Howard Shultz was born in a relatively poor family and spent most of his childhood in a small, one-bedroom apartment. When Howard was 7 years old, while delivering diapers, his father fell on ice and broke his leg. Because of this incident, Howard’s father was fired from his job. And with no medical insurance, savings, and source of income, his family was struggling. This was a huge moment in Howard’s life, as he felt hopeless; dreaming of a better life.
Howard’s journey with Starbucks began in 1981. At the age of 29, after a full year of convincing Starbucks’ owners to hire him, he finally got a job at Starbucks. While working there, he had the opportunity to try Sumatra coffee for the first time and talk with other coffee enthusiasts about how to roast coffee beans and how coffee was made.
In 1982, Howard was able to move from his hometown of New York to Seattle, where he became part of the company’s director of operations and management. A year later, in 1983, Howard went to Italy to experience a variety of Italian coffee bars and the coffee experience here. He liked how the Italians built their “coffeehouse tradition” and wanted to bring that to America. He wanted to establish a place that not only served exceptional coffee but also brought human connection, meaningful conversations, and a strong sense of community.
Howard left Starbucks for a short amount of time to start his own Il Giornale coffee houses but returned in August 1987 as chief executive officer to purchase Starbucks. Under Howard, Starbucks was able to grow significantly, expanding to over 3,000 stores all over the world. In 2000, Howard stepped down from the CEO position to focus more on international expansion, serving as the global chief strategist and chairman. He returned as CEO in January 2008, and wanted to put a strong emphasis on innovation and enhancing the overall customer experience at Starbucks. He wanted customers to feel welcomed and connected. Today, Starbucks has expanded from 15,000 to nearly 30,000 stores worldwide. Starbucks is worth nearly $110 billion and is located in over 84 different countries.
I love how he brought the connection of Italian coffee shops to America through Starbucks. I see that as a major cultural difference between America and Europe. The connectedness that seems so prevalent in Europe through proximity seems to overshadow the suburban dominated USA. I think seeing those two things of community and coffee are awesome.
It is interesting to see how Starbucks started from an idea and become a coffee empire. It is also interesting to see how Starbucks today is very different from the original idea of Starbucks.
This is a pretty cool entrepreneurial story and I’ve been able to see coffee house traditions in Italy. Taking what is done in Italy and then replicating it in the US in a way that is palatable for Americans in such a wildly successful way is pretty amazing.