Challenges of starting a new business amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic

Mike Meletopoulo and his father Mark are manning the bar at their inner-Sydney brewery, but it isn’t the first project they’ve brewed up together.

The pair made beer at home, and Mike made the hobby professional, studying brewing and distilling and working in Australia and overseas.

Getting a new business off the ground didn’t prove easy or cheap — the Meletopoulos estimate they put half a million dollars into Bracket Brewing before even opening the doors.

Throw in a global pandemic, and the struggles of the start-up phase are amplified.

Upfront costs, lease commitments locked in

“It was probably a year and a bit of just planning,…