back in a LocoL gift certificate PLUS our digital recipe scrapbook. After fees and campaign overhead, we're literally losing money. But it's totally worth it for us every time, because A.) we get to know who you are, and B.) you have a reason to come see us when we open. I call that a win-win.
Not to get all Billy Mays on you, but I'm especially excited about the "superpower" T-shirt, which gets you 10% off anytime you wear it into the restaurant. The goal here it to make the food sell itself, so we're pretty sure we're never offering this again. But we wanted a creative way to reward our peoples. The campaign makes this possible.
So whatever you do, don't mistake us for a charity.
Being Honest
It's not that we would… but if we went all-in on traditional investing, we could have hidden away in the cloak of the illuminati's shadows, menacingly planning some variation of corner-cutting evil, as we lit yet another cuban with yet another crispy benjamin from yet another stash we "raised" from yet another traditional investor.
Not really our style. We'd rather roll with yall, OUR people. Through this campaign, we commit to each other. This forces us to be transparent to you throughout the entire process. We'll grow with yall, build some trust, create some stories together. That way, instead of opening Loco'l as 2 lonely businessmen, we go into it as a village.
Survive to Thrive
The name isn't an accident... I don't think y'all really understand how loco we are for doing this. Honestly it scares me. We literally have a low margin of error… we're aiming for 99 cents! Chef Daniel said it best (in his edible Magazine interview):
“We need to just be ridiculously fucking busy from the moment we open our doors. We have to nail it from day one. We have to make money because everyone is just waiting for us not to.”
The reality is, it's VERY hard to turn a quick profit at our prices. There are corporate and conflicting interests that are waiting for us to fail. We need more than financiers to survive. We need an army.
So there you have it. We're not just asking for money -- we're asking for so much more. We're asking for your heart, your soul, and your hunger invested into this crazy journey. I can't guarantee success, but I can guarantee that I'ma go in 100 with y'all. Real talk.
See you soon, America.
-- Roy
P.S. Hit me with your replies in this thread and I'll do my best to read / answer them.
P.P.S. Gratuitous food pics from our R&D session last Friday!
Beef patty cut with wholesome grains and tofu. You wouldn't know it though, it's delicious. Bun courtesy of Tartine Bakery... still a little big we need to lose a few grams... but sooo good.
"Chicken nuggets" with Chef Daniel's awesome sauce
Rhythm and Flow
P.P.P.S: Join us already... Loco'l - Revolutionary Fast Food