Show HN: Weekly coffee delivery for startups (getgravity.co)
At many of my past jobs we always had the problem of running out of coffee or just getting the same kind of coffee every single week. That's why we started Gravity Company. We love coffee. I think it has an import role for the startup efficiency and productivity, so why not have someone deliver excellent sourced coffee to your office weekly.
25 comments
[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 63.9 ms ] threadWithout wishing to go all wikipedia, citation needed. What evidence is there that coffee has any impact on things like brand reputation, employee productivity, retention, morale, happiness. Those are the measures of culture. Show evidence that coffee changes them if you're going to make bold claims like the one on your website rather than assuming people's views are aligned with your own.
Not that I'd buy. You used the word "artisanal". Total turn off. :)
I hear what you're saying about backing up claims regarding how coffee affects culture. I don't know of anything quantifiable. I do know anecdotally from previous jobs, many conversations were sparked around taking a break to brew a cup of coffee @ the office... many late night candles... all nighters... ad infinitum. I guess for those companies that don't really have the coffee culture already, we're not well positioned to convince them that they need to. I think we're focused on the companies that are already buying coffee regularly and want to just outsource that. Unless you thing making those statements detracts from our credibility?
Of course, all too frequently this comes with the added expectation for employees to work longer hours.
Also, non coffee drinkers may be peeved.
No coffee, tea or energy drinks allowed.
And to answer to the "why?", to try and get any opportunity to create a business, this sort of things seem to be pretty common for everything this days.
If you want to use this kind of service but aren't based in the US, give them a go.
www.pactcoffee.com
* Not having a choice of beans (or knowing what the flavours/kinds are) is a bit of a turn off for me. While I like to have variety, my favorite coffee is a chocolatey flavour, and I like that first coffee of the day to be something I really, really look forward to & enjoy.
* As a solo founder, I'm not going through 16oz of coffee every week, so weekly deliveries would be too much for me. Your pricing is surprisingly good though, once I did the math of how many grams are in 16oz.
* No information on whether your deliveries can be left at the front door / in the mailbox. Not having to sign for the deliveries would be a huge bonus.
* Again, talking as a solo founder... it's actually kinda important for me to get out of the office / house sometimes. Working from a cafe is not just about atmosphere, it's also about mixing with people. I tend to buy my coffee beans while I'm on one of those days out with the HuMans. So having beans delivered could actually be a negative for me, remove an excuse to take a break & get fresh air / exercise / socialize.
* If you can guarantee freshness of beans, that would be a bonus. Occasionally I've bought beans from a cafe, only to discover it's an old pack roasted a year ago. Blech.
* Have you thought about extras? I'm a fan of having dark-chocolate-coated coffee beans on hand as well. Or variety, an 8oz pack with your favorite beans, and another 8oz pack with something new for you to try.
No, no, no, no, no.
This is going to kill you (I don't mean the startup, I mean the people with this kind of attitude). If you can't find time to go out for a coffee, or if you simply don't want to leave the office even for a coffee (how long is that, 10 mins?), then you're in a trouble.
I've seen people who get free food at their desks in the office. It's plain sad.
But... That's not to say you aren't on to something. Cranky folks stuck in their ways probably aren't any disrupter's target market. And you could always introduce, "Just stick with last month's beans" as an option.
We are thinking of implementing some type of rating/feedback system so we can get to know preferences and curtail each shipment based on that.
$44 per kilo of coffee ? ($20 per pound) That sounds a bit on the expensive side.
No details on if it's ground or bean coffee.
Good luck! I think you'll need to find your niche because coffee delivery to offices isn't something new. Most offices get their coffee deliverered. You can differentiate by having a higher end product, perhaps providing some background on where it came from etc
We're in Beta, but shipping already (also to individuals), so if you're interested, get in touch!
Gravity is $1 cheaper for 4 oz more, but how fresh is the coffee? The beans are sourced from coffee shops, but where/how are those beans sourced?
Tonx also ships out 2 oz free samples to let you get a feel for the quality of the coffee. I made amazing coffee at home with that sample and immediately signed up.