Uproar Coffee Founder Marco Serpas on his Leap of Entrepreneur"ing"
Uproar Coffee is a specialty coffee micro-roaster that focuses on introducing the benefits of fresh, small batch roasted coffee to the public. They also promote coffee growing communities who produce specialty coffee in an environmentally and community friendly way as well as provide awareness about the coffee industry.
Welcome to the first of a blog series we've been putting together to feature entrepreneurs of all ages, industries, "success levels," and stages. This series is called Leap of Entrepreneur"ing" which is a play on leap of faith and adds a little progressive verb twist because, well, trying to start and run a business is always a work in progress. We ask questions about how they prepared financially, what advice they would give, how they measure success and more.
The goal of this series is to motivate anyone who's been thinking about potentially starting something of their own and doesn't know where to start or what to do. I hope hearing the realities and stories of others who have been there before or are there now will help to inspire you. This is also for those of you who currently own a business to find some comradery and create an open dialogue and community. Lastly, this is also for anyone who just wants a more transparent and "real" peak into the mindset, struggles and experiences of someone who identifies as an entrepreneur.
When did you first get the idea for the kind of business you wanted to start and how long until you felt confident enough to take the leap of faith?
"My family always worked very independently. It's part of the culture of an agrarian society with European immigration. My aunt started her business about 17 years ago in El Salvador shortly after the civil-war ended, and became a millionaire over time. Another aunt runs her own school in San Salvador and is a well-known artist. Seeing those examples showed me that just about anything is possible with sheer will and being at the right place at the right time.
I graduated college and established a sales company that sub-contracted on behalf of Verizon Wireless to individuals and businesses. I taught myself how to get incorporated, work with an accountant, etc. I decided to move to Northern Virginia in 2011 to learn more about traditional and digital marketing, and work on setting up my own company entirely. I launched Uproar Coffee in May 2014, once my market research led me to define how I could best mitigate risk and profit as a start up. I saw the rising trend in coffee variation and private labels, the projected statistics for coffee consumption, and decided it naturally fit in with my background; so the idea really started in 2008 when I did an independent study in El Salvador."
How did you prepare financially for starting your own business and what were the best and/or worst choices you made when planning?
"While working in marketing, digital marketing, and administrative work (my jobs these last years in Northern Virginia), I paid my bills and cleared the majority of my college debt. The best choice I made was moving back in with my parents a year and half ago to cut down the costs associated with renting; that really helped me allocate funds towards branding, website development, research trips, etc. I had not lived with my parents since 18, so it was very helpful to get their input in the matter; my father was an agricultural engineer in El Salvador and managed to find me some solid contacts who really taught me a lot. Living with my parents also cut down my food costs. I think it's almost impossible for the average American graduate to run a start up on an average annual income and still pay rent, groceries, etc.
The worst choice I made was contracting unqualified people to do changes to my website. It's very hard as a start up to get graphic design and website help at a good rate; often I resort to using workers in other countries to stay within my budget. This always takes longer (language barrier) and results in work which often needs to get reworked over and over."
What does your business do and offer?
"My business sources coffee and introduces it to grocery stores, roasters, and other potential consumers for consideration. I learn everything about the source and source product and then connect them with the right buyer on the other side (i.e. some roasters prefer some varietals/elevations over others). We believe in other companies being specialists. We do not do customs work for material leaving or entering the country nor do we distribute. The job is simply to get preorders for coffee plantations capable of exporting.
At times I have done consulting pro bono in order to win good faith with the coffee growers. I've shot documentary work for my own research purposes. This all has generally helped my client; the more I know, the better I can spot a good product at a bargain price.
In addition to purchasing, my client will also have the option to visit the plantation or a plantation in El Salvador with me. I do this regularly, so I figured why not let others do it with me? My major was History (I also hold a B.A. in Spanish and a concentration in Latin American Studies) so documenting is at the core of my company's belief in transparency."
How do you measure success today?
"As a start up I measure success by small achievements. It's ridiculous (although plausible) to think your start up will make six figures in a year and hold yourself to a value. It probably takes a good year (if you are setting yourself up for the future) to plan out a strategy and the tactics to support it. For example, my most recent success was coming to agreeable terms with a source and working with them on their marketing plan; the German branch is very helpful and let me get all the information I need to present. I sourced organic 600-900m co-operatives and small growers to find some jewels I could import; unfortunately, much of the coffee at this altitude is being affected by global warming at an alarming rate. These areas lost up to 90% production last year and because of this I can see it return to full form if no further epidemic continues in 2-3 years at best. Finding a capable producer above 1000m has been a big achievement.
I also made contacts with roasters and restaurants who are interested in the products and services this past month. All very promising relationships. When I roasted and packaged my own coffee I sold to friends and family, some online orders, to the tune of 100 kg in a year. That was a good return on investment, but it was also very draining to be a one man operation. I decided then to find a farm-to-cup model that could roast for me on demand."
What advice would you give to anyone who has been thinking about starting their own business?
"Do your research and cut personal costs as much as possible. Part of owning your own business is investing in yourself and living it out; so give yourself flexibility and use any extra money/time to meet people in the industry you want to be involved in. Be flexible to changing your business model. Stay within budget. Stay organized. Invest and reinvest in what you do. Read as much as you can about your competitors and like minded start ups. Be ready to make sacrifices. "
