We started with a vision to rewrite the narrative of the daily coffee routine. Today we bring you a range of coffee beverages that not only simplify your routine but allow consumers to enjoy great coffee in a variety of ways that were once not possible with the range available in a supermarket fridge.
It's been a journey and not one without its fair share of adventure. Five key learnings from us:
Expect resistance:
If it was easy, everyone would do it. Our number 1 selling product (the 10-shot Big Boy) was the very product we were being laughed out of the room when we originally tried to sell it into supermarkets. Buyers did not comprehend the idea of selling a beverage in the iced coffee section higher than $10. Ultimately, it was our consumers who proved them wrong (and A LOT of followups when you had previously been told no.) We can’t tell you the amount of times we were told that these products would not sell.
Trust your gut:
We have had multiple moments which we had doubts about our own personal ability to grow First Press (and at times keep it alive). When we look back to those moments there was always a voice and a trust in our heart that we had to keep going. Ultimately, the gold was on the other side of the fear.
Just know the single next step:
You can easily get lost in the future. There are an endless array of books telling you to map out every detail of your future plan. One of our greatest learnings for us was to not get lost in the infinite pathways and keep things simple. Sometimes it was simple as just knocking on the door of 10 stores, which would open up the next step.
Admit you don’t know what you’re doing:
We absolutely had no idea what we were doing when we started the business, and we still have many moments where we don’t pretend we know what we’re doing. Our one intention when we started First Press was to learn how to build a business. The beauty (and frustration) of this is that the learning is never over, and you must meet every day with a humble awareness you’re still in school.
Lean on your support:
From family, friends, staff, advisors, customers and investors, we simply could not have done this alone. There have been countless times when we have been in a hard moment, and the phone has rung with someone sending some support. The friendships and connections we have gained from starting First Press is easily the most important gift we have been given from our time at First Press. To this point, we have already won (but the journey is far from over :)