Coffee gathering, the first cafe with many people in Hangzhou, officially opened on the 26th.

Can you open a cafe by assembling dozens or even hundreds of shareholders with a minimum investment of 2000 yuan each?

On August 25, 2012, the media reported that "is it reliable for 50 people to open a store together?" "to evoke a huge response. Two days after the report was published, more than 370 people were interested in becoming shareholders. But while cheering constantly, it also raises questions: can such a coffee shop be opened? How long can you survive after driving?

The snowball gets bigger and bigger, and the number of shareholders accumulates to 110.

Today, nine months later, the first question has been answered: "JuCoffee", the first cafe with 110 shareholders in Hangzhou, opened on May 26!

The business situation in the past two days was good, but the first chairman, Li Xiang, did not breathe a sigh of relief. They wanted to try to subvert the model of "three monks with no water to drink" and let "gather coffee" go further.

After nine months, many cafes have finally opened as expected. But can it survive in Hangzhou, where cafes abound?

Yesterday afternoon, the reporter visited several cafes in Hangzhou, most of the operators are not optimistic about this model.

"Cafe owned by many people may become an attractive point in the short term, but in terms of long-term operation, customers are more meaningful, price, environment and service." Mr. Xu, who has been a manager of the coffee industry in Hangzhou for seven or eight years, said the coffee shop is not a profitable project. Normally, it is good to be able to maintain capital within 3 years, but it is difficult to say whether the investment can be recovered.

In Mr. Xu's view, multi-shareholders are also a double-edged sword. "it may bring popularity to the coffee shop, but it is also likely to make it a place for 110 people to entertain themselves."

Lily, the manager of a coffee shop chain in Wulin business district, also admitted that it is very difficult for coffee shops to make a profit in the case of high rent, wages and raw materials. "our store has been open for 4 years, only a short profit, and is still in a state of loss. Some coffee shops have to change several signs a year. "

Lily is also worried about the future of JuCoffee. "We are chain stores, and the company will use profitable stores to make up for lossmaking stores. But like JuCoffee, if it loses money for a long time, shareholders can only make up for it. If you lose money for a long time, shareholders will certainly have an opinion. "

Haoyang (a pseudonym), who has opened several coffee shops with six or seven friends, is optimistic about the future of JuCoffee. "it doesn't matter how many shareholders, as long as everyone is of one mind, a clear division of labor, and each does his job well."

Twists and turns to survive OR chasing dreams? The sponsor withdrew from the team on the eve of the establishment of the company.

However, there are also people who quit the team, including two original sponsors, such as Lu Qien, who won the most votes in the board election.

"more than 100 people came to the meeting with an initial estimate of 50 people. However, because we are not ready for a more mature team and plan, the efficiency of the meeting is very low. " Lu Qien, who quit and turned to a personal cafe, clearly remembers the situation at that time.

After learning from the experience, the second shareholders' meeting was held on September 23. At the suggestion of Lu Qien, shareholders initially decided to build Hangzhou's first film-themed literary cafe, then elected the board of directors and the board of supervisors and adopted the articles of association.

However, the addition of two shareholders with experience in coffee shop management has also brought the view that "cafes can be more artistic, but must be commercial in order to survive."

Do you want to take the commercial operation route or the literary and artistic route? Once a harmonious group of shareholders, there has been a huge disagreement. "it is common for shareholders to argue, but they can still have midnight snacks together after the argument. At the height of the argument, I just lifted the table. " Come and say at the same time.

"if the daily operating cost is NT $2000, a company is willing to pay NT $2300 for the annual meeting, while another band also wants to perform, but can only pay NT $1700. If it is a literary cafe, it will choose the latter. I believe this choice will bring word of mouth to the cafe. " Lu Qien used this example to make his point.

But Li Xiang has another account in mind. "if the early management is not good, once there is a gap in the capital chain, it will need the next round of fund-raising. This is easy to erode shareholders' confidence in the cafe, but also related to the survival of the cafe. " Li wants to say that business does not mean rejecting literature and art. Once the enterprise operates in the market, it must adapt to the market competition. "if the company and the band want to charter the venue at the same time, if the price is higher than the operating cost, I am willing to choose the band. If the asking price is higher than the cost and the other is lower than the cost, then I will definitely choose the former. "

On January 2, 2013, the board of directors urgently organized another shareholders' meeting, and more than a dozen shareholders, including Lu Qien, chose to withdraw.

On January 13, the company was successfully registered. After four months of preparation for decoration, Hangzhou's first coffee shop, JuCoffee, opened in Huanglong Yayuan.

The reporter also learned that more than a dozen shareholders who quit were preparing another cafe for many people. Or in the near future, because of different ideas, there may be many "cafes for many people" in Hangzhou.

(responsible Editor: Leo)