Cat & Cloud Podcast

Cat & Cloud Podcast  Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ Coffee Futures Fund: Community and Support for Emerging Coffee Shop Owners - Ep# 443 Summary In this episode, the crew sits down with Akshat Khandelwal, founder of Coffee Futures Fund, to unpack the reality of coffee shop ownership—and why so many founders struggle in silence. Drawing from conversations with hundreds of operators...

Cat & Cloud Podcast  Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ Monday Morning Coffee Industry Check-in - Ep #442 Summary In this episode, Chris, Jared and Casey cover a wide mix of coffee-industry updates, behind-the-scenes projects, and big-picture reflections on what makes specialty coffee compelling. They preview upcoming events including a Bay Area roundtable with Coffee Futures Fund, th...

Cat & Cloud Podcast  Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ Finding Joy in Every Season of Work: Part II – Ep #441 Summary In part two of this conversation on finding joy in every season of work, the team (Chris, Jared and Casey) digs deeper into the shift from barista life into leadership, ownership, and building something that lasts. Chris and Jared reflect on how early work experiences...

Cat & Cloud Podcast  Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ Finding Joy in Every Season of Work: Part I – Ep #440 Summary In this episode, Chris and Jared (plus Casey) reflect on the early days that pulled us into specialty coffee and how those experiences shaped the work we’re still doing today. From skateboarding friendships and barista competitions to building cafés and leading teams,...

Cat & Cloud Podcast  Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ On-Stage, Off-Stage: Why Owners Stand in Line (And Other Hospitality Go’s & No-Go’s) – Ep #439 Summary In this episode, Jared, Chris, and Casey riff on authenticity and then dig into hospitality as “on-stage vs off-stage” work—treating a café like a live performance where everything guests see, hear, and feel (cleanliness, or...

Cat & Cloud Podcast Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ Specialty Coffee Ambassador: Meeting Guests Where They Are - Ep# 438 EPISODE SUMMARY Chris, Jared, and Casey dig into a classic specialty coffee problem: the gap between “coffee nerd language” and what customers actually need to have a great experience. They unpack why trust and hospitality come before origin stories and point sco...

Cat & Cloud Podcast The Evolution of Leadership: From Barista to Business Owner - Episode #437 Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ Summary In Episode #437, Chris and Jared explore the real shift that happens when you move from barista to business owner. What once felt like fast-paced camaraderie and clear wins on bar becomes a slower, more complex game of systems, sacrifice, and long-t...

What Matters Most When Opening a Coffee Shop- and Where to Spend Your Money - Episode #436 Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ Summary Thinking about opening a coffee shop? Here’s where your money actually matters—and where it doesn’t. In this episode, Chris Baca and Jared Truby…aka Dale ;) unpack what actually matters when you’re opening (or refreshing) a café: create a real feeling of pl...

Scaling Excellence Without Losing The Soul of Your Company In this episode, Jared, Chris, and Charles wrestle with the challenge of scaling excellence while protecting culture. Drawing from a recent leadership offsite, they explore why growth doesn’t dilute a company’s soul—unprotected culture does. The conversation breaks down the role of founder-led vision, repeatable systems, and strong local l...

In this week’s episode, Jared and Chris explore the difference between creating procedures people follow and building systems people believe in. They explore New Zealand’s coffee culture, why team buy-in matters instead of just compliance, and what happens when employees are asked to adopt systems they didn’t help create. Along the way, they discuss how strong teams embrace challenges during chang...

This week on the podcast we are chatting about what could be in the new year and ultimately touch on a few things that could go a long way to help – Getting away from it all. From things like vacations all the way to just not having your phone on you, especially during a shift behind the bar, there are a lot of things you can do to make sure your perspective is refreshed and ready for what’s next....

In this episode, we explore the collaborative spirit of the coffee industry and why we value sharing knowledge even with our peers and competitors. We discuss how adopting standards and certifications helps us evolve and allows us to better serve large-scale partners. Throughout the conversation, we reflect on the importance of community connection and the unique local culture that defines how we...

This episode is a wide-ranging conversation about how coffee businesses support people at different stages, from new partners to experienced teams. Marc joins the show to talk about wholesale, training, and why the goal isn’t to force one “right” way of doing things, but to help partners find systems that actually work for their reality. Along the way, the conversation touches on craft, technology...

This week is a classic “how did we get here?” episode — starting with the pain of losing a recording, then jumping into what’s been happening in our world, from a surprise New York Times mention to a hospitality-heavy event with Mazzer at Sightglass. We talk about what makes coffee service feel special without getting stuck in inside-baseball language, and how energy, flow, and intention can shape...

This episode explores how company culture is shaped by the balance between craft and hospitality. We talk about what happens when standards exist without care, and when care exists without standards — and why both extremes create problems for teams and guests alike. Culture, in this sense, becomes the set of signals that tell people how to make the right call in real moments. At its core, the conv...

This week’s episode is all about culture — what it is, why it matters, and how it actually shows up in the day-to-day. We talk about how culture isn’t a slogan or a vibe; it’s the collection of choices, habits, and behaviors that shape how a team works together. From communication to expectations to how people support each other, culture becomes real through what consistently happens inside the bu...

This week we talk about what it really looks like to think ahead in a business. Instead of getting stuck reacting to today’s problems, we look at how small, intentional planning can make everything smoother — from scheduling and staffing to equipment, goals, and long-term projects. It’s about choosing direction instead of drift. The big idea is simple: forward thinking isn’t fancy. It’s noticing w...

This week we dig into The Predictive Index and how tools like it can help leaders better understand the people on their team. Instead of guessing at strengths, motivations, or communication styles, PI creates a clearer picture of how someone naturally works — and how to set them up for success. We talk about why these insights matter, how they can guide hiring and coaching, and where they fit alon...

This week we’re doing something special: sharing an episode from Good Folks Doing Good Work that dives deep into branding, clarity, and the heart behind the work we do. It’s a conversation about understanding who you are, what you’re trying to say, and how the choices you make — from design to customer experience — shape the way people connect with your brand. At its core, this episode is a remind...

This week’s conversation starts with a late-night rabbit hole on legendary chef Marco Pierre White and turns into a deeper reflection on obsession, mastery, and meaning. We explore the fine line between excellence and excess—how far to push detail before it stops serving the guest—and what that tension looks like in coffee. It’s an episode about passion meeting perspective. From Michelin-level pre...

This week, we dive into how defining your personal and professional values can simplify the choices you make every day. From career goals to family priorities, values act like a compass — helping you decide what to say yes to, what to let go of, and where to focus your time and energy. We explore how setting clear intentions can bring more meaning and alignment to your work, your relationships, an...

This week, we tackle a listener question about how important brand identity is before opening your first shop. The conversation breaks down what “brand” really means and how it’s not just logos or design, but the promise you make to your guests and how you deliver on it. We emphasize that while visuals can evolve, the essentials of flow, hospitality, and guest connection matter far more than the c...

This week we reflect on what it really means to invest in your team—beyond payroll, bonuses, or budgets. From traveling for competitions to origin trips and team dinners, we talk about how creating experiences, connection, and shared memories pays dividends that can’t be measured on a spreadsheet. Investing in people isn’t just money out; it’s energy in, the kind that builds culture, loyalty, and...

In this episode, we sit down with Sam Grant, Head of Sales for the Americas at Hemro Group — the company behind Mahlkönig, Ditting, Anfim, and Hey Café — to talk about how technology and craft coexist in modern coffee. We trace Sam’s path from retail to coffee equipment sales, exploring what he’s learned from connecting baristas, roasters, and engineers around the world. At its heart, this convers...

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 t...