The Mac & Cheese Millionaire

18TeamworkIt Really Does Make the Dream Work

“A fist is more than the sum of its fingers.”

—Margaret Atwood

My breath was ragged and shallow as I slung the backpack over my shoulder carrying $70,000 in cash. Inside my eight-months-pregnant belly I was carrying my son, and the extra 60 pounds on my small frame made walking around the block seem like completing an Ironman. Golden Gate Park was pitch black apart from the street lamps, and I tried to wind through the darkness toward my car with alacrity. I just wanted to get inside, lock the door, and speed away.

Homeroom was serving food at a three-day music festival held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, fueled by crazy amounts of drugs, booze, and big-name musical performances. Throngs of tech bros, Burning Man followers, and music nerds wound through steampunk visuals, music performances, and tents featuring popular restaurants and breweries. I was Homeroom’s ringleader, refrigerated truck driver, and trusted courier for getting the money that we had earned during the day out of the park.

In exchange for access to thousands of new customers and press exposure, the festival took a significant cut of our earnings. This is not that unusual, but what was unusual was that they only accepted it in cash. I did not stop to question how sketchy this was for such a big-name event, and instead decided to accept only cash so that it would be easy to hand over the cut at the end. I did not realize we would be making over $100,000 ...