Finding happiness through others, with Chris and Wee Hao from Medano Coffee.
“I’ve always wanted to do something that makes people happy. I guess that’s why I chose coffee,” says Wee Hao. He glares at the glass of coffee that I begin to sip from, and waits for an expression to form on my face. I let a smile escape — the unavoidable sign of a good, strong coffee.
“7am. That’s the time I used to wake up to make myself coffee,” says Chris, the other co-founder of Medano. “As I grew older, I got lazier. That’s why these coffee pods make so much sense.” He juggles a pod between his fingers, and smirks to himself.
It is they who tell me how cliché it is that the two of them are working together. Chris is the hustler, and Wee Hao is the technician. They’re one part business, and another part operations — together, they make up Medano Coffee. There’s no one else, and they bring an incredible drive to a two-person company that is operating in the competitive world of coffee pods.
“The money was good while we were in finance,” says Wee Hao, as he looks at Chris with a regrettable eye. “But at the end of the day, I asked myself if I wanted to be doing this in ten years. I didn’t.”
“It’s not a bad place to grind your teeth in. In the roles that Wee Hao and I were in, typically only 1% of people will make the cut,” says Chris, matter-of-factly. “In the end, it’s still all about people, soft skills, and how that translates to business.”
In fact, it was Wee Hao’s father who found the Indonesian supplier that delivers the Medano coffee pods. After a full year of research, following the expiration of the Nespresso patent, Wee Hao took the bold step to work on the business on full time. During which, Chris was the first person he thought of, when he needed a business partner for Medano. Over a chance meeting at the opening of a friend’s restaurant, they found that they were looking a way out of their white-collared routine, and accept the challenge.
“In the end, this is about two young guys coming together, talking about ideas, testing new products, and making things work,” says Wee Hao. “If we can do that, we’ll be happy.”
Chris considers his partner for a moment, before speaking. “That’s right. There aren’t any defined roles between us. We play to each other’s strengths.”
“And we like to disappoint each other. Chris always disses my ideas, and I always tell him that the prices of his deals aren’t right.” Wee Hao looks over at Chris and grins.
Their chemistry is palpable, as is their focus and drive. Throughout most of the day, they’re seen huddling at the flex space area over their computers, going through presentation decks and excel sheets, and drawing curious stares from anyone walking by.
“What does a good day of work look like? Orders being fulfilled. People enjoying coffee. Seeing our brand growing,” says Wee Hao, pausing to think. “That’s all.”
“For me, it’s making ten calls, having ten people respond, and paying me money for pods,” says Chris with a grin. “I’m a simple guy, bro.”
