Brandon Reed has been working toward this opportunity his entire life — he just couldn’t have prepared for what came next.
He launched startup Vibe NC in September 2019. It delivers specialty beer, wine, kombucha and cold-brew coffee to offices, apartments and other businesses in the Charlotte and Triangle markets.
Within months, the pandemic had shuttered offices and erased most of his client base.
“We’re still in business and our doors are still open,” he says. “The hardest part is there’s no timeline. That’s been the most difficult thing — not knowing when.”
Vibe wasn’t a new idea, but it is one Reed believes in.
He started his career as an hourly employee for BrewPublik — the beer-and-wine delivery startup that ended up filing for bankruptcy. The 27-year-old rose through the ranks, driven by a willingness to learn, hard work and ambition. By the time the company folded, he was handling the bulk of purchasing and overseeing its East Coast operations.
“I saw a lot of the pain points and reasons for why the business could or did fail. Knowing all of those and going through all of those, I also learned a lot about the right way to do it,” Reed says.
He invested $10,000 to launch Vibe NC, revamping the vision to focus solely on North Carolina.
“I really liked the role I had built for myself and what we were doing. I saw there was still money to be made if it was done properly,” he says.
Reed began reaching out to former BrewPublik clients. He made customer service, hospitality and building relationships key.
He signed his first clients the week the business launched.
Vibe has a variety of options available, from curating craft beer by the case to installing two-tap kegerators in offices. It also can provide services for special events, such as weddings.
The company did $95,000 worth of business in its first three months, lining up more than 75 clients.
“Things were really, really steamrolling into February 2020. We were really excited with the growth," Reed says.
Projections for 2020 pre-Covid were $500,000 in revenue. Then the pandemic hit. Vibe ended 2020 at around $97,000 in revenue — with more than half of that coming between January and mid-March.
Reed was forced to shut the business down for two months at the beginning of Covid.
He cut costs and trimmed expenses. He was forced to lay off his only employee and a contractor. He took over all roles, from invoicing and beer-line cleaning to deliveries.
Vibe reopened when it got $15,500 from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program in the first round. It secured another $8,500 in the second round of funding.
Reed worked to add luxury apartments and coworking spaces to the client roster as offices closed and employees worked from home.
He remains positive about the company’s future despite its rocky start. Vibe has 20 active clients at the moment. It’s on target to bring in $60,000 in revenue this year — possibly more depending on when offices reopen.
Reed expects a shift as some businesses shrink their footprints and reduce the amount of time employees are expected to be in the office. He anticipates more will add coworking amenities such as nitro coffee and beer on draft.
“Things along those lines that are going to attract the employees to come back to the office,” he says.
He’s taking it day by day. Future plans are to expand in the Charlotte market. From there, he’ll build out Raleigh, with plans to add a satellite office and team as business grows.
“It’s very difficult to be a business owner in these times,” he says.
