We were lucky to catch up with Sam Wake recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sam, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Have you ever failed at something you poured your heart and soul into? Many of us have and it sucks. In 2019, I was coming to the end of a career path that had once been so promising but it wasn’t working out anymore. With the failure came a sense of identity crisis. The let down was tough and the future a daunting mystery.

It was in that season I started riding my motorcycle more and began to really search my soul. I leaned on the relationships that meant the most to me. I also pressed into hobbies I loved.

I got honest.
I owned the moment.
I mourned the loss.
And through the process I began to dust off my imagination.

I came up with a phrase that I really resonated with,
“There is more courage in your tank than danger ahead.”

Kids & Cobras was born out of that season.

The brand was a new outlet for me to pour my heart and soul into something.

We came up with a mission…
A lot of people choose to drink mediocre coffee and live a mediocre life. At Kids & Cobras, we roast specialty coffee & design goods that inspire you to live a courageous life without regrets.

Kids & Cobras as a brand is a small reminder that we were made for more. And we hope you, walk away from drinking our coffee and reading our monthly Slow Mag publications with a renewed sense of purpose.
It’s a brand we tool to help you dust off your imagination and become aware of the extraordinary in these seemingly mundane, ordinary moments.

Cheers Friends,
Sam

Pause.
Sip Some Coffee.
&
Enjoy!

Sam, 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 bit of entrepreneur with a knack for communicating and rallying people around exciting ideas. Currently I am the business owner of two companies I started and I also oversee the growth of a non-profit I launched as well. Everything I am doing I kind of fell into by accident. There was a need I saw in the world (or a need I had in my own life) so I learned the skill sets necessary to solve them.

I have been a photographer, coffee roaster, coach, youth pastor, church planter, videographer, public speaker, entrepreneur, event coordinator, and more. Over time all of these skills led me to start my own companies. I love entrepreneurship and business because it’s all about problem solving. Every business exists to solve a certain problem and I find problem solving to be a lot of fun.

My main focus is Kids & Cobras, a coffee roasting lifestyle company.
We started this company because a lot of people choose to drink mediocre coffee and live a mediocre life. At Kids & Cobras, we roast specialty coffee & design goods that inspire you to live a courageous life without regrets.

I think what differentiates us from other companies in our industry is our unwavering commitment to inspire people to live without regrets. Like I said above a lot of people choose to settle for a mediocre life. We see Kids & Cobras as the antithesis to this idea. Life is short. It’s here for a bit and then it’s gone. Time is the most precious asset we have to leverage and we shouldn’t waste it. Our products are designed to help people to slow down and savor the story they are living.

Have you ever eaten a dinner so fast you missed out on enjoying it? That’s happening with people’s lives too. We don’t want to end up on our deathbeds full of regret wishing we would have spent more time enjoying the journey. And the K&C brand is all bout helping with this.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

As a grass roots coffee company we started with zero customers as expected. We had zero followers, zero subscribers, no start-up money, no friends in our target market, and very little experience in the coffee industry as a whole.

We literally started our company out of nothing.

What we did have was vision statement…
A lot of people choose to drink mediocre coffee and live a mediocre life. At Kids & Cobras, we roast specialty coffee & design goods that inspire you to live a courageous life without regrets.

Slowly we took on more and more customers by getting the word out and I won’t forget when we landed one of our biggest clients. Their demand was way beyond what our infrastructure could support. I was nervous and felt alive all at the same time trying to land the sale. I had to speak with confidence while also being fully aware that if this business partner signed on with us we would not be able to serve their needs without a lot of change.
The problem was we did not have the capacity to roast enough coffee to meet their demand. We were in the middle of the pandemic roasting on a 1 Kilo coffee roaster out of a garage. They were going to triple the size of our company in the matter of one month.

We landed them as a client and grew into the shoes if you will. We chose to take the risk and figure it out as we went and that has rewarded us more than I could have ever imagined. Instead of saying, “no, it’s not possible.” We said “YES!” And that was an absolute blast.

When you start something from scratch this is the mentality you have to work with. You grow as you go.

Also, I am learning that the right clients align with who we are as a company. The right business partners are willing to take risks on us just as much as we are willing to take risks on them.

It’s a beautiful tension.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resiliency is about your mindset and it reminds me of a story.

There was a famous sea captain that tried to be the first to reach the South Pole. He failed to accomplish his mission when his ship sank after being crushed by ice. He and his crew escaped onto the icebergs and survived years until they could find a way back to civilization. Captain Shakelton had a phrase that guided him as a leader that I have adopted too: “By endurance we conquer.”

Resiliency is about a commitment to your vision no matter what the cost. This is something I have had through the years. If you have a dream, and resolve to commit to it, there are very few things that can stop ya. I have lived on the beans and rice diet, found living quarters in small apartments, and endured many financial challenges over the years. But it has all been worth it in order to bring about exciting change to the world doing what I love.

There are three things that make an organization an organization.
1. Vision
2. Leadership
3. Resources

As long as you have at least two of the three you have a viable organization. And if your heart is in your work anything is possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: kidsandcobras.com
• Instagram: @kidsandcobras
• Facebook: Facebook.com/kidsandcobras

Image Credits
Kids & Cobras