• About Mike Brown

Before pursuing coffee, Mike Brown worked as an accountant. Tired of his desk job, Mike left financial security behind to follow his passion of owning a coffee shop. However, Mike had no desire to push ordinary blends of caffeinated creations at his shop. Inspired by the constant influx of exhausted patrons, Mike began experimenting on a coffee recipe that would overcharge the energy levels of his customers. In about a years time, Mike Brown had created a coffee blend capable of delivering 200 percent more caffeine than the ordinary cup of coffee. Death Wish Coffee was born.

• Death Wish Coffee Co.

He made his first online sale in 2011, shipping his product in packaging pieced together from supplies he acquired from Staples. In 2012, Mike opened a shop in Saratoga Springs, NY, where his coffee truly began to make a name for itself. In 2015, his small company was given the opportunity to air a Superbowl commercial after winning the “Small Business, Big Game” competition sponsored by Intuit. Since then, Death Wish Coffee boasts having the best selling coffee brand on Amazon and is available in thousands of stores nationwide.

• Why do I care?

Mike Brown is an excellent example of what it means to be an entrepreneur. He was able to take something he was passionate about (i.e. coffee) and ask the right questions to determine how he could apply his passion to solving an every day problem. Mike’s dedication to quality and a stronger cup of coffee led him from selling a few cups over the internet to achieving national recognition by being named the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year for Emerging Business in New York.