Mike Hoffmann

Girl Dad, Husband, Serial Entrepreneur, Investor. | Built a nationwide vending business while working a W-2 | Helping others do the same.

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

I've been on X since 2022.

I've never properly introduced myself.

I'm Mike, 36, from Eugene, Oregon.

Here's the short version of how I got here.

2012: Strength coach for a college football program back in the Midwest.

60 hours a week, $1,200 a month.

Bought my first rental anyway with my Emergency Fund: a $70K Midwest house, $14K down, $280/month in cash flow.

2014: Took a sales role at a Bay Area health tech startup. $60K all-in salary. Living below the Palo Alto poverty line.

Three weeks a month on the road implementing tech with NFL teams, special ops units, rugby programs.

Living out of a carry-on.

2020: Wife pregnant.

11pm in Denver airport, buying a $4 bottle of water out of the vending machine

I knew the owner paid $0.25 for it.

He made the sale while sleeping at home while I was dealing with flight delays while chasing a quota.

That gap bothered me more than the price of the water.

2021: Placed my first AI-vending machine at an apartment complex that had turned away every traditional operator.

Built it on the side, kept my W-2.

2022: Left the W2 job. 18 months after starting, not before.

I also bought a used machine that died at month six and paid for it twice.

Lost money on Bitcoin Mining. Amazon FBA, Meta Drop Shipping

Tried to figure it out Vending alone for way too long before building a community of help.

Now: National AI-Vending Company with over 10,000 machines in the wild. Me personally, have over 300+ machines myself, $100K+ profit per month, run by hired operators and systems.

Built the VendHub platform to help vending operators find leads, operationalize their route, and make ad revenue off their screens.

We have an Airbnb investment close enough so we can use it when we want.

Other alternative investments we've had success with outside of real estate and vending include our Amazon eBooks and land flipping, most recent one with a 270K capital gain after 18 months.

The calendar is mostly empty these days. Only filled with things I want to do.

Dinner's at home with my family.

I'm not here to sell you on quitting your job.

My whole point is the opposite: Entrepreneurship is hard. You're not alone. Also, don't quit your job.

The W-2 funds the side project until the side project can replace it.

I was a performance coach who spent a decade training elite athletes.

Then I trained my money to work the same way, so my time could belong to me and my family.

That's what I write about now: building ownership that buys back time, not just income.

Vending is an unsexy, low-capital place to start. That's why I love it. KISS

That's exactly why it works for people with a full-time job and no extra Saturdays.

If you're a W-2 worker, especially a parent, who's starting to feel how fragile a single paycheck is, I'd like to hear where you're at.

MH

PS - Being a Girl Dad of 3 girls 5 & under is the best 😎

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

What's one thing you've missed for work that you won't miss again? 👇

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

@Veraformafit 🎯

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

1 in 9 American adults are on a GLP-1.

That’s changing what people buy from a vending machine.

People on these drugs eat less, so every bite has to count. More protein. Smaller portions. More water.

Here’s what I’d stock now, and what each one makes:

Fairlife protein shakes: costs a little over $2, sells for $5. About $3 a bottle.

Gym protein (on Anthony’s route): $3.76 → $7.99

Premium water (on Anthony’s route): $1.39 → $5.99

Sparkling water in glass: about 70¢ → $4

Next up to test: meat sticks and jerky, protein bars, single-serve nuts, Greek yogurt and cheese sticks, and electrolyte drinks.

The rule: test new items in one slot, not a whole row. Let the machine tell you what that location wants.

Food companies are already printing “GLP-1 friendly” on their labels. The machines that adjust first win the break room.

Not medical advice. Just what I’d put in the machine.

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

@yourconsumerbro 🎯

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

Reply: The 7 products that sell out no matter what, with what they make: https://t.co/nVRzvs88hq

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

DM “MARKET” to book a call with my team. We’ll analyze your local market, talk through your goals and available time, and build a plan for evaluating locations that could fit.

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

Would you have put a regional airport on your vending-location list?

One of our members shared three additional machines up and running at a regional airport.

Your first win could be a suitable location close to home, serving people who need a convenient place to buy a drink or a snack.

The next step is to investigate which businesses around you could have that need and which you could reliably look after.

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

If your paycheck were your investor, what would you pitch it? 👇

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

@robbiehendricks @sweatystartup 🎯

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

Follow for episode 3: the pricing change that added over $40 in monthly revenue per machine on my route.

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

The Doritos sold. The Ruffles sat. They came in the same variety pack.

I was looking at the price per bag. I should have been looking at what my customers actually bought.

The slower flavors piled up, then expired. One month, spoilage cost me $280.

Before you buy another variety pack, check:

- How many of each flavor are inside?
- Can you reorder the popular ones separately?
- What are the minimum order and delivery costs?

A lower price per bag doesn’t help if you’re paying for stock you can’t sell.

Learning Vending the Hard Way · Episode 2

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

What's one hour in your day you could give to building? 👇

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

Monday delivery!

Everytime our @VendhubAI delivery comes I always think back to 2022 when we would block off 6 hrs on Wednesday to hit up @Costco @USFoods and others.

Wtf were we doing 😂🤷‍♂️

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

@MatznerJon @SaganPassport @ClintFiore @somewhere Jon - I know what I signed. The level of quality you guys are claiming to deliver has dipped significantly in 2026. Clearly this didn’t get rolled up to you till now

Feel free to join the call tmr if you’re not too busy on X.

How it started vs how it’s going..

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

@MatznerJon @SaganPassport @ClintFiore @somewhere Brian never spoke w me?

The VA sent a calendar that had availability 4 weeks after my request so we aren’t talking till next week

But yes, ask him how the convo went 😂

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

I write about building something you own, beside the job, every week. Comment OWN and I’ll send you my newsletter.

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

She gave Walmart 44 years. They thanked her with flowers.

I’m not here to bash Walmart. That’s just how a job works: you trade your hours, and someone else decides what they’re worth. Your raise. Your schedule. Even the perks. Walmart used to offer employees profit sharing, and ended it in 2011.

The deal can change anytime. And it’s never your call.

I don’t want that for my girls, and I don’t want it for you. If you’re going to give something decades, make sure some of it belongs to you.

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

@MatznerJon @SaganPassport @ClintFiore @somewhere But maybe it’s bc I don’t understand their core focus?

Sagan just sends us an auto invoice for $3k/mo until the contract ends since their VA “is working my call request up the ladder” 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

Is this @SaganPassport’s biz @ClintFiore ?

The quality has plummeted w Saganand when I ask what their focus is anymore, I just have an international VA give me round about answers.

I have been a subscriber with @somewhere, Sagan, and others and it definitely feels like Sagan’s lost their core focus in 2026

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

100 orders through their first cooler in its opening week.

One member shared $1,003.86 in first-week sales. Those orders gave them real customer purchases to learn from.

If you’ve been wondering what it would feel like to see people using a machine you own, your first location is the milestone to work toward.

Begin by figuring out who would buy from it, what they need and how you’d keep it stocked.