How I Built a Million-Dollar Business Inside a Starbucks

Introduction

Six years ago, I started a business. Today, that business makes over a million dollars a year.

But what nobody knows is that I built it inside a Starbucks.

At the time, I was working a full-time job — still grinding at my 9-to-5. That left me with only two hours a day to build the business of my dreams.

But there was still one problem: I was suffocated by self-doubt. I didn’t believe I could do it.

Then, I found something that would change my life forever.

Today, I’m going to tell you that story.

I’m Pat Walls, and this is my Starter Story.

The Turning Point

This is me in the summer of 2017. I’m 26 years old, living in New York City, making six figures, and by all accounts, living the dream.

But deep down, I know something isn’t right.

Every day is the same — clock in, attend a few Zoom meetings, eat lunch, write some code, clock out.

I feel empty.

I know I’m meant for something more.

And maybe you’ve felt this too — the nagging thought in the back of your mind that you should be doing something else.

Secretly, I dream about quitting my job and starting my own business.

In my free time, I read business books and romanticize the idea of waking up every morning and working on something I built.

But there’s a problem: I have no idea where to start.

How do I find a good idea?

How do I know it will make money?

How do I even take the first step?

I couldn’t find this information anywhere online.

And then it hit me — maybe I could turn these questions into a product.

I would research successful businesses, write about my findings on a blog, and share them with others who were just as lost as I was.

At first, I didn’t think it would be a big thing. I was just genuinely interested in the idea.

The Starbucks Struggle

This idea nagged at me for months.

Every day, I told myself I would get started on it.

Every day, I walked past a Starbucks on my way home from work.

And every day, I thought: I should go inside, order a drink, sit down, and get started.

But I never did.

Instead, I’d go home, watch six hours of Netflix, and go to bed.

This Starbucks became a symbol of my fear — the unknown.

But then, I came across a book that changed everything: Deep Work by Cal Newport.

The book explains how focused, uninterrupted work is the key to achieving hard things.

I realized my biggest problem wasn’t time — it was focus.

So, I wrote a contract with myself:

Tomorrow, I will walk into that Starbucks.

I will order a coffee.

I will sit down.

I will set a timer for two hours.

And I will just focus.

The First Step

The next day, I did it.

I walked in, ordered my coffee, sat down, set a two-hour timer, and started working.

Before I knew it, the timer went off.

I looked up and thought: That was two hours?! That flew by!

For the first time, I was in Flow State — doing real, deep work.

The next day, I did it again.

And the next.

And I didn’t stop.

I even started waking up at 6 AM to get my deep work in before my full-time job.

Every single day, I was making progress.

The Birth of Starter Story

After one month, I had a name: Starter Story.

I bought the domain starterstory.com for $12 and launched the site with a few stories.

A few hundred people visited the website.

After two months, I had dozens of stories published and started to build a tiny audience.

I launched a newsletter and got my first 100 subscribers.

The First Big Break

After four months, I started focusing on marketing.

Then, something crazy happened — one of my stories went viral on Reddit.

Thousands of people crashed my site and subscribed to my newsletter.

For the first time, I felt like my idea was validated.

Making My First Dollar

After six months, I started thinking about monetization.

I landed my first sponsorship for the newsletter and started making money from affiliate revenue.

Now, I finally felt like I understood how this worked — and I was actually having fun in the process.

The $112,000 Email

One day, I got an email from the CEO of a company called Klaviyo.

At the time, they were a small but growing company.

The email said:

“Hi Pat, I love Starter Story and what you’re doing — both the stories and sharing your progress. Keep crushing it!”

I appreciated the kind words but didn’t think much of it.

Then, we started talking about a potential sponsorship for the newsletter.

And then, he gave me a number: $112,000.

When I saw that email, I couldn’t believe it.

At the time, I was basically living paycheck to paycheck.

$112,000 was more money than I had ever seen in my life.

A few days later, the money hit my bank account.

I got the notification while sitting inside that Starbucks.

I got up, walked outside, and just paced around the block.

This was real.

I had just made $112,000 from something I built.

The Big Decision

That money gave me a choice:

Play it safe and keep my full-time job.

Or go all in.

For months, I sat on the fence.

But then, I remembered why I started this in the first place.

I didn’t want to build someone else’s dream.

I wanted to build my own.

And if I didn’t take the leap now, I might never do it.

So, I walked into work.

I handed in my resignation.

I quit my job.

And the rest is history.

Where I Am Today

Fast forward five years — that was the last time I had a regular job.

The last time I ever got a paycheck.

Since then, I’ve built Starter Story into a million-dollar business.

And I won’t lie — it wasn’t all easy or predictable.

I failed. A lot.

But when I look back, the most important thing I did was simple:

I walked into that Starbucks.

I sat down.

And I worked.

Every single day, I gave myself a chance to get lucky.

And when that email came in, when the $112,000 hit my account — I took the leap.

That was the difference.

That’s how I built a million-dollar business inside a Starbucks.