Episode 23 — Trevor Corlett | As Long as I Have Something to Say

Trevor Corlett opened Madcap Coffee in Grand Rapids eighteen years ago, after two earlier shops that didn't make it, and for ten straight seasons he was one of the most recognizable competitors in American coffee. He and Joshua go back to writing the Barista Guild's Level 2 certification together. Trevor only ever competed with what was on Madcap's menu, and he kept going for one reason: as long as he had something to say. His last year was 2016. He won his regional, finished fifth at the U.S. Barista Championship, and walked off that stage asking himself why he was still doing it. This conversation is about what came after. Trevor stepped back from every board, committee and volunteer role and set out to become a better owner rather than the person who knew the most about coffee. That meant reading, an operating system that finally put Madcap's vision and roles on paper, and a CEO roundtable where he runs the smallest company at the table and has the same problems as everyone else. Joshua brings his own conviction that life has more to do with direction than momentum, and that a business clear on what it won't do never has to be the loudest voice in the room. Along the way there are competition bloopers, a coach's view of people moving on, and the advice Trevor now gives early-stage owners as a Coffee Futures Fund mentor: get clear on where you're going and what each person brings to the team before passion runs you out of road. In his words, "We don't grow through things that are comfortable."