All the anecdotal evidence in the world says that opening an independent coffee shop is a risky proposition, with relatively high five-year failure rates.
A new small-scale coffee business accelerator called the Coffee Futures Fund is hoping to transform that narrative, offering a mix of funding and mentorship in exchange for a fixed-term percentage of revenue.
Making its public debut at next month’s SCA Expo in Houston, the Coffee Futures Fund recently opened applications for its 2025 summer cohort of business owners.
“Arguably, eight out of 10 coffee shops do not survive after the first five years,” Coffee Futures Fund Founder Akshat Khandelwal recently told Daily Coffee News. “Let’s flip the script and make that eight out of 10 succeeding. That’s the mission.”
The fund offers a more nurturing alternative to traditional venture capital, focusing not on exponential growth toward an exit path, but on emerging small businesses seeking long-term success.
The Coffee Futures Fund begins with an application process, resulting in a cohort of 10 coffee shop businesses between one and three years old. Participants then join an intensive 10-week business development, mentorship and workshopping program. All participants are then paired with established coffee industry professionals for a one-year mentorship program.
At the conclusion of the 10-week program, the 10 participants present pitches to mentors and industry veterans, with up to two of them receiving up to $50,000 in funding for their business. In exchange, the Coffee Futures Fund receives 5% of annual revenue for four years. The company does not ask for equity.
The Coffee Futures Fund is launching with a six-member mentorship board that includes: Fund founder Khandelwal; Madcap Coffee Founder Trevor Corlett; past World Barista Champion Dale Harris; specialty coffee industry expert Julie Housch (formerly of Caravela and SCA); Hideaway Café Owner Victoria Kidd; and TLG Consulting Group Founder Nicole Mozeliak.
Khandelwal said he met with more than 100 coffee professionals while developing the Coffee Futures Fund, collecting insights before locking in the 10-week competition/program model.
A former aspiring coffee shop owner in Boston, Khandelwal ultimately carved out a career in accounting and investment banking, then launched a series of roundtable events specifically for coffee shop owners.
While focused explicitly on coffee, the new venture takes some cues from established startup business accelerators in other industries. Khandelwal cited Y Combinator (startup accelerator), the Echoing Green Fellowship (impact investments), Slice (independent pizzerias), and Starmate (mentor-driven model) as successful use cases with certain elements similar to the Coffee Futures Fund.
“I have studied and personally worked with a lot of investment and accelerator models, and having seen the global tech/VC side of the world, I created CFF, which took inspiration from some of these best models and then custom designed it to fit the coffee shop landscape,” Khandelwal told DCN. “We are a fund. We are not just a fund. Unlike banks or traditional VC, we provide tailored handholding for emerging coffee shops to succeed while providing them meaningful capital that actually moves the needle.”
Applications are now open for the Coffee Futures Fund’s Summer 2025 cohort, with a deadline of April 30.
Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here. For all the latest coffee industry news, subscribe to the DCN newsletter.
Related Posts
Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
Comment