How a Rocket Internet-backed coffee startup expanded amid the pandemic

As the pandemic swept through Southeast Asia early last year, Flash Coffee had to suspend operations at its Jakarta outlet – the company’s first physical shop – and hold off on its plan to expand in the region.

While this was happening, co-founder and CEO David Brunier was 10,781 kilometers away in Berlin, Germany.

On this episode of Startup Snapshot, Brunier talks about managing the dire situation from another continent, having to cut costs to keep the business alive, and how the coffee chain got back on track to conquer the Southeast Asian market.

Timecodes:

00:00 – Managing a Jakarta-headquartered business while stuck in Berlin
02:22 – A recap of the story so far
03:19 – Putting expansion plans on hold
03:48 – Lucky despite the unlucky situation
05:13 – Managing costs to keep the business afloat
07:00 – Should Flash Coffee still think about expanding?
09:13 – Avoiding layoffs
12:36 – Silver linings
14:03 – The situation improves
15:51 – Gunning for a Bangkok and Singapore launch
19:05 – Seeing Flash Coffee’s first Singapore outlet
20:03 – Is the worst over?
22:10 – Reflecting on the journey

Download the full transcript here.

Featured people:

• David Brunier, co-founder and CEO of Flash Coffee
• Andrew Ive, founder and general managing partner of Big Idea Ventures