👉🏻Register for the ChatGPT & AI workshop for FREE: link.gs.ht/MMB 👉🏻:100% Discount for first 1000 people Reshare this with your friends who will need this 👉🏻:Join the Growthschool’s Top1% AI Community for regular updates: web.growthschool.io/MMBW 🧋7 MILES TEA LAB (Hannah) instagram.com/7milestealab/ 2010 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025 🧋ODD ONE OUT TEA (Ron & Pat) instagram.com/oootea.us/ 11301 W Olympic Blvd UNIT 124, Los Angeles, CA 90064 🧋HEY HEY (Chris) instagram.com/heyheydrinks/ 1555 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026 ☕ Support Modern MBA on Patreon: patreon.com/modernmba 💬 Join the Modern MBA on Reddit: www.reddit.com/r/modernmba/ 🌎 Follow Modern MBA on Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61570667949655 🕊 Follow Modern MBA on Twitter: x.com/modern_mba
Taiwanese have the mentality of dogs eat dogs, because they lack creativity to innovate and differentiate themselves. Notice how many "unfortunately"s she uses in that interview.
@@sophiechiewtrakoon No, but I know a dude second generation Chinese American, looks as Chinese as one can look. But when he opens his mouth he sounds straight out of the mountains of Tennessee where he was raised. First time you hear him speak you do a double take.
@@cheng8881it really shows. I have my own business and have traveled around the world to meet small and big suppliers. All these mainlanders are very very savvy businessmen.
Honestly might be the best interview Modern MBA has conducted thus far because she's so knowledgeable. She was very objective about the industry and her own position within it. She brought perspectives from as a franchisee of a well established entity as well as an independent owner. She was able to concisely explain the opportunities and weaknesses of boba shops with MMBA barely needing to fill in the gaps. Plus I really liked her explaining some terminology from Chinese that English doesn't have a direct analog for. Just a genuinely great interview.
If the stereotype of a small franchisee is "Naive person who tosses their life savings into a franchise, hoping to strike it rich as a 'small business owner' while riding on the franchisor's brand power, only to find out about the harsh realities of business"... She is the opposite. I can see why she left franchising - she's too smart for that lol. She actually has business acumen.
I love how Chris talked about learning each separate component of the underlying product, and working at other businesses that did what he wanted to do. Often, you hear about people who try to go into a separate industry to build a business but don't understand the underlying mechanisms. Or, they come in with an ego and feel as though learning the details is below them / that they'll figure it out on the job. He put in the time to understand the tea and I hope it pays off for him.
I have been in the boba industry for over 20 years and Hannah is spot on with her analysis of the current state of bubble tea as a business. I have never heard of 7 miles but I will go visit a location soon.
It's just insane how the lady from 7 Miles is doin 16k orders per month. What's even more insane is even though odd one out has 12k orders per month. They're both neck and neck at operating level. INSANE.
What I love about modern boba (post powdered flavouring era) is that you can choose the levels of sugar you want. I love sour drinks, and boba is basically my fix for lightly-sweetened, highly acidic drinks. The closest Western alternative would be smoothies or pressed juices, but they're either always served cold (bkended with ice cubes) which I don't always want, or kinda funky tasting because they try so hard to be healthy that they feel the need to blend several fruits and veggies to make a wacky juice mix.
Same my favorite drink to get is passion fruit/grapefruit gt w/boba 1/4 sweet. If I want it a lil sweeter I’ll probably get honey/crystal boba instead. My gf HATES it because she has a massive sweet tooth
Your comment perfectly aligns with the developing flavour palette analogy the “odd one out” founder used for alcohol. I often find myself just ordering water when eating out for this very reason. Most drinks offered when out either liquid sugar or the health drinks you described with no subtly or balance.
You can make your own boba, there's instant pearls (2-3 minutes in the microwave) and you can brew your own tea, add fruit etc. I love making my own at home now instead of going out and paying so much more
I lived in SF for 6 years and there used to be this excellent small chain there called SuperCue. They were right next to the light rail stop. I could be standing there, hearing the train come up the hill and even see its roof, walk into SuperCue, order, pay, grab my drink, and step right onto the train. They were so efficient and they always had fun seasonal drinks. They all shut down when COVID hit.
we had one smack in the middle of a shopping center, here in fremont! next door was a pho place. both of those used to be FULL of people getting their lunches, trying something new, or as a hangout. All died months before covid :(. now its scary even walking through there, due to the lack of crowds letting in day-campers.
listening to her just make me realise : every business is the same. You don't have the money even though the business is prosperous. The money always goes back to the business, constantly try to upgrading
I wish more places were like Hey Hey. We need a third place these days. Most franchises push you out quickly. I would gladly pay more for a drink if there was a space like this.
Chris wins for me community shops last longer and can adapt faster if boba starts to lose its luster. In my country boba is no longer that big you can drink on occasion, but the first choice here is now coffee.
Precisely. It's also remarkable that he's so attuned to cultural shifts in society, like when he accurately point out that coffee shops are more used like communal working/library-like places. As a person that's not so into boba, I wouldn't be convinced to pay premium prices just for an artisanal tea-drink, but I would pay premium prices so that I can work and chill with my friends there.
As soon as he mentioned that he was in consulting for 8 years, it made sense. He probably gained a lot of business knowledge from his time as a consultant
I like him best out of the 3 owners. The others used a bunch of jargons and fluff words to sound knowledgeable. He is down to earth and talks real business.
I used to live a few blocks from Sawtelle. You aren't kidding about the competition there. Such a high density of amazing restaurants in a small area. I've also tried 7 Miles during one of my trips back to the area. Was pleasantly surprised how good it was!
I've been a lurker to your channel for a long time. I've really been enjoying these newer videos of interviewing businesses/owners directly. With this video especially though, I'm very impressed with the detail and attention paid to the subject, given that so much of the material is from Taiwan and not the US like other subjects, and that you've included the Chinese characters in the closed captions of the interviews (and that you used traditional instead of simplified characters). Also, the way you pronounced "Gong Cha" sounded like a Taiwanese-Mandarin pronunciation, which was super neat.
After seeing just about every American fast food company make a mad dash for Asia+Europe and stagnate in the US in the meantime, it's a bit surreal seeing Asian fast food make their own mad dash into the US now.
Better ROI when you stand out in a market that views your product/service as "exotic". "Traveling without going anywhere" gives operators an initial float period as customers work their way through your offerings before deciding whether or not there's a longer term match btw your business and their needs.
@@artemis666333 Man I wish I would get them in my area. They look so good! I've never once tried Filipino food. Kinda surprised it hasn't taken off more considering that USA actually has a lot of immigration from the Philippines, and it's not like we don't have other Asian food.
Me and my family has no history of running a business (I'm actually risk-adverse). I also don't drink boba tea. But I watched this entire video in one sitting. It is extremely informative, engaging, and entertaining! Kudos to Modern MBA! You got a new subscriber here!
fascinating video as someone who has never ran a food/drink business. I didn't realize how crucial it is to scale and the "complication" of sourcing ingredients.
I’m so impressed with your channel. You have really taken the next step. You are showing true Americans here. Immigrants from other countries trying to find their own success story here by contributing to the larger economy and employing others. This is what America is about, not hand outs, but hard work. Thank you for showcasing their stories.
I love the last shop because there's so much heart going into it to feel like an addition to the community (I love when boba places are like cozy coffee shops) and his willingness to do the work to really learn about the business. Hope it continues well for years to come
The second store is unlikely to survive given most people wont be able to tell the difference in the "extra quality" they provide. The taiwan awards are good marketing gimmick to attract first time buyers, but people ultimately decide on where to go in the future based on their experience vs price ratio of the previous purchases. In the volume business of boba, sophistication doesn't sell since the real value proposition of boba on a biological level is no different than coffee for most people, just a ton sugar to get their daily fix of mental alertness. On top of everything, if the store already doesn't perform in Taiwan (arguably the culture with the deepest history and customer base to appreciate boba sophistication), how the hell would it be doing any better in the US market. The third store won't scale because the real product is the owner and the community built over the years. The owner of the first store is only one has a good read on the local market, aka a consistent experience for as many people as possible in a high foot traffic place.
With $72k in annual operating margin in a business that's been open for years, that's gotta be tough for the owner to survive on. After all other expenses, he's probably making less than minimum wage on an hourly basis.
Great analysis. That's one of the shining gems of America. Anyone can come here and try their hand at success however way it looks for them. If "every" tea shop was like 7 Mile, there wouldn't be a Hey Hey or Odd One Out. Some businesses are meant to scale, others are meant to be Mom n' Pop shops that focus on a more niche market. Some thrive on personality, others thrive on scale, and others thrive on specialty. That's the beauty of it all. They are all successful in their own right. The owner of Hey Hey is happy and successful, because he went for a dream and succeeded. Is he going to be the next Bobba Tea phenom? No. and he knows that. It's not in the cards for him to be, and he learned after his 2nd location the magic is not in scale, it's in atmosphere - it's about the local community...so he's right where he's supposed to be. Point is, Small shops are the backbone of America. It's what makes America great. It's the American Dream. This country is over-franchised to death and we need more Hey Hey's and OOO and less 7 Mile hopefuls (though, I do wish she succeeds and accomplishes her goals).
@@benjaminjo I get what you're saying, and agree, but if/when Starbucks starts selling boba I'd say 7 miles looks a lot more "communal" for lack of a better word.
Idk about the other partner but they definitely can survive just because the owner is seriously, seriously wealthy (like 2 steps below Bezos wealthy). MFer founded FoodPanda (ubiquitous in Taiwan, HK) and exited to Uber at a market high, this is probably his/their version of a retirement hobby, the question is whether they'd lose interest some time and pull the plug.
@@2ravioli392 they "could", however, it would be a very different kind of business. They're both drinks, sure, but the same. They would need 2 different kinds of starbucks, one for coffee, and one for bobba tea. That would be like McDonald's going into selling taco's. They could "do it", technically, but it would be half-assed. it would never be on par with what they're good at - hamburgers. Starbucks would need all new, different equipment and additional training on top of all you need to know and do to do coffee well enough, they would now need to do bobba tea well enough. Making great coffee is hard enough, knowing all the different kinds of beans, how to grind it, prepare it, etc. To add in the complexity of boba tea, would be disasterous and greedy. What you need to have and know about tea is so very different from what you need to have and know about coffee.
Lol I was at Hey Hey working in the BG while this was being filmed. I even got a solo shot 34:21 🤣 it was super interesting to eaves drop on your interview!
Seems optimistic that it's supposedly booming. Feels more like a bubble that's about to burst. At least here in South East Asia, when every chain store, franchised or owned, and small businesses try to include boba in their menus to keep up with the trends. In the US, I'd argue the biggest drink competitor isn't other bobas, but chains like Starbucks adopting boba recipes considering that there is an ingredient commonality, a name that can be trusted with an existing customer base, and an existing logistics network.
Except Starbucks was floundering because they aren't focused on making great coffee. Boba seems to me that it would just serve to be another distraction.
Nah the Starbucks bubble tea doesn’t not compare to other chains or smaller shops. At least to me. Starbucks also doesn’t carry all the other flavors too. Had it once there and have not gone back for it since.
People were saying 10 years ago that the boba bubble is gonna burst but here we are it is still going strong especially with the higher end boba tea shops. Now when people want to spend $6-8 a cup of tea, they want unique and high quality products. Many other places like fast food places and other coffee shops tried to include boba as limited item but boba snobs/connoisseur won’t fall for it.
As someone who works at Starbucks, and can see how other people respond to "popping pearl" drinks in the US, it really is a offshoot that is almost exclusively for children. Nary is there a grown adult that wants juice bubbles in their teas and drinks. Its not a popular at all, and is more of a kitschy concept than anything legitimate (think popping pearls in an IHOP, Sonic's, Chili's drink etc...). Most of the time these pearls are poor quality and a dollar extra or so in a already cheap - overpriced - drink. The beauty of boba tea is that most people have no idea what its made of, and are happy with the novelty, flavor, and experience. The tea shops themselves are unique experiences that special menu items cant offer. I really doubt boba tea shops will decline any time soon.
in the Philippines there are boba shops are over saturated that shops does not survive after 3 months. Only those who have established names survive in the market. There are even shops that sells 30 to 50 pesos ($1). Rentals even turned them down as they don't last long.
Which is why some mainstream drink shops in the country (like Serenitea, 19 Degrees, and Tealive to name a few) also offer snacks (sadly overpriced IMO). We also can see a more top-down approach with more mainstream adoption, with the bigger food establishments starting to sell these kinds of drinks (Jollibee's Chowking arm sells Milksha milk teas in their Chowking stores, while Shakey's have launched R&B Tea, operating in their own small stalls, and in cloud kitchens it seems)
But it is slowly dying down. The market now is coffee shop that is cheaper than the market leader starbucks. The edge of starbucks though expensive is what is chris is doing using the coffee shop experience I have encountered several barista that remembers my drink because it was near my previous workplace.
My only issue with Bubble tea in CA is the average quality is horrible. Most places have just powered, colored sugar drinks or blend drinks (like Sbucks). It is hard to find tea shops that have quality of HK tea and if they have food or snack is also a plus.
I really love your videos, but I liked the Hey hey business model he will stay in business for a long time coz he creates memories for his customers and these days nostalgia is a booming business model in this era. And am looking forward to make the same business model in Uganda 🇺🇬
I’m a small business owner looking to explore different businesses ideas. You make some of my favorite videos. These are so informative and ignite the flame of interest regarding the subject
Hearing the 7 miles owner speak is the exact example of why innovation always wins in every business. Reminder to never become stagnant because the market will overtake you if you do 13:04
Something worth noting here is that a lot of these movers are Asians with contacts off seas which makes a huge difference in ability to acquire skills and prduct at lower prices and higher quality. This is the power of ASYMMETRY in business - your edge, your margin is defined by your unique comparative advantage. In this world, immigrants have huge advantages in the entrepeneurship space hence why Boba Shops are run by Asians that can leverage their first mover spot since they get to see new trends and connect easier with suppliers.
What wild timing! I literally was thinking about the boba business yesterday and wondering why it was and how it became so popular here in LA. While not a video about the history of boba (exclusively, anyways), this was a really interesting watch!
I grew up in LA. I plan to return soon to visit family. I will make it a point to re-visit Westwood Village and wander over to Odd One Out because I love bubble tea for the tea- no sugar, no ice, green tea most often, Jasmine if it’s good, with matcha on occasion for a change. Toppings need to be real, real red bean, real milk, real taro. Yes the last dude is right about atmosphere and I will sit at my less favorite bubble tea franchise because of it. The first thing I always do before visiting a city I have never been to before, is map out the locations of every bubble tea shop. Then I pick one and branch out from there. A tea shop that has Asian snacks like steamed pork buns, or potstickers is a plus. Kind of a one stop shop.
My family moved to Las Vegas almost 20 years ago. We would consume boba in California back then and everytime we would go visit family we would ALWAYS go get boba cause there weren’t many places around here in Vegas that had it. Only sit down restaurants but they had basics like mango smoothie w/boba or Thai w/boba. There’s were two local shops that I loved going to but Covid permanently closed both. After Covid the boba shops have exponentially expanded here and most of them are chains. Even the local shops here aren’t as good anymore. Most places sell extremely watered down versions or extremely over sweet like to a point where it’s sickly and I feel it’s to bring in the broader public that isn’t used to those flavors and it’s extremely upsetting. My gf and I have been to so many different shops and there’s only two places worth going again imo. Pre Covid there were only two hole in the wall places to go to and they both go shut down. There were more but hard to find since many weren’t on google. Not there’s only two places even worth going because of how the market has been saturated.
I remember about 5 years ago, when the boba tea place opened across the road, I drank one every day for almost two weeks, it treated great. I also put on 6kgs... I don't think I've gone back since (maybe once or twice). Since then, there are five new boba tea places that opened up within 100m of each other.
A few years ago, I remember a place near me trying boba tea to see if there were customers for it. I definitely tried it as it was the only place to have it. Now, I can find boba tea in almost any nearby shopping district. It definitely boomed in my area of the US within just a few years.
I love Boba. My dog even knows the word "boba". I started an Etsy store dedicated to productivity and bubble milk tea. I got my mom addicted when she visited me from Ohio. I lived my adult life in California and moved to Houston 3 months ago. I've always said I wanted to open a boba franchise. The market may be saturated in California but it is ripe here in Texas. I won't tell anyone when I win the lottery, but there will be signs. Now that I know there are videos about this is a new rabbit hole I can binge.
This was an amazing video! Love your interviews. It was so interesting to hear the different approaches and mentalities of the different business owners
The entrepreneurs in this video are top notch! Hannah in particular is incredibly bright. It's scary to see that level of competence if you think about entering the space and having to compete with people like them.
That segment at 13:30 about specific ingredients and standing out speaks to me, I had some great peach tea while I was visiting Vietnam and I was really surprised I hadn't found anything like that here
In Australia there are hundreds of Bubble Tea shops from small boutique local Bubble Tea brands to major Bubble Tea brands expanding into Australia from either Taiwan and China. The Australian market is already saturated; whereby freshness, availability of unique fruits and teas from Asia, great customer service, personalization, and high quality ingredients drives return businesses for Bubble Tea shops in Australia. Tea Spot and Tea & Co are two Australian Boutique Bubble Tea brand that uses espresso machines and cold brew coffee drips to extract unique varieties of Japanese, Taiwanese, and Chinese Green, White, and Black tea leaves fresh every day in smaller single doses rather than in big pre-extracted batches; along with an in-store atmosphere of a high end boutique cafe/coffee bar that has high amounts of return customers and foot traffic of new customers.
I love the insight for 7 miles! Especially since i didn't know that they had another location away from Artesia. Looking at both their locations, seeing the revenue distributions between them makes sense with what was presented in the video. While I've never been to Sawtelle therefore unable to gage the popularity of that place (though I'd love to visit it based off the stores there), the specific area that the Artesia 7 Miles is located in would be an even more competitive area. Not to mention the Cerritos mall that is not even a block away, but the sheet amount of asian based stores over there would make it hard to establish themselves. It's not a lie that their boba really good and many of my fellow peers agree, so honestly good for them in being able to stand out, especially with giants like Bopomofo right next door. Also the fact the area is not as compact at sawtelle and more impeded with parking lots that would make it a bit harder to get customers (even if that area is always busy) Lovely to see them have more success over in LA!
Speaking of Mocktails from Odd One Out... I think they'd do really well in Utah. I think they have a chance against the hundreds of soda shops we have here.
The older I get, I see that most of my friends want one of these two: 1. Convenient cheap food 2. Premium experienced I worry that the second business owner is gonna get squeezed out. People nowadays pay for experiences, and if I’m gonna pay more for a beverage the place better have good vibes
That's your segment. Me, I like to pick up a simple and reliable boba tea from the stall and go on about my day. So that second guy you speak of is targeted to people like me.
@@HH-le1vi you’re missing the point, there are 3 stores here. Expensive at lower volume isn’t actually what’s sold, it’s a nicer experience. That’s why the hey hey owner will always have the upper hand over the 2nd, while the first is in another market
@@HH-le1vi no shit, learn how to read dude. That’s what I said. The second guy is gonna get squeezed out because the premium, higher cost experience is provided by the third shop. The second shop just provides bougie beverages
Excellent video, well presented, great interviews. It is great that the owners gave you as much info as they did. Not a business owner myself, but I appreciate the education all the same as I have done work with some independent shops.
the premium boba store's oolong with cheese foam sounds so good. keep making these videos please, the real life stories from the business owners are cool af.
This was a good video! As a suggestion, when you take a look at these smaller companies, I think it'd be cool to see them compared to whatever the largest company in their sector is.
The OG boba nai cha is the best when you can taste the natural bitterness of the tea along with the sweetness of the lightly sweet milk and a surge of sugary starch when you chew the boba. The second best flavour is the red bean milk tea. I also enjoy che, the Vietnamese dessert cup. I’m surprised boba has not started to offer this type of offering.
Hey Hey looks like a lovely space to spend time in! I would absolutely visit if I were in the area, and tuck myself into a corner there for a couple hours.
In my neighborhood we have probably 60+ boba shops all within a 20-min walk area (just a few sq km). At 9CAD per drink, I don't get how all of them are all so busy all the time. Plus, whenever and almost anywhere I go, they never seem to have lactose-free cow milk options, nor do they have theine-free options... I'd sometimes like a popping boba drink in the evening but tea keeps me up all night!
The show oozes authenticity. There is always a moment of questioning the game system in the middle of a high stress moment. 😂 Thanks GCN for keeping it real
Crazy good video - you managed to cover the more low-priced, high-volumed business model as well as the more high-priced, low-to-moderate-volume model - all 3 understood that the market was and is saturated so they went through different iterations of differentiation strategies. Would be interesting to see a video analysing coffee. If you ever got the time or resources, you can even look into the 3rd wave high-priced, high-quality, low-volume vs the "kopi susu" (very popular in Indonesia) low-priced, low-quality, high-volume business models. I found the juxtaposition of the two models in the same market (coffee) to be quite fascinating and the challenges seem to be worth a deep-dive into. Anyways, appreciate the great analysis on this one and the sneakers vid as well!
35:50 - This guy is smart. We've always been able to rely on our brain circuitry to facilitate new interactions and connections, but that doesn't really work anymore today. Our phone apps tap into that circuitry to provide a hollow sense of satiety which ultimately leaves us kinda drained and our social needs ultimately unfulfilled. In order to overcome this slump, we're going to need people like him who strategically engineer/design spaces in such a way that interactions and connections are facilitated. The collective craving for connection is only going to grow, and spaces like this will provide a way to ease that pressure. At least, the idea is there. I think we're going to see more effective approaches in the future, where these spaces are not merely a vehicle to sell products
👉🏻Register for the ChatGPT & AI workshop for FREE: link.gs.ht/MMB
👉🏻:100% Discount for first 1000 people
Reshare this with your friends who will need this
👉🏻:Join the Growthschool’s Top1% AI Community for regular updates: web.growthschool.io/MMBW
🧋7 MILES TEA LAB (Hannah)
instagram.com/7milestealab/
2010 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
🧋ODD ONE OUT TEA (Ron & Pat)
instagram.com/oootea.us/
11301 W Olympic Blvd UNIT 124, Los Angeles, CA 90064
🧋HEY HEY (Chris)
instagram.com/heyheydrinks/
1555 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
☕ Support Modern MBA on Patreon: patreon.com/modernmba
💬 Join the Modern MBA on Reddit: www.reddit.com/r/modernmba/
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Why does your shitty sponsorship link lead to a Whatsapp group... ?
Slava 🇹🇼 Heroyam Boba Tea 🍵
Chewing on boba distracts me from thinking how I paid $7 at Gong cha
True, but better than paying $7 for a generic coffee or pure sugar.
I feel attacked 😂
Went to NYC, almost $10 for a cup. Insane. About to go make my own boba again
@@EricBoulton26 bruh bubble teas often are pure sugar....
I basically stopped doing Boba Tea once the franchises got involved, it went from a reasonably priced drink to over priced fufu drink.
7 Miles lady is the GOAT. She just gave me a crash course about all businesses in general within just a few minutes.
She is definitely going places!
7 Miles owner is on point. Very smart.
She's got to ditch that vocal fry, my god.
@@BillCarrIpswichshut up, she’s a Chinese immigrant and I bet she works a lot harder than you
@@BillCarrIpswichShe's got that LA voice 😂
Hannah is brutally honest. I love it.
An update on businesses you featured on the channel would also be a great video idea. (2 - 3 years later)
Thank you for your support!
all these businesses have insta, you can check it yourself
I'd be interested in that video too
@@ModernMBA Your prediction for Airbnb was a bit off. An up to date analysis would be a hit since many people are speculating into its stock.
@@ModernMBA when are you planning to repsond to intern applications?
Hannah needs to hold a lecture on pragmaticism, absolutely refreshing to hear a realistic approach to business.
Taiwanese have the mentality of dogs eat dogs, because they lack creativity to innovate and differentiate themselves. Notice how many "unfortunately"s she uses in that interview.
You confuse stoicism with cynical amorality.
@@fun_gussy wait how is running a boba shop immoral exactly? idk. is entrepreneurship immoral implicitly?
Hannah's Valley Girl Vocal Fry combined with a Chinese accent is something I never expected to hear.
Came to the comments to say this lol. Diaspora goes cray
Have you ever heard a Chinese accent combined with a deep fried southern accent? It’s similarly unique lol
@@sophiechiewtrakoon No, but I know a dude second generation Chinese American, looks as Chinese as one can look. But when he opens his mouth he sounds straight out of the mountains of Tennessee where he was raised. First time you hear him speak you do a double take.
Like nail on chalkboard
It's so ugly to hear
Damn Hannah went from bubbly to modern MBA herself
Mainlanders are ruthless when it comes to business
She was concise 😅
@@cheng8881it really shows. I have my own business and have traveled around the world to meet small and big suppliers. All these mainlanders are very very savvy businessmen.
Holy shit that 7 miles lady knows a lot
She pretty much wrote 25% of the video 😂
Shes smart! i would invest my money with her
I was blown away by her knowledge and her accent
Honestly might be the best interview Modern MBA has conducted thus far because she's so knowledgeable. She was very objective about the industry and her own position within it. She brought perspectives from as a franchisee of a well established entity as well as an independent owner. She was able to concisely explain the opportunities and weaknesses of boba shops with MMBA barely needing to fill in the gaps. Plus I really liked her explaining some terminology from Chinese that English doesn't have a direct analog for. Just a genuinely great interview.
If the stereotype of a small franchisee is "Naive person who tosses their life savings into a franchise, hoping to strike it rich as a 'small business owner' while riding on the franchisor's brand power, only to find out about the harsh realities of business"...
She is the opposite. I can see why she left franchising - she's too smart for that lol. She actually has business acumen.
I love how Chris talked about learning each separate component of the underlying product, and working at other businesses that did what he wanted to do. Often, you hear about people who try to go into a separate industry to build a business but don't understand the underlying mechanisms. Or, they come in with an ego and feel as though learning the details is below them / that they'll figure it out on the job. He put in the time to understand the tea and I hope it pays off for him.
person 1: numbers driven businesswoman
person 2: premium product artists and innovators
person 3: vibesmaster
Person 3: Already loaded before they started
Person 1 is not just numbers driven, if you actually understood what she said. She barely mentioned the numbers side of her business.
lol u really need to watch the video again
Person 2 is doing this as a retirement hobby, he founded FoodPanda, big big food delivery app in Asia and exited to Uber probably at a stupid price.
Person 2 is doing this as a retirement hobby.
Continue interviewing people in the real world, I love to get to hear their perspective. Awesome video
I really don’t enjoy this style of video as much as the original style. I hope a mix of both will be offered.
It’s super cool how Modern MBA has started making videos specifically for me
I have been in the boba industry for over 20 years and Hannah is spot on with her analysis of the current state of bubble tea as a business. I have never heard of 7 miles but I will go visit a location soon.
It's just insane how the lady from 7 Miles is doin 16k orders per month.
What's even more insane is even though odd one out has 12k orders per month.
They're both neck and neck at operating level. INSANE.
What I love about modern boba (post powdered flavouring era) is that you can choose the levels of sugar you want. I love sour drinks, and boba is basically my fix for lightly-sweetened, highly acidic drinks. The closest Western alternative would be smoothies or pressed juices, but they're either always served cold (bkended with ice cubes) which I don't always want, or kinda funky tasting because they try so hard to be healthy that they feel the need to blend several fruits and veggies to make a wacky juice mix.
Same my favorite drink to get is passion fruit/grapefruit gt w/boba 1/4 sweet. If I want it a lil sweeter I’ll probably get honey/crystal boba instead. My gf HATES it because she has a massive sweet tooth
Somebody needs to tell 7 leaves that. It's diabeetus in a cup
Your comment perfectly aligns with the developing flavour palette analogy the “odd one out” founder used for alcohol.
I often find myself just ordering water when eating out for this very reason. Most drinks offered when out either liquid sugar or the health drinks you described with no subtly or balance.
Slava 🇹🇼 Geroyam Boba Tea 🦾
You can make your own boba, there's instant pearls (2-3 minutes in the microwave) and you can brew your own tea, add fruit etc. I love making my own at home now instead of going out and paying so much more
Milk tea used to be $4-5 a few years back where I'm at. Now it's pushing $7-8 before tipping. feelsbadman
Fax it’s a treat once in a blue moon .. for me at least.
Tip? Lol
Stopped drinking it myself because it's too expensive now.
"Before tipping"
Don’t tip unless you are sitting down and being waited on. If you are getting free refills and a high class hot cooked meal then you tip.
Crazy how it started as a dollar or two and now I can’t find one for less the 4 bucks
You are surprised prices doubled in the last 25 years?
Starbucksification of boba
In Canada it’s usually 7-8 dollars 😢
The 1-2 dollar bubble teas were completely different products made with cheap powdered mixes, they were pretty terrible compared to bubble tea now.
Good luck finding it for less than €6.50 here in Ireland.
I lived in SF for 6 years and there used to be this excellent small chain there called SuperCue. They were right next to the light rail stop. I could be standing there, hearing the train come up the hill and even see its roof, walk into SuperCue, order, pay, grab my drink, and step right onto the train. They were so efficient and they always had fun seasonal drinks. They all shut down when COVID hit.
we had one smack in the middle of a shopping center, here in fremont! next door was a pho place. both of those used to be FULL of people getting their lunches, trying something new, or as a hangout. All died months before covid :(. now its scary even walking through there, due to the lack of crowds letting in day-campers.
The way Modern MBA pronounced Gong cha, makes me immediately think he's canto
hahaha wouldnt be surprised if
I was thinking Taiwanese
all the asians watching this started point at their TV like the leo meme
He also has the American Chinese accent, IDK if you're able to tell with this example th-cam.com/video/aCEt8So0hRA/w-d-xo.html
I literally thought the same thing and immediately checked the comments to make sure someone can confirm my bias lol.
Hannah should teach an entrepreneurship course, she’s fantastic
I LOVE THAT you show how these businesses add community
listening to her just make me realise : every business is the same. You don't have the money even though the business is prosperous. The money always goes back to the business, constantly try to upgrading
I wish more places were like Hey Hey. We need a third place these days. Most franchises push you out quickly. I would gladly pay more for a drink if there was a space like this.
All three shops and their owners have such incredible stories. Thanks for sharing!
Chris wins for me community shops last longer and can adapt faster if boba starts to lose its luster. In my country boba is no longer that big you can drink on occasion, but the first choice here is now coffee.
Precisely. It's also remarkable that he's so attuned to cultural shifts in society, like when he accurately point out that coffee shops are more used like communal working/library-like places. As a person that's not so into boba, I wouldn't be convinced to pay premium prices just for an artisanal tea-drink, but I would pay premium prices so that I can work and chill with my friends there.
Hey Hey guy is the definition of a true entrepreneur
As soon as he mentioned that he was in consulting for 8 years, it made sense. He probably gained a lot of business knowledge from his time as a consultant
I like him best out of the 3 owners. The others used a bunch of jargons and fluff words to sound knowledgeable. He is down to earth and talks real business.
I used to live a few blocks from Sawtelle. You aren't kidding about the competition there. Such a high density of amazing restaurants in a small area.
I've also tried 7 Miles during one of my trips back to the area. Was pleasantly surprised how good it was!
So sad to see many plastic cups used everyday.
Intel should hire 7 Miles lady 😅😂
The scary thing is that as impressive as she is, she’s a dime a dozen in mainland China. Its no wonder they are where they are now.
I've been a lurker to your channel for a long time. I've really been enjoying these newer videos of interviewing businesses/owners directly. With this video especially though, I'm very impressed with the detail and attention paid to the subject, given that so much of the material is from Taiwan and not the US like other subjects, and that you've included the Chinese characters in the closed captions of the interviews (and that you used traditional instead of simplified characters). Also, the way you pronounced "Gong Cha" sounded like a Taiwanese-Mandarin pronunciation, which was super neat.
he has the asian american accent haha, been suspecting it for a while
After seeing just about every American fast food company make a mad dash for Asia+Europe and stagnate in the US in the meantime, it's a bit surreal seeing Asian fast food make their own mad dash into the US now.
Happy to benefit though I suppose. I’ve really come to enjoy Jollibee
Better ROI when you stand out in a market that views your product/service as "exotic".
"Traveling without going anywhere" gives operators an initial float period as customers work their way through your offerings before deciding whether or not there's a longer term match btw your business and their needs.
@@artemis666333 Man I wish I would get them in my area. They look so good! I've never once tried Filipino food. Kinda surprised it hasn't taken off more considering that USA actually has a lot of immigration from the Philippines, and it's not like we don't have other Asian food.
Me and my family has no history of running a business (I'm actually risk-adverse). I also don't drink boba tea. But I watched this entire video in one sitting. It is extremely informative, engaging, and entertaining! Kudos to Modern MBA! You got a new subscriber here!
Went to the original 7 Miles location as my go-to for my time living in the LA area, crazy to see it mentioned on the channel!
fascinating video as someone who has never ran a food/drink business. I didn't realize how crucial it is to scale and the "complication" of sourcing ingredients.
I’m so impressed with your channel. You have really taken the next step. You are showing true Americans here. Immigrants from other countries trying to find their own success story here by contributing to the larger economy and employing others. This is what America is about, not hand outs, but hard work. Thank you for showcasing their stories.
damn Hannah killed it. I need businesses lessons from her
I love the last shop because there's so much heart going into it to feel like an addition to the community (I love when boba places are like cozy coffee shops) and his willingness to do the work to really learn about the business. Hope it continues well for years to come
I live in San Francisco and walk by a bubble tea shop on every corner here lol.
liar you cant afford to live in SF
what's more common in L.A, coffee shops. chicken resturants, bubble tea, or dispensaries?
@@uDanielsI’m at the combo chicken-coffee-bubble-dispensary
San Jose here. There are 3 boba shops on my block
NYC Manhattan Chinatown has a bubble tea shop opening every 6 months now.
The second store is unlikely to survive given most people wont be able to tell the difference in the "extra quality" they provide. The taiwan awards are good marketing gimmick to attract first time buyers, but people ultimately decide on where to go in the future based on their experience vs price ratio of the previous purchases. In the volume business of boba, sophistication doesn't sell since the real value proposition of boba on a biological level is no different than coffee for most people, just a ton sugar to get their daily fix of mental alertness. On top of everything, if the store already doesn't perform in Taiwan (arguably the culture with the deepest history and customer base to appreciate boba sophistication), how the hell would it be doing any better in the US market. The third store won't scale because the real product is the owner and the community built over the years. The owner of the first store is only one has a good read on the local market, aka a consistent experience for as many people as possible in a high foot traffic place.
With $72k in annual operating margin in a business that's been open for years, that's gotta be tough for the owner to survive on. After all other expenses, he's probably making less than minimum wage on an hourly basis.
Great analysis. That's one of the shining gems of America. Anyone can come here and try their hand at success however way it looks for them. If "every" tea shop was like 7 Mile, there wouldn't be a Hey Hey or Odd One Out. Some businesses are meant to scale, others are meant to be Mom n' Pop shops that focus on a more niche market. Some thrive on personality, others thrive on scale, and others thrive on specialty. That's the beauty of it all. They are all successful in their own right. The owner of Hey Hey is happy and successful, because he went for a dream and succeeded. Is he going to be the next Bobba Tea phenom? No. and he knows that. It's not in the cards for him to be, and he learned after his 2nd location the magic is not in scale, it's in atmosphere - it's about the local community...so he's right where he's supposed to be.
Point is, Small shops are the backbone of America. It's what makes America great. It's the American Dream. This country is over-franchised to death and we need more Hey Hey's and OOO and less 7 Mile hopefuls (though, I do wish she succeeds and accomplishes her goals).
@@benjaminjo I get what you're saying, and agree, but if/when Starbucks starts selling boba I'd say 7 miles looks a lot more "communal" for lack of a better word.
Idk about the other partner but they definitely can survive just because the owner is seriously, seriously wealthy (like 2 steps below Bezos wealthy). MFer founded FoodPanda (ubiquitous in Taiwan, HK) and exited to Uber at a market high, this is probably his/their version of a retirement hobby, the question is whether they'd lose interest some time and pull the plug.
@@2ravioli392 they "could", however, it would be a very different kind of business. They're both drinks, sure, but the same.
They would need 2 different kinds of starbucks, one for coffee, and one for bobba tea. That would be like McDonald's going into selling taco's. They could "do it", technically, but it would be half-assed. it would never be on par with what they're good at - hamburgers. Starbucks would need all new, different equipment and additional training on top of all you need to know and do to do coffee well enough, they would now need to do bobba tea well enough.
Making great coffee is hard enough, knowing all the different kinds of beans, how to grind it, prepare it, etc. To add in the complexity of boba tea, would be disasterous and greedy. What you need to have and know about tea is so very different from what you need to have and know about coffee.
Holy F'ing shi. First Lady could give Bschool profs a run for their money
Lol I was at Hey Hey working in the BG while this was being filmed. I even got a solo shot 34:21 🤣 it was super interesting to eaves drop on your interview!
Seems optimistic that it's supposedly booming. Feels more like a bubble that's about to burst. At least here in South East Asia, when every chain store, franchised or owned, and small businesses try to include boba in their menus to keep up with the trends.
In the US, I'd argue the biggest drink competitor isn't other bobas, but chains like Starbucks adopting boba recipes considering that there is an ingredient commonality, a name that can be trusted with an existing customer base, and an existing logistics network.
Except Starbucks was floundering because they aren't focused on making great coffee.
Boba seems to me that it would just serve to be another distraction.
Nah the Starbucks bubble tea doesn’t not compare to other chains or smaller shops. At least to me. Starbucks also doesn’t carry all the other flavors too. Had it once there and have not gone back for it since.
People were saying 10 years ago that the boba bubble is gonna burst but here we are it is still going strong especially with the higher end boba tea shops. Now when people want to spend $6-8 a cup of tea, they want unique and high quality products.
Many other places like fast food places and other coffee shops tried to include boba as limited item but boba snobs/connoisseur won’t fall for it.
starbucks is muscling into the fruit drink boba space, but the actual tea part is still not entered by them
As someone who works at Starbucks, and can see how other people respond to "popping pearl" drinks in the US, it really is a offshoot that is almost exclusively for children. Nary is there a grown adult that wants juice bubbles in their teas and drinks. Its not a popular at all, and is more of a kitschy concept than anything legitimate (think popping pearls in an IHOP, Sonic's, Chili's drink etc...). Most of the time these pearls are poor quality and a dollar extra or so in a already cheap - overpriced - drink. The beauty of boba tea is that most people have no idea what its made of, and are happy with the novelty, flavor, and experience. The tea shops themselves are unique experiences that special menu items cant offer. I really doubt boba tea shops will decline any time soon.
in the Philippines there are boba shops are over saturated that shops does not survive after 3 months. Only those who have established names survive in the market. There are even shops that sells 30 to 50 pesos ($1). Rentals even turned them down as they don't last long.
Which is why some mainstream drink shops in the country (like Serenitea, 19 Degrees, and Tealive to name a few) also offer snacks (sadly overpriced IMO). We also can see a more top-down approach with more mainstream adoption, with the bigger food establishments starting to sell these kinds of drinks (Jollibee's Chowking arm sells Milksha milk teas in their Chowking stores, while Shakey's have launched R&B Tea, operating in their own small stalls, and in cloud kitchens it seems)
But it is slowly dying down. The market now is coffee shop that is cheaper than the market leader starbucks. The edge of starbucks though expensive is what is chris is doing using the coffee shop experience I have encountered several barista that remembers my drink because it was near my previous workplace.
My only issue with Bubble tea in CA is the average quality is horrible. Most places have just powered, colored sugar drinks or blend drinks (like Sbucks). It is hard to find tea shops that have quality of HK tea and if they have food or snack is also a plus.
What I'm hearing is that boba tea is approaching its General Tso moment
98% of the US is as clueless about Boba as they are about coffee.
Just move the Boba shop to another State and you will be fine.
I really love your videos, but I liked the Hey hey business model he will stay in business for a long time coz he creates memories for his customers and these days nostalgia is a booming business model in this era. And am looking forward to make the same business model in Uganda 🇺🇬
Hannah could easily be the Dean of Studies, Business School at my University😅
you should do a vid about all you can eat kbbq business
I’m a small business owner looking to explore different businesses ideas. You make some of my favorite videos. These are so informative and ignite the flame of interest regarding the subject
Hearing the 7 miles owner speak is the exact example of why innovation always wins in every business. Reminder to never become stagnant because the market will overtake you if you do 13:04
Something worth noting here is that a lot of these movers are Asians with contacts off seas which makes a huge difference in ability to acquire skills and prduct at lower prices and higher quality. This is the power of ASYMMETRY in business - your edge, your margin is defined by your unique comparative advantage. In this world, immigrants have huge advantages in the entrepeneurship space hence why Boba Shops are run by Asians that can leverage their first mover spot since they get to see new trends and connect easier with suppliers.
Absolutely fascinating peek behind the curtain. Seriously, great job
we had bubble tea shops on every corner for 2 years. all disappeared and never seen again
What wild timing! I literally was thinking about the boba business yesterday and wondering why it was and how it became so popular here in LA. While not a video about the history of boba (exclusively, anyways), this was a really interesting watch!
I grew up in LA. I plan to return soon to visit family. I will make it a point to re-visit Westwood Village and wander over to Odd One Out because I love bubble tea for the tea- no sugar, no ice, green tea most often, Jasmine if it’s good, with matcha on occasion for a change. Toppings need to be real, real red bean, real milk, real taro. Yes the last dude is right about atmosphere and I will sit at my less favorite bubble tea franchise because of it. The first thing I always do before visiting a city I have never been to before, is map out the locations of every bubble tea shop. Then I pick one and branch out from there. A tea shop that has Asian snacks like steamed pork buns, or potstickers is a plus. Kind of a one stop shop.
You put a video out 5 months ago about how AI is tech's newest hoax, but now you're pushing sponsored classes on how to use it? Which one is it?
My family moved to Las Vegas almost 20 years ago. We would consume boba in California back then and everytime we would go visit family we would ALWAYS go get boba cause there weren’t many places around here in Vegas that had it. Only sit down restaurants but they had basics like mango smoothie w/boba or Thai w/boba. There’s were two local shops that I loved going to but Covid permanently closed both. After Covid the boba shops have exponentially expanded here and most of them are chains. Even the local shops here aren’t as good anymore. Most places sell extremely watered down versions or extremely over sweet like to a point where it’s sickly and I feel it’s to bring in the broader public that isn’t used to those flavors and it’s extremely upsetting. My gf and I have been to so many different shops and there’s only two places worth going again imo. Pre Covid there were only two hole in the wall places to go to and they both go shut down. There were more but hard to find since many weren’t on google. Not there’s only two places even worth going because of how the market has been saturated.
Have you tried sunright tea studio? They recently opened up couple locations in vegas, they are from socal and the quality is above average for sure
as a ucla student, i will be paying a visit to 7 mile today
How was it?
@@agnishom it was alright. boba was a bit hard but the tea was real good
@@gucciwrist1133 will you go back?
Are you trying to tell me you are ucla student
When I was in Taiwan in 2000 I drank so much Boba, they told me Bo Ba means Big Boobs in the local dialect 😂
Lol yes "buo-bah"
no one really calls it boba in taiwan anymore (probably for that reason lol). it's normally called zhenzhu naicha.
I remember about 5 years ago, when the boba tea place opened across the road, I drank one every day for almost two weeks, it treated great. I also put on 6kgs... I don't think I've gone back since (maybe once or twice).
Since then, there are five new boba tea places that opened up within 100m of each other.
A few years ago, I remember a place near me trying boba tea to see if there were customers for it. I definitely tried it as it was the only place to have it. Now, I can find boba tea in almost any nearby shopping district. It definitely boomed in my area of the US within just a few years.
Owner of 7 Miles has such an unassuming personality yet impressively knowledgeable and articulate about her industry ❤
I love Boba. My dog even knows the word "boba". I started an Etsy store dedicated to productivity and bubble milk tea. I got my mom addicted when she visited me from Ohio. I lived my adult life in California and moved to Houston 3 months ago. I've always said I wanted to open a boba franchise. The market may be saturated in California but it is ripe here in Texas. I won't tell anyone when I win the lottery, but there will be signs. Now that I know there are videos about this is a new rabbit hole I can binge.
This was an amazing video! Love your interviews. It was so interesting to hear the different approaches and mentalities of the different business owners
The entrepreneurs in this video are top notch! Hannah in particular is incredibly bright. It's scary to see that level of competence if you think about entering the space and having to compete with people like them.
That segment at 13:30 about specific ingredients and standing out speaks to me, I had some great peach tea while I was visiting Vietnam and I was really surprised I hadn't found anything like that here
In Australia there are hundreds of Bubble Tea shops from small boutique local Bubble Tea brands to major Bubble Tea brands expanding into Australia from either Taiwan and China. The Australian market is already saturated; whereby freshness, availability of unique fruits and teas from Asia, great customer service, personalization, and high quality ingredients drives return businesses for Bubble Tea shops in Australia.
Tea Spot and Tea & Co are two Australian Boutique Bubble Tea brand that uses espresso machines and cold brew coffee drips to extract unique varieties of Japanese, Taiwanese, and Chinese Green, White, and Black tea leaves fresh every day in smaller single doses rather than in big pre-extracted batches; along with an in-store atmosphere of a high end boutique cafe/coffee bar that has high amounts of return customers and foot traffic of new customers.
Love your videos! Well done, Hannah from 7miles as well 👏🏼
I love the insight for 7 miles! Especially since i didn't know that they had another location away from Artesia. Looking at both their locations, seeing the revenue distributions between them makes sense with what was presented in the video. While I've never been to Sawtelle therefore unable to gage the popularity of that place (though I'd love to visit it based off the stores there), the specific area that the Artesia 7 Miles is located in would be an even more competitive area. Not to mention the Cerritos mall that is not even a block away, but the sheet amount of asian based stores over there would make it hard to establish themselves. It's not a lie that their boba really good and many of my fellow peers agree, so honestly good for them in being able to stand out, especially with giants like Bopomofo right next door. Also the fact the area is not as compact at sawtelle and more impeded with parking lots that would make it a bit harder to get customers (even if that area is always busy) Lovely to see them have more success over in LA!
Best channel on TH-cam 👌🏾
DUDE you should interview the Foodpanda former creator.. Foodpanda is huge in Asia
Speaking of Mocktails from Odd One Out... I think they'd do really well in Utah. I think they have a chance against the hundreds of soda shops we have here.
The older I get, I see that most of my friends want one of these two:
1. Convenient cheap food
2. Premium experienced
I worry that the second business owner is gonna get squeezed out. People nowadays pay for experiences, and if I’m gonna pay more for a beverage the place better have good vibes
That's your segment. Me, I like to pick up a simple and reliable boba tea from the stall and go on about my day. So that second guy you speak of is targeted to people like me.
That's most markets. You have one that sells cheap at high volume and one that sells expensive at lower volumes.
@@HH-le1vi you’re missing the point, there are 3 stores here. Expensive at lower volume isn’t actually what’s sold, it’s a nicer experience. That’s why the hey hey owner will always have the upper hand over the 2nd, while the first is in another market
@@ScarredBert the nicer experience comes at a higher cost. They're not cheap af. You pay more for that experience.
@@HH-le1vi no shit, learn how to read dude. That’s what I said. The second guy is gonna get squeezed out because the premium, higher cost experience is provided by the third shop. The second shop just provides bougie beverages
Excellent video, well presented, great interviews. It is great that the owners gave you as much info as they did. Not a business owner myself, but I appreciate the education all the same as I have done work with some independent shops.
I really enjoy these on-the-ground videos with interviews and personal insights from people involved in the businesses you are discussing.
the premium boba store's oolong with cheese foam sounds so good. keep making these videos please, the real life stories from the business owners are cool af.
The quality of theae mini-docs is great, keep it up :)
This was a good video! As a suggestion, when you take a look at these smaller companies, I think it'd be cool to see them compared to whatever the largest company in their sector is.
Hannah is killin the game. 🎯
Is it weird that I just like the regular, classic boba milk tea? Dont need anything fancy, obly thar the tea, milk, and boba are all high quality.
The 7 miles entrepreneur is fantastically savvy. Great find
Glad other people are appreciating and loving the Sawtelle scene too
The OG boba nai cha is the best when you can taste the natural bitterness of the tea along with the sweetness of the lightly sweet milk and a surge of sugary starch when you chew the boba. The second best flavour is the red bean milk tea.
I also enjoy che, the Vietnamese dessert cup. I’m surprised boba has not started to offer this type of offering.
gaming to sneakers and now to boba, it feels like you've touched every facet of my life lmao
Hey Hey looks like a lovely space to spend time in! I would absolutely visit if I were in the area, and tuck myself into a corner there for a couple hours.
7:40 her accent is wild. You can hear the annoying "LA accent" mixed with her native east asian voice.
this is such a fantastic video. blown away, keep it up!!
In my neighborhood we have probably 60+ boba shops all within a 20-min walk area (just a few sq km). At 9CAD per drink, I don't get how all of them are all so busy all the time. Plus, whenever and almost anywhere I go, they never seem to have lactose-free cow milk options, nor do they have theine-free options... I'd sometimes like a popping boba drink in the evening but tea keeps me up all night!
The Boba craze is insane here in the Silicon Valley area. There are so many options. It’s hard to resist drinking one every week
Thanks!
Thank you so much for the support!
Rewatching this after finding out the bobba simu liu controversy really contrast the lack of research that brand did before they went on dragons den.
The show oozes authenticity. There is always a moment of questioning the game system in the middle of a high stress moment. 😂 Thanks GCN for keeping it real
Owning a Bobashop this has been a great way of seeing into the minds of other owners as well! and I have also seen the same paths
Crazy good video - you managed to cover the more low-priced, high-volumed business model as well as the more high-priced, low-to-moderate-volume model - all 3 understood that the market was and is saturated so they went through different iterations of differentiation strategies.
Would be interesting to see a video analysing coffee. If you ever got the time or resources, you can even look into the 3rd wave high-priced, high-quality, low-volume vs the "kopi susu" (very popular in Indonesia) low-priced, low-quality, high-volume business models. I found the juxtaposition of the two models in the same market (coffee) to be quite fascinating and the challenges seem to be worth a deep-dive into.
Anyways, appreciate the great analysis on this one and the sneakers vid as well!
Check out our other recent Originals that analyze the same juxtaposition in different industries - TH-cam hasn’t been pushing them for some reason!
I still remember when a simple milk tea boba were $1-2 in the US before 2010...
Hannah's business sense is out of this world.
35:50 - This guy is smart. We've always been able to rely on our brain circuitry to facilitate new interactions and connections, but that doesn't really work anymore today. Our phone apps tap into that circuitry to provide a hollow sense of satiety which ultimately leaves us kinda drained and our social needs ultimately unfulfilled. In order to overcome this slump, we're going to need people like him who strategically engineer/design spaces in such a way that interactions and connections are facilitated.
The collective craving for connection is only going to grow, and spaces like this will provide a way to ease that pressure. At least, the idea is there. I think we're going to see more effective approaches in the future, where these spaces are not merely a vehicle to sell products
I think Hey, Hey will be around after the first 2 places are long gone.
In the Philippines, Milk tea shops / Boba shops craze has now died down. Seems for once Asia was first on the trend lol.
wow! Hannah's vocal fry really drove home the fact that she learned to speak English in LA! 😆