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margins INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY
& EDITORIAL

The best business school is somebody else's business.

We sit down with people running real businesses around the world and get them to open the books. Case studies on what it cost to start, what it actually makes, and how you could do the same.

Read the case studies →
T3 Architects · ~$40,000/mo · Design · Vietnam
Rooster Beer · 88000/mo · Brewery · Vietnam
Rhum Belami — Moonshiner Co., Ltd. · ~$54,166/mo · Distillery · Vietnam
Hà Nội Hifi · ~$13,000/mo · Listening Bar · VN
Mercado Verde · ~$18,000/mo · Grocer · CO
Kiln 12 · ~$12,000/mo · Ceramics Studio · KR
Kettle & Kin · ~$16,000/mo · Roastery · GE
Torno Padaria · ~$17,000/mo · Bakery · PT
Ironwood · ~$34,000/mo · Gym · TH
Casa Nube · ~$43,000/mo · Guesthouse · MX
Saigon Dry · ~$27,400/mo · Distillery · VN
T3 Architects · ~$40,000/mo · Design · Vietnam
Rooster Beer · 88000/mo · Brewery · Vietnam
Rhum Belami — Moonshiner Co., Ltd. · ~$54,166/mo · Distillery · Vietnam
Hà Nội Hifi · ~$13,000/mo · Listening Bar · VN
Mercado Verde · ~$18,000/mo · Grocer · CO
Kiln 12 · ~$12,000/mo · Ceramics Studio · KR
Kettle & Kin · ~$16,000/mo · Roastery · GE
Torno Padaria · ~$17,000/mo · Bakery · PT
Ironwood · ~$34,000/mo · Gym · TH
Casa Nube · ~$43,000/mo · Guesthouse · MX
Saigon Dry · ~$27,400/mo · Distillery · VN

The interesting part is never the keynote. It's in the margins. We cover the businesses the big outlets skip and get access to the founders they can't.

Case studies of people who built real businesses. Mostly self-funded, owner-operated, run by someone who probably isn't that different from you.

how we check the figures →
$41K
MEDIAN CAPITAL TO OPEN
19 mo
MEDIAN TIME TO BREAKEVEN
31%
PAID THEMSELVES IN YEAR ONE
$412K
MEDIAN YEARLY REVENUE

Explore the case studies and see how people built something real.

Read the case studies →

Every week, we pull the best takeaways from a few case studies and get them straight to your inbox, quick to read, with a link to the full story if you want more. If that sounds like your thing, come along for the ride.