How 63 Strangers Raised 780,000 Yuan to Open a Coffee Shop

What can 4,000 yuan buy you? Not even a square meter of property in most Chinese cities—or a return flight halfway across the world. But in Xi’an, it was enough to buy a dream: a stake in a community-owned coffee shop. One young woman’s bold idea brought 63 strangers together to open a café none of them could have built alone.

The answer is 4,000 yuan. Sixty-three people each contributed that amount, raising a total of 780,000 yuan (about $125,000) to launch Xi’an’s first ever crowdfunded, community-run coffee shop—all through an online post.

The Idea That Started It All

It began in early 2012. Ma Lin, an editor at Xi’an’s Contemporary Women’s Daily, was in Beijing on a work trip. While waiting to meet writers at a café near her hotel, she chatted with the staff and learned the place was co-owned by more than 20 friends. Intrigued, she filed the idea away.

Soon after, tragedy struck. A close friend was hospitalized with late-stage liver cancer. During their emotional goodbye, the friend voiced a deep regret: never having traveled to Tibet. A week later, the friend passed away. That loss haunted Ma Lin—and reignited her own shelved dream of opening a café. “Don’t let the same thing happen to you,” she told herself. “Act on your dreams before it’s too late.”

On February 11, 2012, Ma Lin published a blog post titled “4,000 Yuan: Let’s Open a Many-People Coffee Shop.” She invited anyone with a similar dream—foodies, aspiring entrepreneurs, coffee lovers—to invest as little as 4,000 yuan, and no more than 40,000, to co-own a café. “Let’s pool our ideals, money, time, wisdom, and talent,” she wrote. “Together, we can turn drops into oceans, and make our dreams blossom in reality.”

The post went viral. Shared over 3,500 times in just three days on Weibo, it caught the attention of strangers across China. People who’d never met were suddenly rallying around one idea: to build a café that wasn’t just a business, but a community.

From Online Post to Real-World Business

Responses poured in. Some were enthusiastic: “I’ve always wanted to open a coffee shop but never had the funds,” wrote Zhang Yin, a 25-year-old office worker. Others were skeptical: “How do you manage dozens of shareholders? Won’t this get messy?”

Ma Lin got to work structuring the venture like a real company. The plan: establish a limited liability company, elect a board of directors and a supervisory board, and set strict rules—like a three-year lock on share transfers to ensure stability. Profits would be minimal at first. “We’re not here to get rich,” Ma Lin insisted. “We’re here to do this right, with quality ingredients and no shortcuts.”

A WeChat group helped coordinate the growing team of almost 80 potential shareholders. Soon, real money started arriving—4,000 yuan here, 6,000 there, even an anonymous 40,000-yuan contribution. By the end of February, 63 people had committed a combined 780,000 yuan. Ma Lin was elected chairperson of what would become a legally incorporated coffee company.

What had started as a personal lament over lost dreams had turned into a functioning business—fueled entirely by trust among strangers.

Finding a Home for the Dream

The next hurdle: finding the right space. The team scouted a historic building in Beilin District, but the owner backed out after learning there would be too many co-owners. “You’re too complicated,” he said, renting the spot to a clothing brand instead.

Eventually, they settled on a quiet, 150-square-meter, three-story building along a bustling yet secluded lane in Xiaonanmen’s Sunmiao Street. More than just a location, it became a symbol of their shared purpose. “This place isn’t just for coffee,” Ma Lin explained. “It’s where strangers united over dreams. It’s a home for hope.”

The team named it “Our Coffee Shop.” Its ethos: slow down, warm each other, and dream together.

Designing a Space Full of Stories

Design fell to Ye Yong, a trendy fashion designer known to shareholders as “Swimmer Girl.” To her, this wasn’t just investment—it was a social milestone. “No one in China had ever done something like this,” she said. “People coming together just because they believe.”

The coffee shop’s interiors became a mosaic of personal histories. A second-floor toy shelf displayed trinkets from shareholders’ travels. Upstairs, a vintage Forever-brand bicycle leaned against the stairs—donated by a shareholder named Xiao Hu. The third floor held the café’s signature space: a bookshelf shaped like a Tetris grid, a hand-painted logo wall with dozens of colorful coffee beans symbolizing unity, and an old English newspaper-covered projection wall.

Even disagreements became part of the story. In August 2012, shareholders clashed over coffee bean suppliers. Different camps argued passionately. The solution? Democratic voting. Shares were weighted (2,000 yuan = 1 vote, 10,000 yuan = 5 votes), and decisions were made by majority on the spot. No sore losers—just shared ownership.

Love, Laughter, and Community

On October 18, 2012, Our Coffee Shop opened its doors. To celebrate, Ma Lin baked her signature pastries and gave them away free. In a playful toast, shareholders joked she’d soon find love. She didn’t—but someone else did.

Guan Ya, a designer, and Wang Qin, a lawyer, met during the shareholder meetings. Wang Qin proposed a rule capping individual investments at 40,000 yuan to prevent dominance—a rule everyone supported. Their chemistry was instant. Over the months, as they worked side by side on décor and logistics, their bond deepened. When Guan Ya sweated through his shirt during renovations, Wang Qin took his jacket home to wash. When she returned it, freshly cleaned and fragrant, something clicked.

By January 18, 2013, they were engaged—pledging their vows in the coffee shop they helped build. “Because of this place,” Wang Qin said, “we went from strangers to partners. This is the most unexpected gift.”

The café became more than a business. It hosted dating events, entrepreneurship talks, movie nights, and baking workshops. On Valentine’s Day 2013, a customer named Zhong Sheng proposed to his girlfriend inside the café’s private screening room, which shareholders decorated with roses and a slideshow of their love story. “Seeing that,” Ma Lin recalled, “I thought—how could we not pour our hearts into this place?”

How They Made It Work

Running a café owned by 63 strangers required clever management. Shareholders elected a rotating executive team and six-person management crew. Every month, two general shareholders volunteered to help oversee daily operations, reporting back to the group. For major decisions, a full shareholder meeting was called.

This model blended business with belonging. More than just a coffee shop, it became a hub where urban strangers turned into friends—and sometimes, life partners.

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