academic coffee
San Jose, CA
FRANK NGUYEN
As told by Frank.
Academic used their Big Idea Grant to upcycle waste materials, create a launch pad for other local businesses, and create upcycling resources for the coffee industry.
WE REALLY LOVE OUR TOWN
Our mission, beyond coffee, is that we’re trying to grow a little plant in the concrete of San Jose. We opened in 2017. Like a lot of places, the pandemic hit our community hard. Half of downtown is still boarded up or vacant. Things are tough. There aren’t many cafés left here.
WHAT WE DID WITH THE BIG IDEA GRANT
Our initial thinking on sustainability was very literal. We used the grant to get a Glowforge laser printer. You can put anything in one — even wood — and make really cool stuff. Learning the process was tricky, but so rewarding. We originally thought we’d recycle old wooden pallets and all the other shipping materials that come to us to make things to sell in our shop. It was cool, but just wasn’t very practical.
“We started thinking that sustainability might just mean supporting other businesses around us. No one had resources to move into the empty spaces in downtown San Jose. But they had amazing businesses. How could we help?”
–Frank Nguyen
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HOW WE BUILT ON THAT
We took a look around and saw that many small businesses in San Jose needed a hand. They didn’t have the resources to become brick-and-mortar shops. So we got a permit to use the parking spaces in front of our shop to host weekend pop-ups for vendors. About half of them are sustainability themed. We use the Glowforge to make unique signs for them that they can use anywhere they do a pop-up.
AND IT IS HELPING
We hosted a food pop-up, and we were the first place to host Hash & Dash. And now they're doing sold-out pop-ups everywhere and they still come back to us a couple times a month. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote about them, and they're getting all this recognition now. It’s cool that they came from our little space.
WE WANT TO PUT SAN JOSE BACK ON THE MAP
When people think about food and beverage in the Bay Area, San Jose never comes to mind. So I think the grant we got is important because it validates our efforts. We try to be sustainable in our café. But to us, sustainability also means a thriving community, and helping our neighbors. It was cool to see other local cafés reach out and be supportive.
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Frank’s 4 ways to help other small businesses successfully launch pop-ups:
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Find Out Who’s In Charge.
Reach out to a local or neighborhood small business association. They will help you with permits, and may even share some tips and tricks.
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Communicate.
If you’re having multiple businesses do a pop-up event, set expectations ahead of time: this is how much space you have, be nice to each other, pick up your trash. We’ve figured out a template that keeps things running smoothly.
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Unleash Your Employees!
People who work for you are likely to be talented in other areas, and can help you in ways you never thought of. Empower them. And also pay them for their time!
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Stay Nimble.
Prepare for chaos. Fixing things along the way will be easier than waiting for everything to be perfect before jumping in.
STAY IN THE BIG LOOP!
Sign up for the BIG newsletter to get notified when entries open and winners are announced!
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Seriously, they approved this part. Just email us at bigideagrant@oatly.com and we can connect you with these amazing entrepreneurs so you can ask all about how to get going on similar sustainable projects of your own. Because sustainability info should be free and shareable for all, of course!