We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Max Zelenevich. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Max below.
Max, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Coffee has long been a cherished thing for me, often enjoyed while catching up with old friends or admiring the slowness of the morning with loved ones. The more I was able to explore unique flavor characteristics from different origins and processes, the more I fell into the rabbit hole of learning more, which eventually turned into roasting my own coffee at home. I was able to have coffee at home that I wasn’t able to find in any coffee shop nearby, from funky fermented coffees to really fruity and bright coffees that were a huge departure from the typical cup. My partner and I enjoyed sharing the coffee we made with our friends so much that we wanted to take it a step further and be able to turn a passion into a business. Brainwave started as making connections and we try really hard to continue the tradition and connect others with something we love so much.
Max, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a career scientist and have always been fascinated with how things work. For the last 13 years or so, I have been brewing beer and wine as a hobby. The hobby turned into multiple side and weekend jobs at breweries and wineries, doing everything from serving to making the beer and wine. To this day, one of the most fulfilling job I had ever had was giving wine tastings and being able to connect with customers to try to understand their preferences and help facilitate a meaningful experience for them. It took longer to make the connection, but coffee can be just as unique and flavorful as a wine. I became obsessed with trying new coffees, roasting them to highlight their intrinsic characteristics, and sharing them with as many people as possible. I wanted to use that model for my business, so we developed a subscription service where I try to reach out to the customers to get an idea of what flavors they like in not only coffee, but beer, wine, desserts, etc., and essentially curate coffees specific to that person, and if it’s something I don’t have on hand, I do everything possible to find a coffee that would suit them. We run a very small business, but I’m extremely proud of the product that we create; from the roasted coffee to the hand-stamped packaging that my partner handles. I really love getting to know people and connect them with new coffees.
How’d you meet your business partner?
A few years ago, my now business (and life) partner moved in next door. As we got to know each other, we found out we had a mutual love for coffee, leading to sharing new coffees with each other. At some point, I had the idea that I may be able to impress her by sharing coffee that I roasted myself, so I bought a roaster that I had been thinking about for a few years and gave it a try. This turned into us roasting together and sharing our morning ritual with others. As things progressed, we moved in with together and listened to the advice of so many friends to open our own coffee roasting company. My partner Em is an artist by trade, so she handles the branding and design while I focus on roasting and sourcing coffee.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
Keeping in touch with customers is actually something we really try to focus on, and has brought us some really great friendships actually. In fact, being primarily an online business, we don’t get the chance to speak with many people face to face, so it’s foundational to the business to keep communication going. First, our coffee subscription service is built upon communication, so re regularly keep in contact with those customers to ensure we’re providing coffee that they like and continue to curate narrow in on what we think they’ll love. Secondly, we try to engage with people on social media and other forms of communication to have meaningful conversations with them. I love hearing feedback about our coffee, how they’re preparing their coffee, other coffees they’ve been enjoying, and anything else coffee related. I feel like we’ve actually built a really cool circle of other roasters, small businesses, and coffee drinkers that we regularly get to talk to. Lastly, my partner had the idea to sketch some arts for holiday cards, so we had a lot of fun making those and getting to write notes to people who have ordered from us in the past. Communication may be the most rewarding part of this business, and luckily it’s something that keeps people engaged with us.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brainwaveroasters.com
- Instagram: @brainwaveroasters
- Other: https://roastwestcoast.substack.com/p/coffee-people-max-zelenevich-brainwave-roasters
