COGG: British Coffee Makers
Your coffee. Anywhere.
A simple idea - a reusable coffee maker that you can take everywhere. This is how I was introduced to the project during a casual meeting on my short vacation in London. A good idea, although it all lacked panache and vision. After a week, I worked with the founder and together we created a product that won two prestigious awards for startups in Oxford.
Project success
What was missing in this project, above all, was a vision. Two guys had been working on the coffee maker for some time and were practically standing in one place. Except for the idea, there wasn't much to work with. I started by bringing to the company the best designer I know. Together, we designed a completely new product, equipped with a stylized mug, using the best materials available. In addition to design, we have also developed the entire process of brewing coffee and filtering beans - in a word, we turned a simple idea into a refined product.
In the next step, I personally created the website and, together with the founder, we developed the necessary documents. In a few months we’ve build a list of almost a thousand subscribers, hired a person responsible for social media (in 4 months we organically obtained 1,500 followers on Instagram), we refined the product with technologists and the factory. A pre-sale campaign was also under preparation.
We started cooperation with Oxford Brookes University and TEDx Oxford (in which we were represented by the founder of the startup).
In November 2019, we won the first competition in London, taking the main prize. In March 2020, we won another startup competition - both in the general category and in the People’s Choice. Unfortunately, problems related to the pandemic slowly hindered work and lowered morales. At the beginning of 2021, the decision was made to discontinue work on the project was issued by the founders, despite very promising prospects. I also consider this project very significant in my career, because I created the entire team of employees from scratch, to a large extent.
Responsibilities
The founder came to me for help - at first only as a consultant. In a short time I became one of the most important people in the company. I worked with the president on organizational matters, with the marketing team (because I had the most experience in it) on communication and advertising. Finally, it was me who invited one of the best designers I know to cooperate and created the product design together with him. I also found a factory in China and worked on the technical aspects with them..