The Savvy Entrepreneur: Kavnia Coffee Company

Kavnia Coffee Company was established by Olivia vonNieda as part of her quest for perfect cup of cold drip coffee.  For non-coffee afficionados, cold-drip coffee is the next evolution beyond cold brew coffee.  Cold brew is made by soaking the coffee grounds in cold water.  Cold drip passes a mist of water over the beans, creating coffee one drop at a time, creating a more intense flavor and picking up more of the subtle flavors of the coffee.

Cold drip coffee is beloved by coffee buffs, but to date, it's difficult and expensive to produce at home.  It's really only available at high-end coffee houses.  vonNieda set out to find a way to make it more accessible, applying her formidable engineering and business skills.

Along the way, she needed to find money and resources to help her.  She found resources at mHub and The Hatchery, both incubators based in Chicago.  And she was eventually successful at pitching for funding, although it required a major pivot in Kavnia Coffee's business model.

vonNieda shares the story of Kavnia Coffee with The Savvy Entrepreneur, along with plenty of advice and tips on pitching for funding and how and when to successfully pivot.  Not to mention it will whet your appetite for cold drip coffee!

Click on the arrow to listen, or go here if you'd prefer to read a transcript of our chat.