Cassandre Davilmor, CEO of Lakou Café, joins Cheddar's Kristen Scholer at JPMorgan Chase's annual Leadership Day event to discuss why she decided to open up her cafe in Brooklyn, how her business brings the neighborhood together, and gives advice for finding the right mentor. 

Cassandre Davilmor, CEO of Lakou Café, joins Cheddar's Kristen Scholer at JPMorgan Chase's annual Leadership Day event to discuss why she decided to open up her café in Brooklyn, how her business brings the neighborhood together, and gives advice for finding the right mentor.&nbsp;

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How Lakou Café is Bringing Haitian Cuisine to Brooklyn

a small business can really bring a neighborhood together, especially if it involves delicious food. Of course. Local cafe is located in Crown Heights and is all about bringing the culture and cuisine of Haiti to Brooklyn and cheddar zone Kristen Schoeller caught up with Lucinda, Bill Maher Ceo of Lockheed Cafe at Jpmorgan Chase's annual Leadership Day event to learn more about her business. Take a look. We have a very diverse menu. We have Haitian coffee, we have smoothies. Um we have a very vegan friendly menu, but I would say what binds our menu together is essentially being an introduction of Haitian cuisine to the local Crown Heights area. I love that. And how is it doing in Crown Heights? Are you finding that people are, are interested? Yes. Um I mean we've grown tremendously over the last four years. I would say almost every year we've doubled in the number of in our revenue and the number of customers that we have. Um we've been featured on multiple platforms like jimmy Fallon um Forbes. So you know, we've gotten our name out there as a little cafe and people brooklynites, they love their cafes. That's for sure. Like ooh, cafe. Talk to me more about what was the impetus to start the business. Why did you want to start this business in Brooklyn? Well, um I'm a resident of this portion of Crown Heights that I'm in which is called Weeks ville. And essentially it's the first free black man's neighborhood in all of Brooklyn. Um it has a great history but I would say if you visited weeks ville. About four or five years ago you would walk down Utica Avenue which is the main commercial corridor and a lot of the commercial um units were shuttered, there wasn't much business even though it's probably the fourth largest transportation hub in Brooklyn. And I think it sent a message to the people in the neighborhood that they just weren't valued or they weren't worth being invested in. And I saw an opportunity to essentially start something simple like a cafe to essentially bring the neighborhood together. So that's one of the main reasons I I started it. Um you know sometimes you see a problem and it's kind of like, well I guess this is a problem I need to fix and I guess I got that feeling um my background is in law and investment banking and I'm a resident of the neighborhood. So I was like who better to do this than me. So here I am 4.5 years later I was gonna say quite successfully doing it. So congratulations. And it is amazing to that business. The cafe has been able to live on during the pandemic and actually thrive based on the growth numbers that you've shared as a small business owner. What are some of the lessons that you've learned about surviving during challenging times. I mean you know I'm sure people hear it all the time like cash flow is you know the blood of a business. So I would say above all just having enough cash reserves to keep on going. I think what makes a successful business different from an unsuccessful business is just the ability to stick with it, you know, times are gonna get really hard. Um I'm sure even for amazon and for google, there were moments where their founders wanted to just give up, but you know, the persistence and the willingness to go after your vision can take you a long way. So I'll be honest, Year two, I thought about selling the business or just closing the doors, but I definitely wouldn't be where I am right now. If I had made that decision, Kazin, you're also a member of Jpmorgan Chase's minorities entrepreneur program. How has the program helped you on your own journey as a business owner? Yeah, so pretty much january of this year. I got to a point where I had more time than I've had in previous years, however, I did see a lot of problems in the business and I just didn't know the next step. So um one of my New Year's resolutions was to get like a coach to get a mentor and I didn't know what programs were out there, but um luckily I stumbled upon the Jpmorgan program and it's been amazing. My mentor is Kofi's and he's been awesome. Not only is he awesome because he has a banking background, but he has like the real world experience in operating his own businesses, as well as having a pulse on restaurants within the Brooklyn area, so I he's able to give me advice that I don't think just any other regular banker could, because he has the knowledge base for a small industry such as mine. Um So yeah, I mean in the Jpmorgan program, um we've been able to get our castles better and under control, our operating margins under control um and now I'm able to really focus on growth and I like to that it's this goal started as a New Year's resolution, you sort it out and it's been really effective for you, what advice would you give to other entrepreneurs who are seeking mentorship, what's maybe the right way to go about it to make sure that your values do align with the mentor that you're working with? Well, you know, I think the hardest thing for most entrepreneurs is just finding the time to do it, so I think you're eventually gonna get to the point where you have to just make the time and it might sound counterintuitive, it might mean opening a little bit later um or closing for a day, but ultimately it's worth it. Um I would say if you're looking for a mentor, try to find somebody who's been in your shoes, or at least has worked with people who have been in your shoes, because I think for most entrepreneurs, your time is so valuable that you don't wanna waste it talking to somebody who really just doesn't understand your business. Um so I would say screen folks for that. Um but ultimately just make the time, you know, go to networking events, talk to other peers in your industry and they can refer you to somebody that can help you. Um I was introduced to Kofi action because I connected with another restaurant owner who said that this person was really great and helped him turn around his business. If I hadn't made those connections or reached out to my peers, I wouldn't be here today talking to you and what is next for your business? Local cafe. Well, I would say, okay, um now that we're getting our numbers under control, um the next step is to essentially create a larger uh, brick and mortar location within our neighborhood so that we can expand our offering because the neighborhood is demanding it. Uh and then once we do that, I'd like to replicate that concept in other larger cities, thanks to Cheddars, kristen Schouler and Kassian deville mar ceo of loco cafe