We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mike Walsh a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mike, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

It all started in 2015 on a trip to London. Grabbing a coffee (in the form of an Americano) everyday before getting on the Underground Train from a street cart. The idea of small footprint coffee carts for events was born. I wanted to take my inspiration from European cafes and offer something similar n the US. At first, I bought an espresso machine and had no idea what I was doing but took some classes and invested in coffee education. I had no idea what the market need would be but eventually discovered that a lot of caterers hate dealing with coffee and I could be a resource to them and their customers. Plus, we were elevating the event experience by offering Specialty Coffee in the form of Cappuccinos, Latte, and more.

Mike, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My first job was at Dunkin Donuts. While that is not Specialty Coffee, it’s where I got hooked and got comfortable with the volume of demand in a busy cafe. I was previously in the events industry so I was familiar with that space and felt that coffee carts and baristas for events was a natural transition into coffee. I took a few educational trips most notably Barista Camp in Greece where I honed in my craft of dialing in the perfect shot of espresso and proper milk steaming as well as Mexico City where I attended Roasting Academy, and was able to visit a coffee farm in Puebla.

Over the year we have had the opportunity to work with some great clients like Coca-Cola, Home Depot and Live Nation and got to work some really exciting events like Shaky Knees Music Festival, The Masters in Augusta and Petit Le Mans at The Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta!

I’d say something I’m really proud of myself for is taking the leap to learn how to roast coffee, getting a roaster and learning the art of coffee roasting. It felt like starting all over again. Not knowing what I was doing. How to install it. How to roast consistently. I strive to keep learning and never think I have reach the ceiling on knowledge. It’s a great accomplishment to garner the title : Coffee Roaster.

Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?

I have sold a couple business. For starters my DJ business. I had a couple cafes that I built out and was able to sell as well.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

When I sold my DJ company, I took some money aside to buy the coffee carts. Honestly, I wasted too much money trying to figure it all out. I thought that I could buy my way into the industry but I now realize that the only value is hard work and dedication over having a lot of pretty equipment.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.livewire.coffee
• Instagram: @livewirecoffee
• Facebook: @livewirecoffee
• Linkedin: @livewirecoffee
• Twitter: @livewirecoffee