May 12, 2020

Meet Jake Stechmeyer and Margaret Hotovec of Native Coffee Club in West Highland

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Stechmeyer and Margaret Hotovec.

Jake and Margaret, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
“I created Native Coffee Club because I am an avid fan of espresso and I love the Colorado specialty coffee scene. I was in search of a service that solely featured Colorado roasters and that just didn’t exist. In 2018 while in business school, I decided to launch that service myself Native Coffee Club would become a monthly Colorado coffee subscription that features a new roaster each month. Every shipment comes with coffee, merch from the roaster, and a free drink card to their café to incentivize continuous support of the work they do. After meeting with a couple of local Denver roasters who were excited about the idea, I launched the business in December 2018.

In March of 2019, I partnered up with a friend of mine, Margaret Hotovec, to help continue to grow the company. Native Coffee Club now partners with roasters across the Front Range from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs and I hope to expand to other parts of Colorado in the future. With the shutdown in effect, many Colorado coffee roasters have been struggling to stay afloat. Margaret and I wanted to help so we created the #SaveColoradoCoffee campaign to help support struggling Colorado coffee shops and roasters. To incentivize Coloradans to purchase from their local coffee shops, each time someone makes a purchase/donation to a Colorado coffee shop or roaster, they can enter to win weekly giveaways of gift cards, coffee, and merch provided by Native Coffee Club. Along with the weekly giveaways, many of Native’s roaster partners have reached out with specific ways that people can support their business. We compiled this information on our website to provide a hub to those that want to help. Margaret and I have seen extensive growth of Native’s subscribers over the past couple of years and hopefully introduce more Coloradoans to Colorado specialty coffee in the future.” – Jake

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
“It has been a mostly smooth road but there are always challenges. Making sure the roasters and we meet all of the requirements for a successful shipment every time can be challenging. Also, there are timing issues with roasting and shipping that need to be worked out each month.” – Margaret

“The logistics of managing 100+ subscribers can also get chaotic pretty quickly. Luckily, we have been growing at a sustainable enough pace to get many of the kinks worked out. With the shutdown in place, our subscribers have almost tripled which is great for business but makes our monthly shipments more complicated.” – Jake

Please tell us about your company.
“I think we’re set apart by the variety and truly value offered. Often you can’t walk into the store and get a better deal especially when you take into account shipping and free drink cards. We specialize in connecting members to their community through local cafes. We’re proud of high values and always working to improve our product and value-added to our members, working to foster community among local roasters. We give our members the gift of trying specialty coffees in a non-intimidating way/environment” – Margaret

What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc.
“I hope that Native Coffee Club would be known for the way we treat our roaster partners and customers. We’ve always seen our relationship between the roasters and us as a two-way street. We truly want to see their business thrive and give them exposure to the community.” – Jake

What are you most proud of as a company?
“I’m proud of the growth that Native has seen over the past couple of years. It’s hard work to grow a business and maintain subscribers but we’ve continued to do that hard work day after day.” – Jake

What sets you apart from others?
“What I believe sets us apart from others is the true dedication to supporting local. Our motto from the beginning has been: Support Local. Drink Native.” – Jake

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
“Spending time on our small farm in rural Oregon. We lived on a seven-acre farm and got to spend our summers climbing apple trees and exploring in the woods. That’s why I love Denver. You can be in the city in the morning and then be hiking in the mountains in the afternoon.” -Jake

Pricing:

Blends Coffee Club – $19.99 with free shipping
Single Origin Coffee Club – $22.99 with free shipping
3-Month Gift Subscription – $59.99 with free shipping

Contact Info:

Website: www.NativeCoffeeClub.com
Instagram: @NativeCoffeeClub
Facebook: facebook.com/NativeCoffeeClub

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