Eugene Mbugua: How I lost 0ver Sh10 Million After Investing In a Bar

Businessman and TV producer Eugene Mbugua has not always had it rosy as an entrepreneuer.

In a recent sitdown with Biko Zulu, Mbugua narrated how an investment he thought was a sure bet went down the drain.

At the time, the entreprenuer had partnered with friends to open a bar in Nairobi CBD called Number 7 which became very successful.

The businessman who made his first million at 22 years thought he could replicate the same results at another location and opened a branch in Westlands.

“From day one huge success um but also Number 7 also led me to the biggest loss that I’ve ever experienced to this day business-wise because we set this up and you know, you open a business and from day one people flock in and you start to think it’s you who’s done it.

“There’s a quote which says success tricks smart people into thinking they can’t lose and that’s what happened so very quickly we went around getting a second space in Westlands, signed the lease, started the construction and then I flew off on holiday in Europe, came back when it was complete and we had a huge launch party and then nothing.”

Mbugua added that he tried to turn things around by investing more money in the hope that business would pick up.

“Month one goes by and it was very clear it was it was not going to work. Month two goes by, month three goes by then I start pumping in my personal money because I still think I’m smart enough to turn the whole thing around eventually I did not. I kept digging the whole deeper and deeper, throwing good money after bad money, and then eventually, very humbling I had to shut it down.”

“The location was wrong, the setup was wrong, we were wrong about Westlands as a party destination, it was on its deathbed at the time. We lost money in the double-digit millions in a period of about six months.”