Koffee?

"Bringing People Together"

We originally approached Koffee? with the intention of working to reduce waste at the coffee houses that Yale students frequent.

Koffee's owner instead asked us to work on a problem that is related to the central mission of his company. He hopes to bring people together in a comfortable enviroment, But more uniquely he hopes to push people to make unique and unexpected connections with each other.

Our problem became: how can we create random human connections

Researching the User

People really enjoyed their experience at Koffee which includes the environment, the staff and the products served

People see Koffee as an authentically New Haven location compared to Blue State, Willouhgby’s or East Rock Coffee

Koffee? is perceived as a welcoming space for all: the laptop users, the conversation seekers and even (in SOMs case), recruiters !

People go to a cafe to be surrounded by others, even if they are working

Below are examples of Point of View Statements from the different people we met and interviewed about Koffee?

POV 1

POV 2

We met: a student who goes to Koffee? with someone else to chat

We were surprised to find that: people really liked the atmosphere in Koffee? (community feeling).

It would be game changing if: we made Koffee even more cozy and comfortable by adding clothes banners on the ceiling to make the ceiling lower

POV 3

We met: a Yale student

We were surprised to find that: they didn’t go inside because they didn’t like the outside of the building

It would be game changing if: we could make the outside more inviting

We met: a student who wants to get away from their normal academic spaces, to do work

We were surprised to find that: they were open to conversations

It would be game changing if: we were able to create a space that encouraged disruption. A way we could do this if we made people sit closer to one another. (Add a chair?)

We met: a recruiter

We were surprised to find that: they decided to have their professional conversations at Koffee?

It would be game changing if:

They could organize through coffee to take over a certain amount of space and organize a semi-legitimate event. They way others can see the event and social activity going on, and plan their next one at Koffee?

POV 4

We met: a Yale student

We were surprised to find that: they remembered the staff as an enjoyable part of their experience

It would be game changing if: the staff had a passion or hobby on their name tag under their name to have

POV 5

POV 6

We met: an entrepreneur

We were surprised to find that: they go to certain cafes because they know other entrepreneurs will be there

It would be game changing if:we could make Koffee? A place where a certain group of people come together to discuss a certain communal topic. (maybe coordinate with Meetup)

The customer who simply comes into the shop to pickup coffee to go

"Do we want to break them away from their laptops? Can we do this without making it seem forced?"

"Do we want to push to have larger groups coming in? Do we have the space for that?"

"Do we want to encourage such interactions? Do we think it will dilute the 'fun/casual' element?

"Do we want to convince them that staying is a better idea? Do we want to not be known as a 'to-go' coffee shop?

We think of Koffe? customers as 4 types of people...

The student who wants to get away from usual academic space to work

The student who goes with others to have a casual conversation/fun

The customer who seeks professional chats (recruiters/entrepreneurs)

The customer who simply comes into the shop to pickup coffee to go

Prototyping Our Solution

Our Idea: Koffe After Dark

Koffee? After Dark is the place where people go if they want to grab a drink and have a conversation in a place outside of the home. Bars are too loud and have a “meat market” atmosphere.

How do we change the space so that Koffee? Is different from Koffee? After dark? How can we make this easy?
How do we market the ev

Ideation

We asked ourselves the question, what was the last time that we enjoyed a place outside of home to grab a drink and to have genuine conversations:

We came up with the following shared qualities:

light background music
food options
no one on laptop around me
pleasant scent
dim lights
fun cocktails
small private tables

What can we focus on?

General Shift in space

Events

Marketing

Our Solution

General Mood Shift

enable "mood shift"
encourage conversations
easy for one employee to transition

Our plan:

large tables at daytime to bring intimacy among strangers
small tables at nightime to preserve privacy
easy to adjust according to the group size of customers
using draped cloth across the ceiling to create a sense of intimacy at night
use lighting to create a sense of intimacy

Events

Private Events
- Geared towards individuals, student organizations and institutions
- two formats
  - full rentall
  - space reservations
- Market this by reaching out to graduate programs
Public Events
- Create a "series" a predictable event that will bring in local musicians and speakers
- Partner with local businesses

Marketing

Blog/post about your Koffee? experience and get a free cocktail
"like" the Koffee? fb and get 15% off a cocktail of your choice
Get a friend to subscribe to the mailing list and get a free cocktail
"Early Bird" offer
Guessing game: ask people what they think Koffee? after dark means...creative responses get a prize