The Man Who Saw More Than Just Coffee

When Howard Schultz walked into a small Seattle shop called Starbucks, he saw something its founders didn’t: a world where coffee wasn’t just a drink, but an experience.

What happened next was a mix of vision, boldness, and serendipity—one that would turn a niche retailer into a global phenomenon.

Howard Schultz wasn’t looking for coffee. At least, not in the way you might think.

It was 1981, and Schultz was a young, ambitious salesman working for a Swedish kitchenware company. His job was to sell coffee machines, and one of his clients—a small Seattle coffee retailer called Starbucks—kept placing unusually large orders. Intrigued, he flew to Seattle to see what the fuss was about.

What he found wasn’t a café, but a store that sold high-quality coffee beans and equipment. No brewed coffee. No espresso machines. Just beans and knowledge. It was a place for coffee purists, run by passionate owners who cared more about quality than expansion. Schultz was fascinated. There was something here—something bigger than just selling beans.

A Life-Changing Trip to Milan

Schultz joined Starbucks as the head of marketing, and a year later, he took a trip to Milan, Italy that would change his life forever.

Walking through the city, he noticed something that didn’t exist in America: espresso bars on every corner. These weren’t just places to grab a caffeine fix. They were social hubs—warm, lively spots where people gathered, chatted, and made connections over beautifully crafted coffee.

That was it. That was the missing piece. Starbucks had the product, but it didn’t have the experience. Schultz raced back to Seattle, brimming with excitement, ready to convince the Starbucks owners to transform their little coffee bean store into a European-style café empire.

They weren’t interested.

Schultz Makes His Move

Undeterred, Schultz left Starbucks in 1985 and started his own coffee company, Il Giornale, inspired by the Italian espresso bar culture. It was an uphill battle—investors didn’t get it. "Americans won’t pay $3 for coffee," they scoffed. But Schultz proved them wrong, opening multiple locations that became wildly popular.

Then, in 1987, fate intervened. The Starbucks owners, still uninterested in expansion, decided to sell the company. Schultz jumped at the opportunity, scraped together $3.8 million, and bought Starbucks, merging it with Il Giornale.

This was his moment.

From Coffee to Culture

Schultz didn’t just want to sell coffee—he wanted to build a global “third place” between work and home, where people could gather, relax, and enjoy high-quality coffee. He doubled down on the experience, training baristas to craft drinks with precision and warmth.

Starbucks exploded. By the mid-1990s, it was expanding at a breakneck pace, opening stores across the U.S. and then internationally. Schultz pushed for an employee-first culture, offering healthcare benefits and stock options even to part-time workers—a radical move at the time.

By the early 2000s, Starbucks had become a cultural phenomenon. It wasn’t just a coffee shop; it was a lifestyle.

The Legacy of a Bold Vision

Today, Starbucks has over 35,000 locations worldwide and generates billions in revenue. And it all started because Howard Schultz saw what no one else did—not just a cup of coffee, but an experience waiting to be shared.

That’s the power of vision, timing, and a little serendipity.

Want to create your own ‘happy accident’ in business?

Check out my latest article in The Solopreneur Playbook blog.

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