DISCLAIMER: No founders were harmed in the writing of this letter, except maybe the ones who still remove some lines “just to see the potential”
You know that moment.
You’ve shaped the concept, built the brand that finally feels right. The name is locked, the collaterals are printing, the story is sharp enough to cut glass.
And you think: we’re good. We’re ready.
But the part that actually decides if your place survives, the part nobody taught you, starts after all that.
It starts when you realise this simple truth:
The way you sell your project to investors is not the way you should run it on your day-to-day.
And the biggest trap here is a five-letter darling of the industry:
EBITDAR.
This thing is that mushroom you can cross, that brings you in a lovely world.
EBITDAR cleans the story and makes projects look way too smoooooth.
It takes your P&L, erases rent, your biggest pressure. And suddenly everything looks brighter, beautiful, seductive.
Like this filter that turns your christmas uncle into Ryan Gosling.
Completely disconnected from your reality.
If you try to run your business on EBITDAR, you’re basically navigating with a map that hides the cliffs.
Because here’s the uncomfortable conversation I have with friends:
EBITDAR is a great number for a pitch deck.
It’s a terrible number for running a place.
In daily operations, removing rent is like removing gravity. Sure, everything floats, but nothing is true anymore. And truth is the only thing that keeps independent hospitality alive.
First. Your concept won’t save you from a bad lease.
Second. Your brand won’t save you from fragile margins.
Third. Your beautiful Instagram won’t negotiate with your landlord.
This letter is a reminder of that:
that once the brand is done and the vibe is built, the next step is learning how to manage with numbers that reflect the world you actually live in, not the one your investor presentation tries to simplify.
Because if you want your place to last, to breathe, to become part of the territory, you need one thing above everything else:
Honest metrics. No illusions. No rent removed. No fake truth.
Let’s get into it below