Show HN: Weekly coffee delivery for startups

by crixlet • 13 years ago

17 24 13 years ago

At many of my past jobs we always had the problem of running out of coffee or just getting the same kind of coffee every single week. That's why we started Gravity Company. We love coffee. I think it has an import role for the startup efficiency and productivity, so why not have someone deliver excellent sourced coffee to your office weekly.

onion2k• 13 years ago

"That being said, good coffee is important for culture."

Without wishing to go all wikipedia, citation needed. What evidence is there that coffee has any impact on things like brand reputation, employee productivity, retention, morale, happiness. Those are the measures of culture. Show evidence that coffee changes them if you're going to make bold claims like the one on your website rather than assuming people's views are aligned with your own.

Not that I'd buy. You used the word "artisanal". Total turn off. :)

crixlet4• 13 years ago

Totally agree regarding the poor word choice with "artisanal".

I hear what you're saying about backing up claims regarding how coffee affects culture. I don't know of anything quantifiable. I do know anecdotally from previous jobs, many conversations were sparked around taking a break to brew a cup of coffee @ the office... many late night candles... all nighters... ad infinitum. I guess for those companies that don't really have the coffee culture already, we're not well positioned to convince them that they need to. I think we're focused on the companies that are already buying coffee regularly and want to just outsource that. Unless you thing making those statements detracts from our credibility?

hkmurakami• 13 years ago

Well I guess good coffee > bad coffee, so all things being equal perhaps a company that pays for better coffee for its employees cares about the well being of its people more than companies that don't?

Of course, all too frequently this comes with the added expectation for employees to work longer hours.

Also, non coffee drinkers may be peeved.

raverbashing• 13 years ago

Yes, please, test this. Build a caffeine free startup.

No coffee, tea or energy drinks allowed.

pattle• 13 years ago

Congratulations on launching. I like your presentation but there seems to be a lack of content, like where you source the beans from etc. I'm sure most coffee drinkers will want to know things like that. I felt like after going through the site I didn't really know much about the service, it left me with questions

jcklnruns• 13 years ago

Agree on lack of content. I'd like to know more about the actual coffee options and not too keen on providing my email just for that. Also, 'free shipping' sounds mighty tempting to me since I'm in the middle of nowhere in Spain :)

crixlet4• 13 years ago

Great feedback. Thank you.

jsumrall• 13 years ago

This is the 2nd "Show HN" coffee startup this week. Am I missing something? Is it so hard to go to the store to buy coffee when you're buying the other office supplies?

duiker101• 13 years ago

It's the same thing I thought seeing the first one but than I realized that his prices were actually even lower than any coffee I could find around so it had a reason to exist. But for this one, $20 a week seems an awful lot. Ok it's start-up oriented, but if a start-up is going to get a shipping of coffee it would make sense to just receive it with any other goods that supermarkets can ship you no?

And to answer to the "why?", to try and get any opportunity to create a business, this sort of things seem to be pretty common for everything this days.

bwaine• 13 years ago

In the UK I use 'Pact' to get coffee shipped @ £6.99 / bag twice a month. The packaging fits through the letter box and the variety is great.

If you want to use this kind of service but aren't based in the US, give them a go.

www.pactcoffee.com

SyneRyder2• 13 years ago

Looking at the Pact Coffee page, it answers all the questions I have about their service (except for pricing, which was hidden away). Bonus points for being able to select that I brew my coffee with an Aeropress & get recommendations specifically for that. Gravity Coffee should probably take some inspiration from the Pact site.

alexfoo• 13 years ago

Why "for startups"?

SyneRyder2• 13 years ago

Interesting idea but wouldn't work for me - though as a solo founder in Australia, I guess I'm probably not your target market. Some quick feedback:

* Not having a choice of beans (or knowing what the flavours/kinds are) is a bit of a turn off for me. While I like to have variety, my favorite coffee is a chocolatey flavour, and I like that first coffee of the day to be something I really, really look forward to & enjoy.

* As a solo founder, I'm not going through 16oz of coffee every week, so weekly deliveries would be too much for me. Your pricing is surprisingly good though, once I did the math of how many grams are in 16oz.

* No information on whether your deliveries can be left at the front door / in the mailbox. Not having to sign for the deliveries would be a huge bonus.

* Again, talking as a solo founder... it's actually kinda important for me to get out of the office / house sometimes. Working from a cafe is not just about atmosphere, it's also about mixing with people. I tend to buy my coffee beans while I'm on one of those days out with the HuMans. So having beans delivered could actually be a negative for me, remove an excuse to take a break & get fresh air / exercise / socialize.

* If you can guarantee freshness of beans, that would be a bonus. Occasionally I've bought beans from a cafe, only to discover it's an old pack roasted a year ago. Blech.

* Have you thought about extras? I'm a fan of having dark-chocolate-coated coffee beans on hand as well. Or variety, an 8oz pack with your favorite beans, and another 8oz pack with something new for you to try.

crixlet4• 13 years ago

SnydeRyder: awesome tips. Thank you.

sz4kerto• 13 years ago

"We love the startup office culture but we hate running out of coffee in the office. "

No, no, no, no, no.

This is going to kill you (I don't mean the startup, I mean the people with this kind of attitude). If you can't find time to go out for a coffee, or if you simply don't want to leave the office even for a coffee (how long is that, 10 mins?), then you're in a trouble.

I've seen people who get free food at their desks in the office. It's plain sad.

mathattack• 13 years ago

As others have mentioned, consistency can be important in coffee. I ask for the same coffee every time in Starbucks, and make mine the same every morning at work.

But... That's not to say you aren't on to something. Cranky folks stuck in their ways probably aren't any disrupter's target market. And you could always introduce, "Just stick with last month's beans" as an option.

crixlet4• 13 years ago

Agreed. Especially if I get on a good bean that I like, I want to run it's course for a while.

We are thinking of implementing some type of rating/feedback system so we can get to know preferences and curtail each shipment based on that.

blackdogie• 13 years ago

I like the idea but 2 quick points

$44 per kilo of coffee ? ($20 per pound) That sounds a bit on the expensive side.

No details on if it's ground or bean coffee.

Kabacaru• 13 years ago

My favourite of going to get a coffee, is leaving the office for a little bit. I find a change of environment gives me new ideas.

jwblackwell• 13 years ago

Take a look at graze.com if you haven't already. Their model seems to be working - you select a bunch of stuff you like and you receive a selection randomly.

Good luck! I think you'll need to find your niche because coffee delivery to offices isn't something new. Most offices get their coffee deliverered. You can differentiate by having a higher end product, perhaps providing some background on where it came from etc

hannes2000• 13 years ago

Shameless plug: We're currently setting up a similar thing in Berlin, Germany: https://kaffeebitte.de

We're in Beta, but shipping already (also to individuals), so if you're interested, get in touch!

martingordon• 13 years ago

I think Tonx (https://tonx.org/cb2dd1d7 note: referral link) s one of the most established companies in this space. They charge $19 for 12oz of freshly-roasted coffee sent biweekly (Roasted on Sunday, shipped out Monday from LA, delivered Wed/Thurs to NYC).

Gravity is $1 cheaper for 4 oz more, but how fresh is the coffee? The beans are sourced from coffee shops, but where/how are those beans sourced?

Tonx also ships out 2 oz free samples to let you get a feel for the quality of the coffee. I made amazing coffee at home with that sample and immediately signed up.

smackfu• 13 years ago

Tonx seems like it is more for people who like to try a lot of different coffees, because you get whatever they send you, and there is no possibility to get more if you like one in particular. I don't think that would work well in an office where consistency is more important.

michaelbuddy• 13 years ago

Seems like office coffee delivery is pretty common. Ronnoco in St. Louis, they hook up restaurants, offices, convenience stores, auto mechanics. Places where people work and where customers waiting rooms need coffee. Getting a bag of coffee in the mail is great, but Ronnoco will stock you with everything you need including make sure your equipment is in working order. I kind of like the all or nothing approach. What's the alternative, having an office manager or admin assistant go to costco every couple weeks, probably the productivity gains are there over the cost. It helps that Ronnoco coffee doesn't give me any kind of stomach problems (at least what we brew here, so they have a special place in my heart).

Show HN: Weekly coffee delivery for startups

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