Cat & Cloud Podcast

What Matters Most When Opening a Coffee Shop- and Where to
Spend Your Money - Episode #436

Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/

Summary
Thinking about opening a coffee shop? Here’s where your money actually matters—and where
it doesn’t. In this episode, Chris Baca and Jared Truby…aka Dale ;) unpack what actually
matters when you’re opening (or refreshing) a café: create a real feeling of place without
overspending on flashy build-out, “blow the bag” on the essentials (espresso machine, grinders,
and water filtration), and don’t get distracted by optional prestige projects like roasting, direct
trade, or origin travel before the core experience is dialed. They also zoom out on how café
design has evolved since early third-wave homogeneity and land on a grounded definition of
“sustaining excellence”: either innovate with intention or “plus the show” by obsessively
maintaining the details that signal care—because culture is what people learn to accept as
normal.

Chapters
00:00 Monterey and Coffee
07:00 Opening a New Coffee Shop?
13:30 Business reflects the people who started it
21:00 Should I Roast Myself?
29:00 Homogeny in Coffee Shop Design
33:20 What’s Worth It vs. What’s Hype
42:00 Plus the Show

Cat & Cloud:
Instagram www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/
Webstore www.catandcloud.com/
We LOVE our Wholesale Partners! Interested in serving our coffee at your business? Learn
more about our Partner Program https://catandcloud.com/pages/wholesale

Links –
Six Over Coffee
https://www.instagram.com/sixovercoffee/?hl=en

Cat & Cloud Coffee was founded in 2016 by three friends who believe experiences and
connections shape our lives. Former barista champions and lifelong coffee professionals, they
envisioned a better way to do business and set out to create a values-driven organization that
put culture first.

Our mission is to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences. Whether it's with
guests in our 4 retail locations in Santa Cruz, our team members, or our wholesale partners
across the country, we strive to leave everyone better than we found them.

The Cat & Cloud Podcast is a space for us to share our experiences and adventures in coffee
and business in hopes of inspiring more people to create culture and values-driven
organizations.

Scaling Excellence Without Losing The Soul of Your Company

In this episode, Jared, Chris, and Charles wrestle with the challenge of scaling excellence while protecting culture. Drawing from a recent leadership offsite, they explore why growth doesn’t dilute a company’s soul—unprotected culture does. The conversation breaks down the role of founder-led vision, repeatable systems, and strong local leadership in turning values into daily behavior, while addressing hiring, pruning, and the real costs of doing things well. At its core, this episode is about choosing intentional growth, aligning people and purpose, and doing the hard work required to scale with integrity.

Chapters:
0:00 – Cold Mornings, Ramen Bars, and Pajama Parties

5:00 – The Core Question: Can You Scale Without Losing Your Soul?

11:30 – Scaling Culture, Not Just Stores

15:30 – Founder-Led Vision and Intentional Obsession

22:30 – Systems Don’t Kill Culture—Neglect Does

29:30 – Hiring and the Cultural Fit

36:30 – Can Excellence Be Scaled at All?

45:00 – Growth as a Choice, Not a Requirement

50:00 – Final Reflections: Protecting the North Star


Links –
Bici Coffee @ Rosewood Hotel https://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/sand-hill-menlo-park/dining/bici-coffee

Cat & Cloud:
Instagram www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/
Webstore www.catandcloud.com/
We are Cat & Cloud Coffee. Started by three friends trying to pursue their passions with the mission to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences, and we created this podcast to continue forming those connections inside and out of our cafes.
The Cat & Cloud podcast was created as a space for us to share our experiences in the coffee industry and starting a business. Each week we sit down to talk about new challenges as business owners, how we utilize our mission and values to make decisions, and answer questions from our listening community. If you’re looking to expand your coffee knowledge, get some advice for your own small business, or just like the vibes, give us a listen!
Enjoy!

In this week’s episode, Jared and Chris explore the difference between creating
procedures people follow and building systems people believe in. They explore New
Zealand’s coffee culture, why team buy-in matters instead of just compliance, and what
happens when employees are asked to adopt systems they didn’t help create. Along the
way, they discuss how strong teams embrace challenges during change — and why
respected long-term employees often become the key stewards of lasting system
improvement.

(00:00) Coffee Culture on the other side of the Planet
(05:00) Kiwi Coffee Organizations
(11:25) Buy-in vs Compliance
(19:25) Employee Ownership of a System They Didn’t Create
(23:00) Teams Embracing Challenge During Change
(34:00) Veteran Employees as System Stewards

🔗 Links –
Brenè Brown - Dare to Lead (2018)
https://brenebrown.com/book/dare-to-lead/
Bob Chapman - Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for you People
Like Family (2015)
https://www.barrywehmiller.com/bobchapman/book

Cat & Cloud:
Instagram www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/
Webstore www.catandcloud.com/
We are Cat & Cloud Coffee. Started by three friends trying to pursue their passions with
the mission to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences, and we created
this podcast to continue forming those connections inside and out of our cafes.
The Cat & Cloud podcast was created as a space for us to share our experiences in the
coffee industry and starting a business. Each week we sit down to talk about new
challenges as business owners, how we utilize our mission and values to make decisions,
and answer questions from our listening community. If you’re looking to expand your
coffee knowledge, get some advice for your own small business, or just like the vibes,
give us a listen!
Enjoy!

This week on the podcast we are chatting about what could be in the new year and ultimately touch on a few things that could go a long way to help – Getting away from it all. From things like vacations all the way to just not having your phone on you, especially during a shift behind the bar, there are a lot of things you can do to make sure your perspective is refreshed and ready for what’s next.

Ultimately we are just excited about things to come. This new year has a lot of opportunities for us and we are excited to go into it with the best mindsets. Our heads are clean, clear, and under control.

🔗 Links –
Cat & Cloud:
Instagram www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/
Webstore www.catandcloud.com/

We are Cat & Cloud Coffee. Started by three friends trying to pursue their passions with the mission to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences, and we created this podcast to continue forming those connections inside and out of our cafes.

The Cat & Cloud podcast was created as a space for us to share our experiences in the coffee industry and starting a business. Each week we sit down to talk about new challenges as business owners, how we utilize our mission and values to make decisions, and answer questions from our listening community. If you’re looking to expand your coffee knowledge, get some advice for your own small business, or just like the vibes, give us a listen!

Enjoy!

In this episode, we explore the collaborative spirit of the coffee industry and why we value sharing knowledge even with our peers and competitors. We discuss how adopting standards and certifications helps us evolve and allows us to better serve large-scale partners. Throughout the conversation, we reflect on the importance of community connection and the unique local culture that defines how we live out our business.

We also address the challenges of "craft under pressure," focusing on how leaders can navigate financial stress and industry disruptions with resilience. We share our thoughts on the necessity of unlearning old habits to adapt to a changing environment and avoid the trap of burnout. Ultimately, we encourage you to approach your career and leadership with intentionality, balancing achievement with a sustainable focus on self-care.

🔗 Links –
Cat & Cloud:
Instagram www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/
Webstore www.catandcloud.com/

We are Cat & Cloud Coffee. Started by three friends trying to pursue their passions with the mission to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences, and we created this podcast to continue forming those connections inside and out of our cafes.

The Cat & Cloud podcast was created as a space for us to share our experiences in the coffee industry and starting a business. Each week we sit down to talk about new challenges as business owners, how we utilize our mission and values to make decisions, and answer questions from our listening community. If you’re looking to expand your coffee knowledge, get some advice for your own small business, or just like the vibes, give us a listen!

Enjoy!