What I learned grabbing coffee with the Co-founder of Starbucks

Be observant: ideas don't just come to you, you have to look for them

The idea for what became to be the largest coffee company in the world was conceived by a history teacher, an English teacher, and a writer.

Zev Siegl, Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker would frequently get together and discuss ideas for potential businesses. On one of those normal days, the group got together for lunch at a little restaurant. After they finished their meal, the waiter offered them 'gourmet espressos' which in the early 1970's was uncommon, especially in Seattle.

The coffee was terrible. From this one, basic, simple pain-point, the concept for the 'Coffee Company' or Starbucks emerged. The goal was to bring quality coffee beans to the people of Seattle.

Lesson: you don't always have to have deep-rooted experience in an industry or be a seasoned serial entrepreneur to start a business. After drinking bad coffee (experience), they made an observation (reflection/idea), and decided to figure out how to solve that pain-point (entrepreneurship).

Seek support: find people whose strengths complement your weaknesses

At the time, hardly any companies were roasting high quality coffee in the U.S. - but there was one in San Francisco that looked very promising, Pete's Coffee.

At 26 years old, Zev decided to call the store and try to pitch the idea for Starbucks to the owner, Alfred Pete. For context, Alfred is universally considered to be the man who brought custom coffee to America (you can thank him for that). So, when Alfred answered the call and heard what Zev had to say, he replied "why don't you come down here to the shop and I'll show you what I'm doing." When Zev arrived, the store was full of customers with 6 baristas working behind the counter selling coffee beans and fine tea's. Once the tour was over, they got down to business and talked everything you can possible imagine about coffee. That wasn't enough...they continued the conversation over dinner, and by the end of it, Alfred offered the guys to be a mentor.

That's how the Co-founders of Starbucks accidentally solved the biggest problem they had at the time...none of them knew anything about coffee, and thankfully - they found someone who did.

Lesson: from the beginning, the Co-founders knew they had a massive gap and understood that to be the best in the coffee business, they had to consult the best in the coffee business. Alfred was the one who taught them the proper technique of roasting. So, leave your ego at the door and build a team of puzzle pieces that fit together rather than fight each other.

Check yourself: know who you are and what you're ultimately passionate about

After spending a decade building up Starbucks successfully to a handful of stores in Seattle and serving as their founding VP, Zev decided to step away. Why?

"I'm a startup guy. I know that about myself and I've known it for quite some time. I'm not someone who can be at a large organization and be effective."

How does one build that self-awareness though?

"I built it with my first company, through experience. By the time I exited after a decade, we had more than 200 employees and pretty complex operations just in Seattle. I could tell I wasn't functioning at a level that would be useful anymore to the company. And as soon as I left the company, I started a new venture on my own."

Today, Starbucks has a market cap of roughly $90B. Does Zev regret leaving that early?

"Not at all. I'm pretty happy to what's happened to me and what's happened to Starbucks. I'm an early-stage guy which is useful when companies are first forming and it's totally useless once they get to a certain size."

Lesson: Stepping away from something you've built is never easy. But some of the most successful founders I know / interviewed, have had similar experiences. Marc Randolph, for instance, who was the Co-founder and former CEO of Netflix stepped away after the company went public because his passion lied in the early-stages of a startup. Be true to yourself, stick to what you love and you'll ultimately be happy regardless of the outcome.

Fun fact: Zev's favourite coffee is the double espresso. I'm sorry to disappoint the pumpkin spice latte fans.

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Links to the full episode: Apple Podcast - Spotify - Google Podcasts