Two Founders, One Quarter
Nadia Okonkwo lost her co-founder, her savings and her investors in a single quarter of 2022. Marcus follows what she did with the next twelve months.
Eighteen Months on Washington Avenue
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Show notes
Eighteen Months on Washington Avenue
The series opens with the host's own failure. Marcus Delgado-Reyes opened a taqueria in Houston in late 2018 with his savings, a loan from his uncle and a queue around the block on the first night. By spring 2020 it was gone. He tells the whole story with the help of his former sous chef, his landlord and his uncle.
- The month the numbers stopped adding up and he kept going anyway
- Telling eleven staff on a Monday morning
- Repaying the family loan over four years
- Why he started recording other people's stories
Content note: this episode discusses debt and depression frankly.
Transcript
This is The Year It Fell Apart. My name is Marcus Delgado-Reyes and before I tell you anyone else's story I owe you mine. In November 2018 I opened a taqueria on Washington Avenue in Houston with my savings, a loan from my uncle Ramon, and a line around the block on opening night. Eighteen months later I handed the keys back to my landlord on a quiet Monday morning after telling eleven people they no longer had jobs. You are going to hear from my sous chef, from my landlord, and from Ramon, who I spent four years paying back. I am not going to pretend it ended neatly, because it did not. But something did come after, and that is what this show is about. You are listening on Witspeak Podcasts.
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