A multi-faceted entrepreneur with success in hospitality, startups and technology, Ryan Spaccavento started Coffee On Cue back in 2013 with a simple mission - to save people from drinking bad coffee at events.
”Serving just ‘a coffee’ now to people isn’t good enough - we’ve grown to expect a certain standard of quality of product and service, and I set out to prove that if you serve great coffee at events, this could truly elevate the entire experience for those involved,” Ryan stated.
He’s been building Coffee on Cue for the last 9 years into a successful coffee company with roots in events. But there’s more to Ryan as an entrepreneur and business owner.
Q: Can you give a brief background about you, your family and your business?
I'm the founder of Coffee On Cue, a coffee company with roots in events. I've worked in sales, tech, pizza, and coffee. I love golf, F1, dogs, travel, and all things coffee. Last year, I married my wife Katie (who I met on a blind date dressed as Pirates) and we live with our staffy Freddie and our cat Lily.
Q: What inspired you to be an entrepreneur?
Originally, when I started my business, it was to get my hands dirty, connect with people, and enjoy making coffee. It's turned into a much bigger engine now, but the desire to be around coffee and people is still strong with me today.
Q: What do you enjoy most about being an entrepreneur?
I love the freedom of designing my own life around the business and business around my life. I also get a lot of joy from helping my team set goals and seeing them succeed and grow.
Q: What are the biggest challenges you have faced as an entrepreneur?
In 2020, we saw our events business revenue drop to nearly 0. We had to think on our toes, close our retail outlets and move to a skeleton team. We started an e-commerce coffee business and created a virtual event business where we sent filter brewing packs to people working from home or going to online events and taught them to live how to make filter coffee, just like a barista. The business is back to events now, and we're stronger for it.
Q: Why did you decide to join EO?
Having gone through the Accelerator Program for the last two years, the support and growth that I have experienced through the community have been amazing. I see EO as a place where I can continue to grow as both a human and an Entrepreneur.
Q: Can you share a golden nugget that you learned from your experience or from another entrepreneur or mentor in the past?
It's the Spacc unpack. Whenever I get flustered I get a timer on, put everything in aeroplane mode, and write everything that is on my mind in a spreadsheet. At the end of the time I mark out what I can detonate, delegate or do immediately.