Episode 222: Coffee Culture Chronicles - Building Community One Cup at a Time

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Episode 222: Coffee Culture Chronicles - Building Community One Cup at a Time

Sacha's broadcasting live from her Antarctic igloo (aka Christchurch in winter), complete with puffer jacket indoors, preparing for this week's Momentum conference, where she's the lone woman among a lineup of "bros and me." This leads into the fascinating origin story of Coffee Culture and what it really takes to build a business that becomes part of people's lives.

PS: This episode is brought to you by Coffee Culture (Sacha's going back to negotiate the sponsorship budget with marketing). Also, Ish's brilliant business idea of in-store cow milking behind glass walls is still available to the highest bidder.

Main Topics

• The Coffee Revolution - When Chris pioneered in-store coffee roasting in Christchurch and everyone said "nobody will pay $3.50 for coffee" (oh, how times have changed), plus the genius move from cocktail flair to coffee craft without the drunk drama
• Franchising vs. Growing with Your Own Money - Why Coffee Culture chose franchising not for capital reasons, but because coffee shops are simultaneously "a license to print money and a license to lose money" - and the person behind the counter makes all the difference
• Choosing Your Hard - Through earthquakes, GFC, pandemic, and cost of living crises, Sacha's philosophy that "life is hard, so just pick which hard bits you want" - and why giving up was literally never discussed
• Beyond the Coffee Cup -- The woman who's visited Coffee Culture almost daily for 30 years, and the two friends who got matching tattoos of Coffee Culture cups before travelling overseas separately

Key Insights

• In hospitality, location matters for petrol stations, but personality matters for coffee shops
• The transition when selling a successful cafe is everything - introduce the new owner properly or watch your customer base disappear
• As you scale, you move from being the cool young player to the incumbent, making talent attraction harder
• Creating a place for community and connection is "so much more than a cup of coffee"
• The audience relaxes when speakers own the stage - same principle applies to service

The Bigger Picture

Sometimes you don't realise you're part of something's origin story until years later. Sacha's honest about claiming "none of the inspiration, birth of the idea, or incredible hard work" for Coffee Culture's start, but her role in its growth and resilience through multiple crises shows how businesses become woven into the community fabric.

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