OUR STORY

A few weeks after my son Ben turned eleven, we were driving around town doing some Halloween costume shopping and talking about nothing in particular, when he said,
“Dad, I really want to do a project with you. It would be fun to start a business.”

At first, I thought it was just one of those passing ideas kids throw out between songs on the radio. But something in his tone made me slow down a little. He wasn’t joking. He was looking for something real; something to build together.

Ben’s always had a curious mind. He’s a foodie by nature and a sensory explorer by instinct. He loves the smell of coffee, the ritual of it. Whenever my wife and I visit new coffee shops, he leans in close to smell the beans. He takes a sip to see if he can guess the tasting notes. He’s usually right.

So when he suggested starting a business, coffee felt like the obvious language for us. It’s something we both understand in that it's precise, creative, scientific, and deeply human.

But from the start, I knew this wouldn't just about selling coffee. This was going to be a teaching project, a kind of living classroom about the world — about money and meaning, success and purpose, and how to hold both in the same hand.

The world can feel like a complicated place to grow up in right now. It’s noisy, fast, and often cynical. As a parent, I wanted to give him a different lens to show him that success isn’t about how much you have, but about what you do with it.

At some point, the conversation turned toward what this business could do for others. In our first "business meeting" Ben mentioned something that really stuck:

“I hate seeing people on the side of the road holding signs and everyone pretending not to see them. They’re still people.It's just not right.”

It’s one of those moments that quietly rearranges you, as a parent.

So we decided CupWorx would do something about that.
A portion of what we earn — 18% — goes toward helping fight food insecurity and hunger in our community.

But it’s not just about donations. We want this to be a hands-on process so we're going to volunteer, to visit local food pantries, to meet people, to listen, to understand. It’s about connection, not transaction.

CupWorx has become our shared project — part business, part lesson, part legacy.
Through it, I’m teaching Ben what I’ve learned about life so far: that when you have enough, you share; when you see someone hurting, you don’t look away; and when you love something, you use it to make the world a little better.

He’s teaching me, too, about how kids see the world when they still believe goodness can win.

When someone (like you) buys coffee from us, this is what they’re really buying into.
They’re not just getting a bag of beans. They’re becoming part of a small act of good; one that started with a car ride, a curious kid, and a simple question:
“Dad, want to do a project with me?”

Our hope is that every cup we share creates a small ripple: of warmth, of empathy, of community. Because when you pour something good into the world, the world gets just a little bit better in return.

With full hearts,

Alex & Ben