IF you’re still reading (and subscribing) I want to thank you for sticking with me over the past few weeks. The post 100 Coffees era (yeah, Taylor, we can ALL have eras!) has been nothing short of hectic. For a variety of reasons (see below).
I don’t mind admitting the period between March and July 2025 was one of the most interesting, bemusing, and frequently terrifying periods of my life. What started with an unexpected job loss lead to four months of self-reflection, questions, conversations, hopes, doubts and lots and lots of coffee.
I’m happy to report, however, that at the culmination of the Coffee Era (there will be no Eras tour, sorry) there was a glut of new opportunities, a host of new friendships, a deeper personal insight, a fairly well received report, and a shiny new job which I’m enjoying immensely. I’m working with a fantastic team and get to keep supporting exciting startups. What’s not to like?
On the aforementioned report, another thanks goes to those who read (especially those who kindly made a donation), commented and gave feedback. It was never meant to be an era-defining tome, but it has started many, many conversations that I hope will have actionable outcomes that lead to a long-lasting improvement in the Scottish startup ecosystem. Every great journey… and all that.
In previous posts, I alluded to the next steps (another era?) in the 100 Coffees Project. Due to the aforementioned opportunities and job (as well as a ridiculously warm summer and all the distractions it brings) these next steps have been delayed slightly.
But not for long.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll begin compiling - on this Substack - a playbook on how to embark on a 100 coffees journey of your own. Everything from deciding on what you want to get out of the programme, to how to approach ‘subjects’, how to code the conversations as you go, and how to cope with rude hipsters in coffee shops. It will be a guide on how to change (or at the very least improve) your life. That sounds very grand, doesn’t it? But I believe you can change your life through having 100 conversations. And I’m living proof. Of sorts.
The podcast will also begin in the next month and I’ll be looking to share more (recorded) conversations with people from across the startup landscape. If you’re up for it, get in touch.
Disclaimer of a technical incompetent: The first podcast was supposed to be my recent conversation with Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney, but I fed the mogwai after midnight (not a euphemism) and the gremlins took over and broke the microphones.
So I’ll start with a clean slate in September.
Stay tuned…
