To land their first account, the founders walked into the kitchen of the nation's #1 restaurant, uninvited, and prepared their coffee directly for the demanding chef. The product's quality spoke for itself, securing the deal on the spot and creating immediate industry buzz.
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La Colombe's first private equity investors wanted to rapidly expand their retail footprint, but the founders saw the future in ready-to-drink cold brew. This fundamental strategic disagreement led the founders to buy out the investors just 52 days after the first board meeting.
To buy out a misaligned private equity firm, La Colombe's founders specifically sought a "craft-based" investor. They pitched Hamdi Ulukaya of Chobani not with a slide deck, but with an innovative product prototype. This shared appreciation for craft forged a strong, successful partnership.
To land an unresponsive prospect, the founder flew to their office. He arrived as they were fighting a database fire and immediately helped them fix it. This impromptu help session proved his expertise and built immense trust that led them to become a customer.
To bypass exploitative middlemen, La Colombe had to do more than just show up. In places like Haiti, they had to prove their commitment by returning "time and time and time again." This consistency built the trust necessary for farmers to risk working with them directly.
Instead of mass-market appeal, La Colombe focused on becoming the coffee supplier for the world's best restaurants. They believed that if they could win over the most discerning palates, their reputation for quality would cascade down to the general public, creating an unassailable brand.
When entering the market, La Colombe's wholesale price was over five times the standard rate. They overcame price objections from chefs by reframing coffee not as a commodity beverage, but as a high-quality "spice," an essential ingredient where quality dictates the price.
To secure one of their first major corporate accounts, co-founder Chrissy Holler bypassed traditional channels by sneaking into the Google campus cafeteria. She found the chef and pitched them directly, successfully getting the product stocked for employees.
A key prospect tested the founder's commitment by requesting a demo at an absurd time. Agreeing without hesitation impressed the prospect, who then championed Spectora within his exclusive mastermind group. This single act of dedication directly led to 50-75 sign-ups from experienced users.
To win their first enterprise deal, Nexla's co-founder live-coded a solution to a specific data problem during the sales meeting with Instacart. This "magical moment" demonstrated their agility and technical depth in a way no slide deck could, immediately building trust and differentiating them from slower, incumbent processes.
While Seattle was the coffee capital, La Colombe's founders intentionally chose Philadelphia, a city at an economic low point. They saw an opportunity to get in on the "ground floor" of a major city with no specialty coffee scene, allowing them to define the market instead of competing in a saturated one.