His father was a loser; he did not lose: The success story of Howard Schultz, who made Starbucks a world brand

Summary: He started his life as the child of a poor Jewish family. His father was either fired from every job he entered or the business was closed. He never wanted to suffer the same fate as his father's. He even sold his blood outside of working to pay for school. While working as a marketer, he resigned and pursued his dream of opening a coffee shop on every corner… He liked the idea that was called impossible so much that he created the first brand that comes to mind when the coffee chain is mentioned in the world. Here is the success story of the founder of Starbucks…

Details of the story

Schultz, who spent his childhood in Brooklyn, enters the University of Michigan with a football scholarship, but soon quits football and starts working to cover his school expenses. His education life, which he spent by earning his own money, finally resulted in his graduation from university in 1975, and Schultz started his business life without wasting any time. A little work experience first, then working at Xerox as a sales representative; After gaining sales experience, he moves to a company called Hammerplast, which markets kitchenware. In a very short time, he rises to the highest position in this company.

Schultz's attention was drawn to the fact that a small company ordered large quantities of filter coffee equipment for the company he worked for, and this is how the story of his meeting with Starbucks begins.

Schultz, who was working as the general manager in charge of Swedish designed kitchen utensils at that time, got up and went to Seattle from New York because of this curiosity; meet the ordering company. This company is Starbucks. Established in 1971, Starbucks was founded by two coffee-loving teachers and a writer, rather than for commercial purposes, so that people can access good coffee where they live. At that time, Starbucks only sold coffee beans.

Schultz, who met Starbucks' partners and was fascinated by their stories, spent more than a year trying to persuade them to join the team...

Starbucks was founded in 1971 by two teachers, one of whom teaches English and the other of history, and an author. Their purpose is strictly non-commercial. There is only one reason. They love coffee and want Seattle to have access to good coffee, too. Starbucks back then was actually very different from what it is today. They only sell well roasted coffee seeds. They have a very close bond with their customers. They teach them about making good coffee and sell different coffee seeds in bags to make at home. In the 4 shops they own, they attach great importance to customer relations and customers' new experiences about coffee.

Schultz is ready to sacrifice everything for this cause. Starbucks' partners aren't convinced at first because they don't see growth positively. However, Schultz does not give up and eventually convinces the partners and leaves everything to move to Seattle. He starts working at Starbucks as the company's chief marketing officer.

The partners object to Schultz's rapid growth ideas by saying "We do not run a restaurant, we sell coffee beans", but Schultz does not give up. After working at Starbucks for a year, he goes to Italy on a business trip and is very impressed by the coffee culture there. In America, which does not know what espresso is, he returns to his country with the thought that Starbucks can do this job properly. But Starbucks' owners don't greet him with the same enthusiasm. Because they see this as a risk for their well-run companies. Even successful coffee trials are not enough to convince them…

And in 1986, with capital partially funded by Starbucks, he opens Il Giornale, an Italian espresso coffee shop. Il Giornale is similar to the espresso shops Schultz saw in Italy. A place with Italian menus where customers can taste the flavor of coffee. This is one of Schultz's major mistakes. Because the place does not respond to the wishes and needs of American customers who do not understand Italian menus. So it has to make some changes over time.

In 1987 Starbucks' partners, Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker, decided to sell the company. Howard Schultz, who still owned 3 Il Giornale stores at the time, raised an additional $4 million from Il Giornale shareholders to buy Starbucks without hesitation. There are even allegations that Bill Gates supported Schultz, who did not have enough capital.

Schultz buys Starbucks and becomes the owner of the brand at the age of 34. And leaving his own brand, he opens a new page with Starbucks. The transformation of Starbucks into an international chain will be after Schultz buys the brand.

Starbucks grows rapidly with various changes made in a short time while staying true to the core of the brand. From day one, unlike major brands, Schultz has placed emphasis on customer experience rather than advertising. In this respect, it would not be wrong to call Starbucks a brand that grows without advertising.

Schultz has not neglected to say that the main success of the company has been thanks to its employees since the first day he grew his brand. With an application called 'Bean Stock', Starbucks gives a certain amount of company shares to all its employees.