Rounton Coffee and Bedford Street Coffee Shop

Abstract

This is the story of a new venture in coffee roasting (Rounton Coffee) and a diversification strategy in the form of a coffee shop (Bedford Street Coffee). The development of these businesses is explained through the experiences of the founder, Dave Beattie. It tells of how he first encountered speciality coffee and then turned his interest into business ventures. Attention is given to the context of speciality coffee and its impact on: product and service differentiation, business models, potential for crowdfunding, motivation for entrepreneurship and the associated learning agenda. The teaching note informs both new venture creation and the entrepreneurial experience and is suited to final year undergraduate and masters’ level courses exploring entrepreneurial learning, opportunity spotting and business model development. In addition, the context of speciality coffee gives insight into how supportive inter-organizational and customer relationships can resource new venture creation, despite challenges in establishing initial links.