Hardware Podcasts

La Colombe Coffee Roasters: Todd Carmichael and J.P. Iberti. A Brotherhood Built on Coffee (2020)

How I Built This · 12 Jan 2026 · 1h 08m

What this episode covers

Todd Carmichael and J.P. Iberti, co-founders of La Colombe Coffee Roasters, recount their journey from meeting in Seattle to launching a specialty coffee brand in Philadelphia. They detail the operational challenges of their early roastery, including a lack of ventilation that forced them to use a garbage chute as a chimney, and their strategic pivot to direct sourcing from farms in countries like Brazil and Haiti. The founders explain how they navigated a conflict with private equity investors by buying them out with the help of Chobani founder Hamdi Ulakaya, ultimately focusing on cold brew and canned lattes rather than rapid cafe expansion.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
La Colombe Coffee Roasters, Chobani, Starbucks, Intelligentsia, Counterculture, Espresso Roma, Torre Facion Italia, Le Bec Fin, Paragon Coffee, U.S. Bank
Products
Aronti

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