Months 1–4

Founder equity committed; CIPC and SARS registration; SEDFA application lodged in their format

Month 2

Trademark search and attorney opinion before any branding spend

Months 3–5

Premises leased with the landlord installation allowance negotiated as a stated figure in the lease

Months 4–8

Fit-out: floors, drainage, extraction, three-phase power; health and fire compliance works

Months 6–9

Ovens, mixers, refrigeration, retarder and solar installed and commissioned

Month 8

Certificate of Acceptability obtained from the local authority

Month 10

First bake; route one established with the first spaza and forecourt customers

Months 10–15

Recipe book documented and yields measured; prime cost calculated weekly from week one

End Year 1

Gate 1: prime cost below 66%, returns below 6%, twelve months of trading data, Certificate held

Year 2

Second vehicle and route two; working capital facility drawn; production supervisor trained

End Year 2

Gate 2: returns below 5.5%, EBITDA positive, supervisor able to run a shift without the founder

Year 3

Growth equity of R1.85m drawn; second oven line installed; third route opened

End Year 3

Gate 3: prime cost below 61%, two years of financial statements, route profitability weekly

Year 4

Retail outlet fitted out and opened; bank term loan drawn; blended margin lifts

End Year 4

Gate 4: retail trading profitably within six months, wholesale volumes maintained

Year 5

Capacity expansion, fourth route, solar expanded; prime cost 63.2%, cover 1.52x

Certificate of Acceptability

The first bake; no food business may trade without one

Applied for during fit-out, not after; the premises standards are designed to pass

Landlord installation allowance

R180 000 of the fit-out cost

Negotiated into the lease before signature; it cannot be obtained afterward

SEDFA application

R950 000 of Year 1 funding

Requires CIPC registration and SARS tax compliance first; lodge in their format

Equipment finance approval

R620 000 of ovens and mixers

Underwritten on the asset, which makes it accessible without trading history

Fit-out complete before equipment

Commissioning and the first bake

Drainage and three-phase power must precede oven installation

Retarder and cold room

The single-shift production schedule

Without it the delivery is at ten rather than six, and the freshness advantage is lost

Production supervisor trained

The Year 2 gate and everything above it

Recruited in Year 1 and trained through Year 2; the constraint on the founder’s time

Two years of financial statements

The Year 3 growth equity and the Year 4 bank loan

Bookkeeping from month one; cannot be reconstructed

Route density before route two

The Year 2 vehicle

Measured as units per drop and drops per route, not as customers signed