In a nutshell, Daydream was built on a shoestring budget, hard work, and a lot of help from friends. Founders Kyle Kennelly and Rebecca Mantei couldn’t believe the news when they found out that they were selected to sign a lease on a 1500 sqft warehouse on the border of Newport Beach and Westside Costa Mesa. Kyle was 26 and Becca was 23, primed with enthusiasm, a vision, and motivation that surpassed their awareness of what they were about to get themselves into. Most people would consider this location to be in the middle of nowhere but Kyle and Becca knew the attractive history of Quiksilver, Volcom, Rvca, and other surf companies starting out just around the corner from this space. They also were inspired by the Post-War era boat building that this side of town used to be known for which later evolved into a surfboard production capital. It also offered independence from the zombie strip mall homoginization that they were avoiding in order to blaze a new trail. You had to be a little crazy to think that this was a good idea. Foot traffic was non-existent in this part of town, these two kids saved up a measly $30k each thinking that would be enough to get started and didn’t have any sort of family wealth to fall back on. Kyle’s Uncle Jon is the definition of a legend, not only did he teach Kyle how to surf when he was 7, he is a carpenter, contractor and can play the Grateful Dead on a ukulele. It didn’t matter that the odds were stacked against them, this is what they were going to do. They were good at solving problems, loved each other, and needed to build something that represented their values. So off they went, it was Kyle, Becca, and Uncle Jon day in and day out for four months of nonstop work. Doodles turned to scale drawings on graph paper, then tape on the floor, then structures. They still vividly remember bringing pencil drawings to the health department and getting laughed out of the building. Even with legit plans, trying to get a suburban health department plan checker to comprehend an open air retail space with a specialty cafe was like teaching a dog to write code. There was a lot to learn quickly and not much left for a food budget. Their parents would drop off crockpots of chili and their desire for a vegetarian diet was replaced by an overflowing gratitude for free food. They traded a friend a future surfboard for plumbing work, another friend free coffee for life for welding the coffee bar… another friend crafty at another trade and another IOU was born. But finally the shop was complete… Well, actually they literally ran out of money and just opened their doors.