Equipment brands we work with — sourced for you below MSRP
LA MARZOCCO
Coffee business advisory from operators still running the numbers. We help you open with real financial models, equipment below MSRP, proven systems, and weekly guidance from people who've done it — 50+ times, in the US and internationally.
Most first-time café owners waste $20–50K before they ever open their doors — wrong equipment, bad layout, no systems. Our job is to make sure you're not one of them.
Every engagement is priced up front and ends with deliverables in your hands. No secret sauce. No guru talk. Real numbers from people who make payroll in this industry every week.
Avoid the expensive version of your first location — feasibility, layout, equipment, systems, and weekly guidance from concept to grand opening.
Grossing sales but not keeping enough? We find the profit leaks in menu, labor, pricing, and systems — and fix them with you.
Know what you're inheriting before you sign — lease risk, equipment condition, real numbers, and lender readiness, checked by coffee people.
Financial models, equipment savings, brand assets, and operating systems — built by operators who use them in their own shops every day.
Before you sign a lease or buy equipment, find out what your concept really costs.
Everything between "I have a concept" and "we're open" — guided weekly by operators who've done it 50+ times.
We don't just guide the launch. We're there for it.
A weekly hour with operators who've already solved your problem.
We operate cafés, a roastery, wholesale programs, and DTC coffee brands today. Our advice comes from this month's P&L, not a decade-old war story.
We source from every major brand and pass operator pricing to you — for most builds, the savings are one of the fastest ways the fee pays for itself.
Roaster-backed "free consulting" exists to sell you their beans forever. We charge for advice, so the advice works for you — source your coffee anywhere.
Financial models, SOPs, training frameworks, and modern back-office systems — the same ones running our own shops right now.
Small firm, relationship-first. When you work with us, you work with us — not a junior associate reading a script.
Kyle has spent 15 years in coffee. He founded Blue Sail Coffee in 2014 and Killshot Coffee Co in 2021, scaling brands nationwide across wholesale, retail, and DTC — including a successful exit in 2026. He leads brand, marketing, financial strategy, and the AI-powered operations that make a coffee business run lean and sell more.
John founded Think Coffee in 2017 and grew it to 9 locations — which he still operates today. He's helped build and launch a coffee roasting operation and has consulted for years on buildouts, equipment, and workflow. His superpower is the unglamorous stuff that makes money: financial analysis, margins, and operations that run smooth without the owner chained to the bar. Baseball fan. Dad of three boys.
Cafés, drive-thrus, a kids' play café, even a coffee camper. From Arkansas to Brooklyn to Thailand.
"Back in 2020, John and Kyle helped us launch two drive-thru coffee locations at the same time, and they made the whole process feel doable and exciting. From choosing the right equipment and sourcing great coffee to training our team and helping us get our systems in place, they brought the energy, experience, and confidence we needed. We're still kicking ass today, and they were a huge part of helping us get started the right way."
"When I was preparing to launch in Brooklyn in 2024, the team helped me source the right equipment, design a smarter bar layout, and build a workflow that actually made sense for a busy café. They even sent someone from their headquarters to train with us in person for three days before opening, which made a huge difference. I felt so much more confident launching because they helped us get the details, systems, and training right."
"Little Lattes started as a dream to create a children's play space with a quality coffee shop inside, and John and Kyle helped us turn that idea into a real, functioning business in 2023. They guided us through equipment sourcing, bar setup, menu planning, and hands-on barista training so our team felt prepared from day one. Their experience helped us create something that works for both families and coffee lovers."
"As a recently retired mom of eight, opening my own coffee camper was a dream I had carried for a long time, and Kyle helped me make it real in 2022. He helped me choose the right equipment, build my menu, source ingredients, train properly, and even set up my point-of-sale system so I could operate with confidence. I never felt like I was figuring it out alone."
"When we opened Breathe Essential Oil & Café in Chiang Mai in 2017, Kyle came all the way to Thailand to help us launch it well. He helped us think through the equipment, menu, workflow, training, and day-to-day operations so the café could become a real support to our mission work. His hands-on help gave us the confidence to open with excellence."
Book a call with Kyle and John. No pitch deck, no pressure — just tell us where you are, and we'll tell you what we'd do next.
Book a call with the foundersPrefer email or phone? consulting@bluesail.coffee · +1 (501) 733-8006