Guest: James Freeman, Founder and Former CEO of Blue Bottle Coffee

In the six or so years since he sold his last shares of Blue Bottle Coffee to Nestlé, James Freeman has had a lot of time to ruminate — about how he succeeded in creating a unique café experience, and also the ways he failed his workers as a manager. But he’s already thinking about how he’ll be better in round 2.  “I've changed so much — physically, mentally, emotionally — I feel like I could be a better collaborator,” James says.

In this episode, James and Joubin discuss All About Coffee by William Ukers, Oliver Strand, performance anxiety, MongoMusic, farmers’ markets, “first touch” design, Parisian cafés, self-deception, Facebook ads, “great exits,” The Picture of Dorian Gray, “frictionless” coffee, Zeno’s Paradox, Yoda, iced oat lattes, espresso machines, The Devil Wears Prada, Steve Jobs, Angela Duckworth, and sandpaper.

Chapters:

• (02:25) - Coffee is culture

Links:

Connect with James

• LinkedIn

Connect with Joubin

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Email: [email protected] 

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This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm