Ethan Kohan 🍫

Just signed our 10th franchisee!!! 🎉

Hayden, 23 years old (and our youngest franchisee), is based in Charlotte, NC and crushing it in real estate wholesaling.

Now he's adding vending as a complimentary business he can actually scale.

His plan is to scale to 20+ machines in year 1, hire an operator to run those locations, then focus purely on sales and growth while the cash flow compounds.

Rooting for you Hayden. Let's get it man!!!!!

P.S. looks like someone really enjoyed his Terry Black's 😂🥩

things worth every penny:

> AI Agents: Instinct & Grok Bot
> blank notebook time
> gym membership
> learning Spanish
> guitar lessons
> stretching
> A+ talent

i spent $500 on an LED topper so a Pokémon machine can scream “sold here” from every angle.

but beyond making the machine look sharper, i would argue the most important thing in physical retail is NOT the product inside.

it is whether a stranger walking past even knows you exist.

i know everyone obsesses about what to stock and how to price it, but the more abstract side of attention is the part most vending machine owners skip.

if sales increase by 10% or more, every machine gets one. if they do not, we kill it and keep the lesson.

at a stage in this business where I hope I never get used to this.

new machine live in Austin, TX.

one of my machines did about $1,000 in a single day.

it was Spider-Man opening night at a movie theater in Chicago.

the lobby was packed and people were already in line for merch and snacks. my machine was sitting right in the middle of that traffic.

a normal day at that spot looks nothing like that.

(the screenshot below is that night's sales)

i keep a short checklist for nights like this. where the machine sits, what I stock when the building is already going to be full, and what I skip on a quiet week.

A few honest lessons from that night:

1) a good location still needs a reason for people to be standing there.
2) stocking for an average day is the fastest way to run out on the biggest one.
3) cultural timing is inventory strategy, not a nice surprise after the fact.