Cat & Cloud Podcast

What is the job of the owner? As a company grows it becomes more natural for owners to step away from the day to day work, but how does that happen? What would a job listing for the person to take over charge of the thing that you’ve poured yourself into growing? The role of an owner or a CEO is to see the patterns that are often overlooked by others. An effective leader needs to be able to track...

This week we have a very special guest… First place winner of the Cup Tasters Prelim and our very own Green Coffee Coordinator, Dulce!! So this week we brought Dulce to the mic to walk us all through the breakdown of a Cup Tasters competition and her experience going through that process. Listen to the full episode to hear about Dulce's history with Cat & Cloud, what it was like to connec...

We rolled out some pretty exciting new developments for the Cat & Cloud team last week. From a new handbook, to road maps to growth, our retail teams are now fully set up to be the pros we know they are. This week on the podcast Chris, Jared and Michael sit down to share the motivations behind the redesign of our employee handbook and the creation of the Cat & Cloud passport. We believe th...

Jared went to Australia! This week on the podcast Michael and Jared sit down to review his experience with the coffee industry on his recent visit to Australia. Listen to the full episode to hear his thoughts on their espresso-focused coffee culture, the types of coffees they use, and even a few thoughts on how their economic structure affects the industry culture! If you’re interested in becoming...

Welcome to ChuckTalk! This week on the podcast Chris and Michael are joined by Cat & Cloud’s third owner Charles Jack! Have you ever wondered about Cat & Cloud’s elusive third owner? Maybe you want to know how he got his start in coffee, how he met Chris and Jared, or why he left his Wall Street career to work with TechnoServe and live in South Sudan? Well Chuck is on the mic this week to...

Did you know that Cat & Cloud has a partner program? This week on the podcast Chris and Michael are joined by Director of Coffee Marc Gessler to chat about our wholesale program! The guys sit down to discuss why we try and build such close relationships with our coffee partners, and the intricacies of adapting what we offer to the needs of each business. Listen to the full episode to hear thei...

What is the lifetime value of a customer? What is the importance of providing guests with “delightful” experiences? Hospitality extends farther than making people feel welcome, it’s about meeting guests where they’re at and doing what you can to get them stoked. This week Chris and Michael are sitting down to talk about how you can keep people coming back to your business time and time again. Ever...

Does coffee have a place in the slow food industry? What would that even look like? This week on the podcast the guys discuss what it means to provide a highly specialized experience, and the challenges that cafes would face fighting the high volume nature of the coffee industry. Listen to the full episode to hear their thoughts on how cafes can provide a little bit of the slow food experience eve...

We’re getting sample roasted. This week on the podcast the guys sit down to go over some of the challenges that come along with cafe succession planning and the work experiences that inspired them to build Cat & Cloud with a positive company culture. Listen to the full episode to hear their thoughts on how to face the unknowns of your business while remaining open to the adventure, and how to...

Where do you find your inspiration for things? Do you go to the same place to find what you are looking for, or do you find inspiration striking when you least expect it? This week Wiser tries to ask Chris and Jared where they find their inspiration, and it goes about how you would expect. Do you have a question you’ve been dying to ask us? Do you wanna hear us talk about it on the podcast? Visit...

It’s surprising how much the law of improv can apply to other parts of our lives. Collaborating on teams becomes a real challenge when you’re not meeting each other in a “yes, and” space. Work is not always perfectly aligned all the time, but it’s our ability to show up, approach roadblocks with optimism, and believe something is possible even if there is no proof of it. Listen to the full episode...

This week the guys sit down to discuss Delorean prices, how coffee culture has changed, and what, if anything, in the culture should be held sacred. Listen to the full episode to hear Chris, Jared and Michael discuss the process of creating our current coffee and cafe culture, all of the ways it’s had to change to get to this point, and how to continue to adapt as pieces of that culture change. Li...

What are the 7 Steps of Service? We reference it pretty often when talking about daily life in the cafes but how do they work and what are the actual steps? This week on the podcast Chris, Jared and Michael dive deep on fundamentals of Cat & Clouds “7 Steps of Service.” These steps were designed to simplify some of the complexities of hospitality for our new hires. They are the building blocks...

We all spend a majority of our lives working. It’s a necessity, and impacts your life whether you intend it to or not. Not everyone likes every part of their job all the time, but how do you zoom out and turn the thing you “have to do” into a best case scenario? This week on the podcast Chris, Jared and Michael sit down to discuss how to remain motivated in your work and take advantage on every op...

This week on the podcast we are checking our work. Last week we posted on our Threads account asking y’all to send in your questions for us and y’all did not hold back! So this week on the podcast Michael, Chris, and Jared are reviewing the questions you sent in and the answers we gave. Listen to the full episode to get Jared’s surprisingly thorough breakdown on proper fishing technique, how to pl...

This week on the podcast Michael and Jared are joined by another new voice on the Podcast, Director of Coffee Marc Gessler! The guys are hopping on the mic to talk about barista competitions, shameless plugs and Marc’s experience of finding artistry through his work with coffee. We’re diving into coffee competitions! We are thrilled that our Director of Coffee Marc and our Green Coffee Coordinator...

We have a new guest on the pod this week, our Roastery Team Leader Andre! This week Michael, Jared and Andre sit down to review our recent origin trip to Honduras. Origin trips are a really important part of our culture of connection, getting to meet the people and see the communities that our coffee comes from has a huge impact on the way we share our coffee with you. Listen to the full episode t...

How do we handle disagreements as an organization and as a team? How can you approach compromises with an open mind, and especially as an owner how do you navigate the feeling that the business is a direct tie to who you are as a person? This week on the podcast Chris, Jared and Michael sit down again to talk about some of the hard conversations that have to happen when you’re running a business....

On this week's episode, we are giving you a peek behind the curtain! Chris, Jared, and Michael sit down to discuss all the thoughts and considerations that go into creating the podcast. How do you create compelling podcast questions, that are interesting to the guys and our listeners? And what is the best experience we can provide to our audience? Listen to the full episode to hear their thou...

As an owner and even once you start getting into leadership it can be hard to remain connected to your teams. Your day to day work starts to look really different from the day to day work of the folks on the floor. How do continue to support your teams on the “frontline” while still focusing on what you need to get done? Listen to this weeks episode to get the guys thoughts on how to build reliabl...

We’re shaking things up again this week and having Michael back on for round two! On this week's episode, just Chris and Michael sit down to discuss how to make it through the complex and uncomfortable changes that can come from growth and personnel changes. Listen to this week's podcast to hear their thoughts on how to be resilient, and the importance of “yes, and”ing hard situations! L...

We have a guest star on this week's podcast! On this week's episode, Chis and Jared are joined by Cat & Cloud’s marketing team lead and the voice you hear at the end of every episode, Michael! The three sit down to answer some of the questions y’all have asked about transitioning into leadership, having the hard conversations when asking for more responsibility, and how to fully show...

Growing and nurturing business relationships can seem challenging at first, but they’re just like all other relationships in your life. They need open and honest communication and trust on both sides that promises will be fulfilled. This week on the podcast Chris and Jared sit down to discuss what you need to build a strong B2B connection and what mistakes could possibly harm them. Listen to the f...

Pushing forward imperfectly will always give you a better result than waiting until you have everything you think you need to progress. This week on the podcast Chris and Jared tackle questions of motivation and how to make do with what you have. Listen to the full episode to hear their thoughts on how to show up even when you don’t want to, and avoid the “I wish I had more” trap. Check out todays...

Feedback can feel like a loaded word. It has an awkward, negative and intimidating connotation that can make it an easy thing to want to avoid, but it doesn’t have to! On this weeks episode Chris and Jared sit down to share their experiences with and advice for giving constructive feedback and building a culture where feedback is not only expected but encouraged peer to peer. It’s okay to fail whi...