We spoke to Tom Ross, who has bravely launched a local coffee startup in Cambridge during lockdown. He had an incredible story to tell about the impetus behind the business.
Tell me a bit about VG coffee
鈥淚t is a mobile, plant-based coffee-and-cake bike 鈥� bit of a mouthful 鈥� and in fact it鈥檚 actually a trike, with three wheels. The idea behind it is to bring a tasty coffee with a low carbon footprint to the people. I鈥檝e been running coffee shops for about ten years and I鈥檝e always planned to do my own. I came across this opportunity earlier this year, from a friend. We met while I was in Starbucks in Addenbrookes hospital, which I was managing before I was laid off through furlough.
鈥淚鈥檓 the nutter who launched a business during lockdown.鈥�
Tom Ross, owner and founder of VG Coffee
What was the impetus for starting the business?
鈥淚鈥檝e been wanting to do my own business for a long time now. Running successful coffee shops for almost ten years, I knew how to run them, I knew how profitable they could be and I was waiting for my capital to come 鈥� in the form of compensation from an accident that I had in a rented apartment in Brighton鈥� I fell from a balcony, not doing anything silly, not drunk, just FaceTiming my mum, she鈥檇 just got back from Greece and I said 鈥榟ey Mum, how was your holidaaaa鈥︹�� and I fell because the railings were rusted through. That was five years ago this September. I was impaled through both my legs鈥� stuck on the railing for a while, conscious the whole time, making jokes throughout.
鈥淚 spent about six months learning to walk again, a lot of time with psychiatrists for PTSD and I have depression and anxiety every day. But it鈥檚 okay, it means I鈥檓 alive.
鈥淭o live is to suffer. Every day when I wake up and feel like I鈥檓 in pain or I鈥檓 suffering, I know I鈥檓 alive and听I鈥檓 grateful for that fact.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 also grateful for the compensation money, which then enabled me to buy this. So I bought this small business in January and I was ready to go around March time but there was lockdown so that gave me a bit more time to fine-tune things. And then we launched about three months ago.鈥�
Pitching at a festival
How unique is your business model?
鈥淭he trike itself is made by a company called Velopresso, and they have just finished creating their twenty-seventh bike which has gone to America. As far as I know, there are only four of these bikes in the UK and what makes them more unique than other mobile coffee shops is the pedal-powered grinder and the pedal-powered water pump.
鈥淲hen this opportunity came along 鈥� low carbon footprint, exercise, using my legs that I鈥檓 very lucky to still have, a reasonable price 鈥� I took the plunge and formed a business.鈥�
What is your proudest moment?
鈥淚 have two best moments. Obviously launch day, our first gig at the Clay Farm garden and then celebrating with champagne afterwards, as you do. And one of my proudest moments was when we did a gig at the Wild Wood Disco, a small festival鈥� it was a really nice setup and that day my partner Aurora was working with me as well. At the festival, we just clicked in our serving style. It鈥檚 been three months and everything is still new to both of us, but that day, everything just went smoothly and we were just reading each other and bouncing off each other. It was a) the most money we鈥檝e taken in a day and b) the smoothest operation.
鈥淚 had a great sense of pride and achievement after that one.鈥�
Tom with partner, Aurora听
What are your hopes and plans for the future of VG coffee?
鈥淚t will be to expand and one day have a fixed caf茅 serving sandwiches, paninis, cakes, coffee. But that鈥檚 more long-term, when I鈥檓 ready to be fixed down to a place. I would love to live back in Brighton. When it turns into a coffee shop, it will no longer be pedal-powered, but the next stage in the expansion process is to either buy a trailer, which won鈥檛 be pedal-powered, or do I get another bike?
鈥淪o I鈥檓 leaning towards buying another bike, and having my partner by my side, both of us pedalling one. I think it would be really fun and quite cute as well.鈥�
Header image: Author鈥檚 own
Feature images: 9barsofgold
听
听
听
