Newswise — Had your morning cup of coffee yet? If you're among the 54 percent of U.S. adults who drink coffee daily, chances are you're already on your second or third cup, doing your part to contribute to a nearly $40 billion industry that only seems to be growing.
California State University alumni and students from business, food science and even journalism are helping to define where this business is headed. In fact, a number of entrepreneurs in the field cite their CSU campus as the place where they got their start — and where they learned to think disruptively about the beverage so many of us love.
Company: Contra Coffee & Tea, Orange, California
Alumni: Julie Nguyen (left) and Paul Del Mundo, Cal Poly Pomona; studied food science
What do you do? Paul Del Mundo: "Contra Coffee & Tea is a coffee and tea brewery specializing in [creating our own brews] and serving our drink creations on tap. We're forcing nitrogen into our drinks to make a smoother mouthfeel and sensation without having to add dairy."
Why coffee? "One of the reasons we entered the coffee industry is to reach the end user of our developed products and projects without any middle steps. Having an open dialogue with our customers and including them in the research and development process is very fun for us."
How did the CSU help? "What helped us was the Entrepreneurial Senior Project at Cal Poly Pomona opportunity offered through the College of Engineering in conjunction with the College of Business. In that project, the goal was to go through all the necessary steps of launching a company and bringing a manufactured product to market. To go through that project was invaluable and we try our best to implement some of the strategies taught in that project to our own business."
What's next? "Contra is moving into a brand-new location in Orange, California, where we will be opening our first brick and mortar storefront location at the end of [August 2017]!"
Company: Bold Brew Coffee, San Diego
Students: Jack Doheny (left) and Jake Solomon, San Diego State; studying engineering
What do you do? Jack Doheny: "We see cold brew coffee, with its smooth profile and high caffeine content, as a great way to get all of the energy kick pro-action sports athletes look for with none of the chemicals."
Why coffee? "I worked at a coffee shop on campus. Jake, our co-founder, grew up heavily in the skateboarding scene and had a huge affinity for coffee. We met when I was working at my coffee shop; our friendship turned into a business partnership when Jake pitched the idea, noting the gap in action sports and the trend of cold brew."
How did the CSU help? "We had an amazing foundation to launch from at the Zahn Innovation Platform Launchpad. It was in this business incubator that we got amazing mentorship, legal counsel, incredible work space, and an opportunity to collaborate with other hustling entrepreneur students at SDSU."
What's next? "Since February 2017, we have launched in 67 retail locations from San Diego to San Clemente. We are currently in the middle of our seed round of investment to scale our company across 500+ retail locations."
Company: CoffeeSender / Sendoso, San Francisco
Alumni: Kris Rudeegraap (left) and Braydan Young, CSU Chico; studied business administration
What do you do? Braydan Young: "We started with a company called CoffeeSender, which was a way to send out Starbucks e-gift cards via email and text message. Today, we work with more than 1,000 different e-gifts, but we can also do physical gifts, like swag, hand-written notes and more under our new platform name, Sendoso."
Why coffee? "We were both tech sales guys and we were looking for a unique way to reach out to companies. Sending a digital cup of coffee was different and unique, and it helped you stand out from all the noise. The coffee industry is where we started with adding in some new tech, and that industry helped us build our new platform, Sendoso."
How did the CSU help? "We were both business majors, so many of the skills we learned in accounting, finance and entrepreneurship we use on a daily basis. But I think the thing we use the most is our network of other Chico grads. For example, when you are looking for help with something or to sell to a certain company, if you find a Chico grad at the company, they are always willing to help."
What's next? "After we added coffee into the platform, we were immediately asked for more items to send. Our customers wanted to send lunch, Amazon cards and [and other gifts and incentives for customers and employees]. We are always looking for new customers who are looking to connect with prospects or their customers in a new way."
Company: VendiBean, San Diego
Alumna: Teal Cooper (right), San Diego State; studied journalism and media studies. (Cooper runs VendiBean with her brother Tristan.)
What do you do? Teal Cooper: "VendiBean delivers freshly ground, high-quality coffee from your favorite local roasters. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, offering coffee and convenience at the touch of a button."
Why coffee? "The idea of VendiBean was inspired by my brother, who was studying late for finals in college and realized there were no high-quality coffee options available in sight. I was studying abroad in Italy at the time and was exposed to espresso vending machines that were popular on my campus. I believed in this idea and saw a vision for the concept. Together we decided to join forces to fill a gap in an industry we passionately felt was lacking."
How did the CSU help? "Networking and reaching out to fellow SDSU alumni has had a huge impact on where VendiBean is today. Everyone had a soft place in their heart to speak to me and give me the insight I needed to lead me in the right direction."
What's next? "We will have 19 machines in San Diego and one machine in Austin, Texas, by the end of August 2017. We plan on having 250 machines placed between Southern California, Dallas, and Austin, Texas, by 2020."
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