The Pivot That Saved a Struggling Coffee Roaster

In 2023, Portland-based coffee roaster Daybreak Coffee was losing $12,000 per month, saddled with wholesale contracts that paid 35 days late. Founder Maria Torres was a week away from shutting down when she made a counterintuitive decision: she fired her two biggest wholesale accounts and bet entirely on a direct-to-consumer subscription model. This episode breaks down how she rebuilt her cash flow within 90 days, hitting $85,000 in monthly recurring revenue by month four. We examine the unit economics — her cost per bag dropped from $8.50 to $5.90 after cutting out the middleman — and how she used a simple 'roast-to-order' promise to justify a $22 per bag price point. Torres's story isn't just about coffee; it's a case study in why chasing revenue can kill your business and how constraints force better decisions. Lucas and Luna also discuss the tension between growth and profitability for small-batch producers in a commoditized market. #CoffeeRoaster #DaybreakCoffee #MariaTorres #SmallBusinessPivot #DirectToConsumer #SubscriptionModel #CashFlowManagement #UnitEconomics #RoastToOrder #BusinessTurnaround #PortlandBusiness #SoloFounder #Bootstrapping #Business #Entrepreneurship #SmallBiz #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo