Back from Bankruptcy - Accelerating Puerto Rico Cacao Industry
I tweet about babies and business. | Acquired 4 businesses for $3.8M | Christian Husband Father
Chocolate Bar
#1
is up for auction! 🍫🔥
Winning bidder will also get 2-night trip to Puerto Rico for 2 🇵🇷
(link in following post)
We will visit the farm, go to the beach, and have a cacao inspired dinner with a Private Chef.
Starting Bid $100
If you want kids, have 2.
And make sure they are 14-18 months a part.
It’s a life hack
Until they are both at least two, life will be hard.
But once they are that age, throw them in the same room together. Encourage them to be best friends.
And then watch as the fruit of
Here's the timeline towards bankruptcy:
HINT: Don't do this. Give your lessons time to simmer.
Mar. 2019: Quit job at Facebook
May: Joined largest client
Sep: Got fired
Oct 2019: Went down Warren Buffet rabbit hole. The idea of Impact Industry was born.
Jan 2020: Found
I'm going through some difficult times right now, trying to be as transparent as possible, and hopefully that can help others.
If you are too, feel free to DM me.
Bankruptcy Update
#3
:
My papers are filed.
Here's what happens over the next 6 months:
💰First I have to close all my personal bank accounts and have a debtor in possession account
📈 I have monthly reporting requirements about where all my money is going. I've already
Hear me out.
This is the best kept secret in the United States so much so that I kind of don't want to share this with you.
Some dad's have Dm'd me wanting to plan their family vacation here.
So I thought maybe we could coordinate the ultimate twitter family vacation where
Morning thoughts: Fathers
Just be intentional.
My dad sent me this text about a month ago, saying he didn’t feel he was connecting with me enough.
I have one of the best dads in the world mind you.
Every Friday he draws, reads, and play games with my kids before he goes to
I’m going to be fine going through bankruptcy.
The 1000s of people who have lost manufacturing jobs in furniture won’t.
It’s been a brutal year for the furniture industry. A lot of the these small towns in North Carolina will be destroyed.
and I hate I played a part.
Bankruptcy finally hit my wife this morning
👶🍼🤱Two months after having birth so emotions are high
-"What about the plans we had for next year?"
-"What about the life we used to have?"
-"What are we going to do the next 5 months?"
Reality is life is on hold, here is what I
Best $2,500 you ever spent?
I will go first Lasik Eye Surgery.
Yes, you are awake as they laser beam your eye.
Yes, you smell the flesh burning.
And three days later you no longer have to wear contacts or glasses.
Tomorrow is the day.
Bankruptcy Update
#6
: my final hearing
We submitted a plan to pay creditors $15,000 over 5 years. ($250/month)
And discharge over a little over $3,000,000 in debt.
Voted in Favor:
✅My largest creditor
✅American Express my second creditor
Rejections
3 years ago we opted out of American life and moved to Puerto Rico,
It’s the best decision we have made,
We don’t feel the pressures to live in the same cookie cutter house.
Send our kids to the best private schools.
Have our kids in every single sport draining both parent
If your sore this morning from that tax bill yesterday…
Just remember the USA has one of the most tax advantaged islands in the world.
There are hundreds of millions flowing into the island, there is an incredible workforce of talented people, and your still protected by US
What's the hardest decision you've made in business?
In June, three months before bankruptcy my largest client sent us an email that said, "We are negotiating with bank to get you paid."
Uh oh. You never want to hear that.
That means a covenant has been broken and the
Bankruptcy update:
Last week we closed a $1M liquidation sale of our real estate and trucks.
Still leaves about $2M left but builds me some good will with the bank.
It was the last box to check before officially finalizing my personal filing.
The truth is Bankruptcy can't
Bankruptcy plan approved ✅
Bankruptcy is slowly coming to an end.
The best way to describe it is that my feet have finally touched the ground. After my largest client ceased operations, I have been floating through the air.
Now I get to move forward. Here's exactly what it
I’m broke.
But I feel super wealthy heading into next year.
I have a wife who loves challenges and supports me.
I have three of the most incredible children in the world.
I have incredible parents that gently nudge me and love me unconditionally,
I have male friends that
Also I love my bank.
If you treat people like people they usually reciprocate. And the folks at CIBC have helped me through this.
Email my guy, if you have an SBA deal:
Casey.Krapfl @ cibc (dot) com
Nicest banker I’ve met.
Or
@CEMcNultySBA
who was Casey’s mentor!
Someone messaged me I wasn’t being honest about bankruptcy.
Here’s the full truth:
1. I filed with 2.8M in personal guaranteed debt.
2. I filed personally under chapter 11 sub V, (it’s only been around for 3 years.)
3. it’s under the reorganization code but we are using to
My wife kicked my butt last night.
We set down to talk about goals for 2024, and I was like:
“I just want to make sure to put food on the table for you and the kids.”
She’s like what????
“What about all the traveling with kids we’ve talked about and dreamed of?”
It’s
I never expected my bankruptcy to reach millions of people.
I'm glad it has.
Struggling relationships, hundreds of thousands in taxes stolen, vile PE firm stories, business owners trying to outrace rising interest rates and stories of progress like this have filled my inbox.
Mr. Beast is doing small boy stuff when it comes to chocolate.
Why just do candy bars when you can be a part of the whole entire cacao supply chain?
Why not put Puerto Rico, a part of the great USA, as the best cacao producing country on the map.
The other day I posted
I’ve spent hours with bankruptcy attorneys this year.
🇺🇸 The USA has some of the best bankruptcy laws in world.
The most important thing to know is:
Bankruptcy is a tool in your tool belt of business. It’s the last tool you want to use but it’s also one of the most powerful.
For bankruptcy, you have start putting together personal financial statements.
One reason we took BIG risks.
We live a simple life.
Even when we were making $40,000 a month we were spending about $7,500 on normal life.
Which means my worse possible scenario is I have to go
Best $2,500 you ever spent?
I will go first Lasik Eye Surgery.
Yes, you are awake as they laser beam your eye.
Yes, you smell the flesh burning.
And three days later you no longer have to wear contacts or glasses.
Here's the timeline towards bankruptcy:
HINT: Don't do this. Give your lessons time to simmer.
Mar. 2019: Quit job at Facebook
May: Joined largest client
Sep: Got fired
Oct 2019: Went down Warren Buffet rabbit hole. The idea of Impact Industry was born.
Jan 2020: Found
Today in bankruptcy:
- 5 mother f**** were dropped on me in 2 mins.
-Spent all day with legal and bank.
-Baby slept on my chest for afternoon nap.
Nothing really prepares you for when stuff truly hits the fan. You see the other side of people.
Raw emotions feelings, the
I told you all I wasn't doing small boy stuff.
Introducing my fractional-CFO, the Bill Ackman loving, biggest smile that you have ever seen, the guy who quit his W-2 job last week:
ROBERT STERLING
I would like to take this time to apologize to all the people out there who
I got a message saying, “We are negotiating with the bank to get you paid.”
I knew it was over.
Those fatal words destroyed my largest customer, my business, and my personal wealth. My client breached a covenant in their loan documents, the bank seized their cash, and they
This was actually difficult to write as it brings back a lot of emotions.
That week I was scared, terrified rather. I called my dad just bawling the morning before I flew home.
What if I missed the birth? My wife is home alone with two kids and large belly.
Bankruptcy
Last week, I tweeted about the Puerto Rico Cacao Industry.
This week I have over $500K of soft commitments to accelerate the industry in only 4 days.
But that's really not even the coolest part
👨⚖️My bankruptcy lawyer whose helped me navigate the last 6 months is now an
@SMB_Attorney
4:30: wake up and work out
5:30: focus session
7:00: take over kids
9:00: return to work
6:00: dinner, put the kids to bed, clean up
8:00: time with wife
9:00: get ready for bed
9:30: sleep
2 yr old and 3 year old
Nothing but a $16,000, Emirates business class seat for my kids.
@sweatystartup
just isn’t smart enough yet to have
@AmexBusiness
sponsor his trips.
Also, the cuteness level in business class went WAYYYY up on this flight.
When I see kids in first class it makes me cringe.
Wife and I fly first, nannies + kids in economy.
I will not let my kids become coddled, entitled jerks.
I've been through some challenging times this last year.
If you are a business owner going through difficult times, please reach out.
I want to help you know that there is a way out no matter the circumstances.
One of the bigger accounts on here reached out and said what I was working was a terrible idea…
Man I respected the heck out him for taking the time to say that
We chatted back and forth for a couple of minutes and I explained more.
“ Wait so it’s not really about cacao?”
I'm going through some difficult times right now, trying to be as transparent as possible, and hopefully that can help others.
If you are too, feel free to DM me.
"Thank you, your honor."
My final bankruptcy hearing with the judge lasted only about 5 minutes.
He wished me well.
❌No climatic ending of a creditor coming in at the last moment to delay the hearing.
❌No votes denying my plan.
Nothing.
It was an anti-climactic ending
My lawyer made me shed a tear yesterday 😢
Bankruptcy Update
#6
coming next week and things are looking up but don't want to jinx it yet.
February was a difficult month of going through bankruptcy really set in. Specifically:
- Paying for $300 in groceries with cash.
He is risen!
One of the coolest things Gods been doing in our community is a new church plant.
Over 100 people joined us for Easter service.
Happy Easter.
Most difficult relationship I’ve had:
Business partner.
I thought he was the right guy.
I spent hours with him and his family.
Great background and experience
I put him in place to manage one of my companies.
Then, he started to get sick
Then things started to crack:
Really thought about making my PFP a cartoon, and changing my name to "the bankruptcy guy".
But then I remembered my kid's hair was the only reason you all follow me.
I'm going through some difficult times right now, trying to be as transparent as possible, and hopefully that can help others.
If you are too, feel free to DM me.
Here’s the situation in the American furniture industry:
Klaussner: $200M manufacture ceased operations, August 7th. 884 people lost their jobs.
MGBW: $150M+ retailer/manufacturer ceased operations last week. 800 people lost their jobs.
United Industries: laid off 2,700
You can probably tell my wife is a saint.
- I married way up.
- She's the best mom.
- She supports me and the family 100%
- She puts up with my crazy ideas and antics.
- She allows me to take risks.
- I've drug her all around the world.
I'm a 100% better person because we
I failed.
I'm trying to make my situation as transparent as possible.
The most likely situation is personal bankruptcy. Right now, working with the bank to liquidate. (Once you declare you can't talk to the bank)
As someone who failed SMB, what do you want to know?
Who should be my first 5 guests for my podcast?
The idea: You AND your family fly into Puerto Rico.
Live with us for the weekend. We get to know you and your family.
I teach your kids to surf, I crush you in settlers of catan, while gathering questions and topics about you
You all didn’t believe me.
When you follow me you automatically get:
✅open door invitation to Puerto Rico.
✅free surf instructor for your kids.
✅immediate friend.
Grateful for new connections from this silly little app.
Look forward to more 𝕏periences soon.
June was the worst month of my career:
❌Lost $30K+/month retainer client
❌$3M/yr furniture customer almost went bankrupt
❌Landlord demanded we wire him $40K overnight.
❌50% chance I was declaring bankruptcy myself.
Then I got this text message from my employee:
"I'll just go on record. I feel very comfortable saying it. I believe in God." -
@hubermanlab
“The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.” -Werner Heisenberg
What’s the worst decision you’ve made in business?
For me, I didn’t take the money.
Yesterday, I told you about the hardest decision I made. Leaving my wife 36 weeks pregnant to go try and save my business.
But what happened after I flew home killed us.
When I landed, the
I'm going through some difficult times right now, trying to be as transparent as possible, and hopefully that can help others.
If you are too, feel free to DM me.
Let me be controlled by the fear of God and the desire to please him
Not by the fear of man and the desire to please people
May I make decisions based on fearing God and not who I want to like me.
@youderian
Thanks Andrew for the note! I’ve had a massive win with the family and massive learnings with the rest.
My goal was to impact people when the vision started in 2019, and that vision doesn’t get wiped out.
March 28th, my tweet about the Cacao industry went viral.
That night, I sent the manager of the project I was working on a loom: "This is the value I can provide you but it doesn't seem like you need it right now."
Manager: "Nope, let's end your contract."
BOOM: I was
“Stay Calm and find your board”
Our kids are 3 and 4, love to surf, but a 2 ft wave coming at them is scary out in open ocean. We don’t wear life jackets, and we let them fall and fail.
But this is what I tell them.
When you fall, when things happen, when biz doesn’t go your
What training wheels do you need to remove?
Just do the darn thing.
My daughter is 3 and conquered riding her bike today.
Here's the thing we never used training wheels, we never gave our children floaties in the pool, and we also didn't give them screens in the restaurant.
How do you go from working with $100M+ brands and being a $750K/year agency to $0?
The truth: Abdication. (Full P&L Below)
I wasn't focused on building the agency I was focused on trying to build Impact Industry. My thesis was: make above average returns, provide above
When things go south, and when you owe people a lot of money...
Some start saying things to you like:
"You're family deserves better than this from you." as a put down to you.
It's a really interesting viewpoint into humanity. If you have thin skin, you go down the road to
What are you doing to create the life you want?
Here’s what I did:
- I created a group chat with all the families in our condo complex
- every other Friday I invite all of them to the gathering place for Friday night pizza.
And it’s absolutely glorious.
Favorite Asset?
I’ll go first.
My Amex points!
It’s one of the best perks of being a business owner.
What’s one of your favorite assets?
P.S. can’t wait for all the crypto bros to send me pictures of their monkeys.
Robert and I had a POWER breakfast this morning with Patrick Campbell,
Patrick and I have become friends over the past year. And whether you are super successful or your business ends in bankruptcy you deal with a lot of the same stuff.
As I build this it’s my only role to
I'm going through some difficult times right now, trying to be as transparent as possible, and hopefully that can help others.
If you are too, feel free to DM me.
"Good Luck with your bankruptcy." The US trustee said
Bankruptcy Update
#5
: 341 Creditors Meeting
I was a bit caught off guard by the Trustee as he followed up his good luck with a "Thank you for your time Hunter, hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and New
@sweatystartup
Nick: Wifey can you get me some diet coke at the store.
Wife: you don’t drink diet coke.
Nick: I got to piss all the rich guys off on Twitter so that they start to engage with my content.
Wife: ah so that hopefully they invest with you in RE.
Nick: I love you.
-10,000 Boomers retire a day
-8-10% own a small business.
There is a reason they retire instead of sell their business.
There is no opportunity and negative opportunity when you add 80% leverage.
Here’s some specifics about our move to Puerto Rico.
We bought a 2story, 4/3 condo on the beach for $350,000. (Thank goodness I get to keep in BK)
The beach we regularly surf at is 1 mile down the road.
We shop at the local Econo for most groceries, Sam’s which is 45 mins
3 years ago we opted out of American life and moved to Puerto Rico,
It’s the best decision we have made,
We don’t feel the pressures to live in the same cookie cutter house.
Send our kids to the best private schools.
Have our kids in every single sport draining both parent
My wife was mind blown. 🤯
An hour after I told her, I got paid
She said,
“It’s pretty crazy that we live in a world where you don’t have a job but you can go online and get paid $500 just for being honest.”
I think that was her way of saying I’m proud of you 😂
And she
I’m 28.
In 3 days, it is my 8 year anniversary.
No cold plunge, 5am wake up, healthy eating, can have the impact as young marriage.
Here are 8 benefits in life and business.
1. It forces you to make big decisions with someone else in mind.
CEOs do this everyday
It’s Bitcoin, it’s NVDA, no its…Cacao???
And it’s price could be a key to turning around Puerto Rico’s flailing coffee economy.
A majority of the worlds cacao is produced in West Africa…but due to extreme weather and geo-political tension, supply is under threat.
Here in
Sellers don’t care that:
🚩your name is Small Beaver Capital
🚩you have a pretty website
🚩your spreadsheet.
They do care about:
✅ Who you are
✅How you will treat their employees.
✅Your story.
It took me two phone calls and a fair offer to steal this from a $50M Co.
We took a lot of risks to get here:
-Got married at 20 & 21.
-Paid off $36,000 of school debt my senior year in college
-Moved away from family and friends.
-Quit my job at Facebook with a 4-month old with nothing official lined up. (Wife was a Night Shift nurse.
I just sent 60 emails to investors who were interested in investing in the cacao industry here in Puerto Rico.
🍫🍫🍫
3 hours assessing risk with the board of the cacao project who wants me to be involved in some way.
I still have 5 pages of notes and stories to share from
Family offices looking for alternative investments have found me 😳😳😳
The last 10 days have been wilder than bankruptcy.
Humbled to be a small servant and steward of so many people's trusts right now.
My wife and I have pillow talk every night to stay grounded. My family's
Baby Boy Eliah Mar Durham Arrived yesterday at 2:20.
Wife pushed out a 10.2 pound baby naturally. Wow I married up.
My net worth just tripled.
And
@ChrisField
won $100.
"You put your family at risk."
Of all of the thoughts, spoken and upspoken about bankruptcy this one causes me to think the most.
🧠Step inside my brain for 5 mins and you tell me if I put them at risk...
⁉️ Did I?
⁉️ If I did, did I do it intentionally?
⁉️ Are we really