This week we look back on nine years of Cat & Cloud. From our earliest days roasting out of borrowed spaces to opening our first café on Portola, we reflect on what it took to build something from nothing—loans, late nights, quirky beginnings, and the people who believed in us along the way. It’s equal parts nostalgia and gratitude, a chance to appreciate how far we’ve come while remembering the scrappy energy that got us started.

At the heart of it, this conversation is about growth and evolution. What begins as direct, hands-on creativity eventually becomes leadership, systems, and scaling while still trying to keep the magic alive. We talk about the joys and challenges of balancing small, personal touches with the realities of running a larger business, and what it means to keep creating something fresh after nearly a decade.

🔖 Chapters –

00:00 Street Fighter

03:06 Going back into time

05:54 Financial Foundation

07:56 Early coffees of Cat & Cloud

10:57 More early milestones

12:37 I’m just a baby

17:10 Reflections on the early team

25:41 How things grew

35:01 Commitment to what you’re doing

🔗 Links –

Cat & Cloud:

Instagram www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/

Webstore www.catandcloud.com/

Chris Baca’s Personal Blog: www.chrisbaca.com/

We are Cat & Cloud Coffee. Started by three friends trying to pursue their passions with the mission to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences, and we created this podcast to continue forming those connections inside and out of our cafes.

The Cat & Cloud podcast was created as a space for us to share our experiences in the coffee industry and starting a business. Each week we sit down to talk about new challenges as business owners, how we utilize our mission and values to make decisions, and answer questions from our listening community. If you’re looking to expand your coffee knowledge, get some advice for your own small business, or just like the vibes, give us a listen!

Enjoy!