Team Expansion: How Working In A Coffee House Helped Me Build My Team
Life has a way of taking us on unexpected journeys, and sometimes those seemingly insignificant detours can shape our future in profound ways. Working in a coffee house during your early twenties may not seem like a pivotal moment, but it has certainly been for me. I am getting ahead of myself, so let me take you back to the beginning...
It’s been a while since our last post on here, so I thought I would catch you up on what’s been happening behind the scenes.
A summer full of progress
This summer, Minh and I applied for startup scholarships once again. If you follow my YouTube channel, you might recall our attempt the previous year, in the summer of 2022. This time, we applied to three different organisations, putting in considerable effort that not only 'forced' us to work hard but also helped us in refining our vision.
Unfortunately, we didn't secure the scholarship. Perhaps our pitch lacked the necessary conviction during the second round (you can find my thoughts in the episode here). It could also be attributed to the challenging funding landscape for universities and startup incubators, making these applications more competitive. Additionally, the requirement for participants to have a university degree posed a hurdle we have yet to overcome, despite being at the end of our studies, so this could also have been the exclusion criteria.
Pitch practice
Minh and I were practising for our first ever pitch as part of the scholarship application process (this photo was taken on our balcony during the practice).
Now to the good part...
While we did not get a startup scholarship, the summer wasn't without significant progress. Recognising the need for psychological expertise in our team for a mental health care startup, Minh and I sought out team members with complementary skills.
I had a coffee with Jennifer — the sister of one of my closest friends — who is studying psychology in The Netherlands. I introduced her to the project and her passion for solving mental health care problems aligned with ours, and she decided to join the team.
Simultaneously, Minh connected with a friend who, in turn, introduced us to another psychology student — Gregor. Our shared vision and common ground led him to join the team as well.
But what does this have to do with my past job in a coffee house?
To recap: I met Minh years ago while working at Starbucks. We later discovered we were studying at the same university and reconnected over the years. In the summer of 2022, I invited her to join me for this project. Fast forward a year, and we realised the missing piece in our team was psychological expertise. Remembering another friend from my coffee house days who had a sister studying psychology, I reached out. While we had met socially over the years, we hadn't worked together in such a context.
I wouldn't have anticipated it at the time, but working at the coffee house paid off. Connections forged there have been instrumental in shaping our team — AMITY wouldn't exist today without that time and those relationships. And for that, I am very grateful.
I won't advertise my YouTube channel here, but if you're interested in our unfolding story and a more in depth behind-the-scenes look, you can find it here.
Stay tuned for a proper introduction to the whole team coming very soon. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season until then!
Your AMITY co-founder,
Agascha