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For Starters is the essential weekly briefing for the next generation of small business owners. Inspiration and ideas, every Friday – for free. It’s curated by Danny Giacopelli, formerly of Monocle and Courier magazines.
Hey, starter! Read on for…
Inspiration ➠ NYC’s local biz queen
Advice ➠ Auckland’s hospitality hero
Ideas ➠ Convenience store tours in 🇯🇵
Resources ➠ Free business lectures!
Town Hall ➠ Subscriber shoutouts
➠ Get inspired
NYC’s IRL shopping guide
Local, indie, neighborhood businesses make our communities worth living in. Which is why I’m such a big fan of Caroline Weaver.
Caroline, who once ran a pencil shop on NYC’s Lower East Side called CW Pencil Enterprise, now operates The Locavore Guide, a digital directory of 14,000+ indie shops in New York, along with a physical shop in Greenwich Village called The Locavore Variety Store — which only sells stuff made locally.
She also publishes a fantastic print guide every year — the 2026 edition of which just dropped, featuring 789 shops and fun trading cards featuring local stores.
💬 Hey Caroline! You're running such an interesting business: digital media, print, physical retail. How did The Locavore Guide come about?
“I had this idea back in 2020 when I was running my first shop, CW Pencil Enterprise. During the pandemic, there was all this yelling online about “shopping local” but through my own experience running a shop, I realized that a lot of folks don’t really know what that actually means, or how to do it in a way that’s actually impactful. There’s this unfortunate narrative that “shopping local” is akin to an act of charity. It’s this virtuous thing that we do during holiday season or when things are dire, and I wanted to shake it up and remind people that it’s really an everyday way of life — a really rewarding and enjoyable one, at that!”
💬 You talk to tons of local business owners every week. What are the common challenges they’re facing?
“The big conversation right now, of course, is about tariffs. Getting inventory is difficult and that inventory, no matter where it comes from, is more expensive. Because they just don’t have the same buying power, it’s getting harder and harder for small biz shops to compete with big ones and they’re having to make a lot of compromises. The concept of “value” has become so manipulated by big box and DTC marketing, it’s a constant challenge to convince customers that what they’re buying at a small business isn’t more expensive, it’s just more honest pricing for often higher quality goods.”
💬 What are some of the most special indie shops in NYC? Name ‘em!
“I LOVE this shop on the Upper East Side called Tiny Doll House, a dollhouse miniatures store that stocks work by hundreds of miniatures artists around the world. A favorite in my regular rotation is Kalustyan’s which is a two story international grocery store that has an insane selection of teas, spices and dried goods in no-frills packaging. I go there for hard-to-find teas, specialty curry blends and powders for making popcorn seasonings. One that I think is a real IYKYK shop is Enfleurage in the West Village. They specialize in aromatics and sell carefully sourced essential oils. They have lots of rare scents from far corners of the world, absolues and enfleurage made using traditional techniques and frankincense made at the shop owner's distillery in Oman. It’s really special.”
💬 How about a shop everyone should know about but might not yet?
“A shop that I’ve long been obsessed with but which I’m always surprised people don’t know about is The Cast. It’s owned by Chuck Bones, who looks like a Ramone and makes the most perfect leather jackets in a wild selection of colors and hide types. They’re entirely made in New York City and you can get them completely customized for less than what it costs to buy an equivalent, significantly less authentic biker jacket from a designer brand. Every New Yorker should own a jacket from The Cast!”
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➠ Starter wisdom
Silicon Valley is the only place to build a “real” tech startup… or so says the narrative. Of course, that’s complete BS. Just ask Jonny Mckenzie.
Jonny’s the founder of Auckland, New Zealand-based Bustle, a point-of-sales solution for cafes, restaurants, bars, food trucks and pop-ups.
The former cocktail bartender and bar owner, who started in the industry as a 14 year-old caterer, tells For Starters about the role of AI in hospitality, explains the ‘flat white conundrum’, and shares what it’s like growing a software biz 6,500 miles from Silicon Valley.
→ P.S. Jonny also shares a big opportunity for a smart starter. Keep reading…
Margins are the hardest
💬 Jonny, we’re in an era of AI hype and anxiety. How’s all this AI stuff influenced how you build services to help hospitality businesses?
I'm not a huge believer just yet in AI’s ability to forecast. Hospitality has so many variables, so it's tricky. For instance, bad weather can completely throw your entire day out, right?
But where I do get excited about AI capabilities is data entry, which has been a weak point for hospitality since forever. Trying to get business owners to build recipes, input wage costs, and build out all the operational costs to get a decent, real-time understanding of how their business is actually running – that is so hard to do, because it requires the extra cost of someone to do it. Most hospitality businesses are running so thin that they can't afford to do that, unless they’re big operators.
But this is what we're looking to utilize AI for, the data entry. When invoices turn up, they can automatically populate. When bills come in, we can automatically pull them through and update. Everything will get a bit more insightful into how the business is actually doing.
💬 Any other hidden insights AI can unlock?
There’s something we call the price of a flat white conundrum. What should you charge for a flat white? AI gives us the ability to do that benchmarking. But it’s not just what you should charge – it's what your margins should be.
This is a problem – the idea that everyone should just be charging £4 or £5 for a flat white seems wrong to me. People seem to just charge whatever everyone else is doing down the road. But what you need to be worried about is your margin on that – what you can charge based on whatever single origin coffee you've decided to use, what milk supplier you have, how epic your coffee machine is, not to mention wages – if you've got a rockstar barista versus someone who's just learning. All these things impact your margin. So AI is probably going to give people more confidence and less anxiety on what decisions to make.
💬 You’re in Auckland. In the US tech scene there’s this perception that you can only build a great startup if you’re within a 10 minute drive of Palo Alto. Do you feel the need to go to the US to scale? Or can you build a healthy company from the opposite side of the world?
It depends on your definition of healthy! I’m running a very healthy company. In New Zealand, being so far away from lots of things, we do get challenged and pushed to the idea that if you want to scale or get to a $100m or $1 billion valuation, you’ve gotta go to America, because that's where the funding is, and the only way to get the money is to go over there, knock on the door, and show that your product is ‘worthy’ of their market. But now we’re starting to see more and more businesses proving otherwise. The money is turning up here now.
💬 Was there culture shock going from running bars to running a tech startup?
I’ve gotta admit, I didn't know how expensive it would be to build a software company. I built a bar for £15,000 back in the day. You can’t build a software company for £15,000! It turns out it takes a little bit more money.
💬 Do you reckon your hospitality background’s given you an edge over some MBA or tech guy who hasn't experienced working in bars and restaurants?
An edge but also an anchor. There can definitely be a danger of having a bit too much knowledge and caring a little bit too much! I’m a guy who walks in the front door of a place and analyzes the entire venue before I've even sat down to read my menu!
For me, it always comes back to my why. I think I've got so much of a passion for this industry. It kills me when I see cafes and restaurants close. The last few years have been so heavy, so I’m on a mission – it’s about building the knowledge and product to help prevent people from closing their doors, rather than about getting a billion dollar valuation, becoming a unicorn, and having that whole Silicon Valley experience.
That definitely appeals to some people, and that’s great, but it’s not my game and I think banding together with the ones who don’t believe in that would also be a strong business play.
💬 I love that perspective. If you’re a public company, obviously your goal is to maximise shareholder value, but if you’re not, you can do whatever the hell you want. There are different ways to grow.
Exactly. It’s probably why we haven’t taken VC money. I don’t want to be pushed into this world of revenue and response. Our biggest competitors have all raised their prices consistently for the last four years during what’s been the hardest time. They just don’t have any care factor. There’s marketing and then there’s business. You can market the fact that you care about an industry, but the truth is… what are you doing with your business to help support it? There’s a time to raise your price, and there’s a time to raise your price.
💬 What’s a business opportunity or market gap in the hospitality world? You must see inefficiencies and opportunities every day…
Pubs and cafes, especially in the UK and Australia, have become community hubs and bring people together. But no one’s really nailed the tech to support people finding each other and having a space to connect properly.
I’d like to see hospitality go away from just promoting the food and drink, and come back to promoting the environment, the space, the connections that you can make, with food and drink being part of the offer.
You see these beautiful, amazing fit-outs and yet half the photos on social or on their sites are all about the food and drink. And I’m like, look at this incredible space! Technology can help connect people in the right locations so they can feel at home.
Imagine an online IKEA of cafes. Pick the one that matches your vibes.
💬 Super interesting. Less ‘how good is the sandwich?’ and more, ‘How do you feel when you step in the door?’ The interiors, the music, etc.
100%
💬 What are some of your favourite places to hang out in Auckland?
Mibo Bakery, down by the waterfront. In the morning the sun hits the big, beautiful windows. It’s all warmth inside, the smell of fresh bread, pastries, hot coffee. Just take my money! If I do anything between 7 and 9 in the morning, this is where I do it.
At lunchtime, there’s Ortolana, which has this really beautiful, cosy outdoor garden.
And then by the time night comes along there’s this tiny little wine bar with beautiful food called Apero, which seats like 20 people. Mo and Leslie, the owners, are the most amazing, loving people. They really look after you. It’s almost like you’ve walked into your own home. ☼
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➠ Good idea!
1. Sing with me → More restaurants and even residential apartment buildings in the US are building karaoke rooms.
2. IG grid posting → Should you just go crazy and post on the grid like no one’s watching?
3. Konbini tourism → A cottage industry is sprouting up around taking foreign visitors to Japan’s amazing convenience stores.
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➠ Toolbox
🛠️ Resources
Font Interceptor, which lets you download all the fonts used on a particular website. From the jokesters at MSCHF.
The DO Lectures, the annual celebration of business and creativity in Wales run by entrepreneurs Clare and David Hieatt, has just published all the talks from their latest event… for free! Have a watch.
📚️ Reads
Meet the Young Women Reimagining Taxidermy In LA. LA Taco
How to build a magic surfboard. Highsnobiety
Why startup brands are increasingly flocking to this Midwestern department store. Modern Retail
“We don’t do coffee—we want the books to be the thing.” Dirt
The Emperor’s New Grocer: New York’s hottest status symbol is a grocery store selling nothing. i-D
“I kind of want to be the Martha Stewart of makeup.” Feed Me
The Rise of the Gen Z Weird Collector. i-D
🧠 Findings
300 → The limited-edition run of sweaters created by The Brutalist’s costume designer Kate Forbes along with knitwear designer Ilana Blumberg. They’ve replicated the actual piece worn by Adrian Brody in the film. It ain’t for everyone. But if you are, like me, a big fan of the movie (I mean, I live on a brutalist estate…), you might wanna check it out. Get it tomorrow.
🙃 Fun
Go to this lighting shop and toggle the little ‘light’ switch on and off. Surprise and delight. Brilliant.
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➠ Town Hall
Here’s a shoutout to… YOU.
Yeah, you. Tell me what you’re working on!
Seriously.
Reply or send me an email and let me know:
what you’re daydreaming about (business-wise or just life)
what side hustle you’re trying to turn into your main hustle
what business you’re actively building and growing
or just say hi 👋
I’d love to hear from you.
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