In 2011, he turned his father's mobile phone store in Shoreditch into a coffee shop, and its “café by day, cocktail bar by night” concept turned Grind into a local hotspot. Now, Grind have cafés, coffee shops, and their own state-of-the-art roastery, and sells millions of coffees each year via a thriving DTC and grocery business. They’re also the exclusive supplier to Soho House and their coffee is served on British Airways flights.
David’s vision is to grow Grind to become the leading challenger coffee brand, making craft coffee accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Highlights
I definitely thought that being my dad looked more fun on a day-to-day basis.
I think I care loads about what a very tiny group of people think and beyond that, I don’t care that much at all.
You have to be quite decisive if you’re going to lead any kind of organisation.
I think if I’ve done anything with Grind, it’s probably that I’ve kind of willed the thing into existence.
Our mission is to make craft coffee accessible.
It’s about innovating continuously but in the right way.
I think you have to be prepared to make those big bets in the right way.
I think there’s a place early on in particular for just having a view on what it should look like and what it should be and going with it.
Part of the beauty of being 25 was not stopping and just cracking on.
I think there must be something intrinsic in the idea of building.