This interview is with Mimi Nguyen, Founder at Cafely.
Mimi Nguyen, Founder, Cafely
As the founder of Cafely, can you share your journey from architecture and finance to launching a startup in the coffee industry? What inspired this transition?
My journey to Cafely definitely wasn’t planned! I went from architecture to finance, picking up this unique blend of creativity and analytical thinking along the way. But the real turning point came from my Vietnamese heritage.
Coffee wasn’t just a beverage in my family. It was our culture, our daily ritual, our way of connecting. When I moved to the U.S., I was struck by how little people knew about Vietnamese coffee beyond basic drip. There was this incredible richness and tradition that wasn’t being shared.
That’s when it clicked. I wanted to create something that honored the coffee culture I grew up with while making it accessible to everyone. Cafely became that bridge: we’re bringing authentic Vietnamese coffee traditions forward, but we’re also incorporating adaptogens, functional ingredients, and modern convenience that today’s consumers want.
It felt like the most natural evolution because it combined everything: my personal passion, my cultural roots, and a real market opportunity to introduce something beautiful and meaningful to the world.
Your background spans multiple disciplines. How has this diverse experience shaped your approach to entrepreneurship and personal finance?
Honestly, I think my unconventional journey is my greatest asset. Architecture taught me systems thinking, like how every detail connects to create something bigger. Finance grounded me in discipline and smart risk management. Digital marketing gave me the tools to bring ideas to life and actually connect with people.
When I launched Cafely, these three worlds merged perfectly. I could design and position our brand creatively, evaluate risks and manage cash flow strategically, and leverage digital campaigns to tell our story in a crowded market.
My finance background saved me from the “all-or-nothing” founder mentality, while marketing taught me that storytelling matters everywhere, from investor pitches to team motivation. I approach both my money and my business like an architectural blueprint: build a solid structure first, then layer on the creativity.
This framework has let me scale Cafely sustainably without sacrificing innovation. I can take smart risks and experiment boldly because I have that disciplined foundation supporting everything we do.
Cafely seems to blend sustainability with business. Can you share a specific challenge you faced in balancing profitability with your commitment to sustainable practices, and how you overcame it?
One of our biggest challenges was staying true to sustainable packaging while keeping our margins viable in such a competitive space. The reality that eco-friendly materials like recyclable packaging cost significantly more than traditional options hit us hard. Of course, every dollar mattered for us as a startup. But instead of compromising our values, we made sustainability part of our story. We showed customers exactly why our packaging mattered, not just for the planet, but for people who wanted to feel good about their choices. It definitely impacted our short-term profits, but the payoff was incredible brand loyalty. Customers literally told us they chose Cafely over cheaper competitors because of our sustainability commitment. That experience taught me something powerful: when you stay consistent with your values, profitability does follow, but it just takes patience and a longer runway. Now our sustainable packaging isn’t a cost burden; it’s one of our biggest differentiators and competitive advantages.
You’ve mentioned the importance of community traction before seeking funding. Can you walk us through a specific example of how you built this traction for Cafely, and how it directly impacted your funding success?
When we launched Cafely, we knew we had to prove demand before investors would take us seriously. One breakthrough moment was when we created our Vietnamese Coffee Guide. This beautiful, free content piece wove together heritage, health, and lifestyle into one compelling story. We distributed it through social media, micro-influencers, and niche blogs. Within weeks, we saw engagement explode and newsletter sign-ups surge. But here’s what really changed everything: retailers started reaching out to us, asking how they could carry our products. That organic traction became our golden ticket with investors. We walked into funding conversations with real proof. Customers and partners were already seeking us out before we’d even pitched for capital. It completely flipped the dynamic from “convince us to bet on you” to “how do we get involved in what you’re building?” That taught me the power of leading with value and letting authentic demand speak for itself.
In your experience managing diverse investments, including real estate and crypto, what’s one unexpected lesson you’ve learned about risk management that other entrepreneurs should know?
An unexpected lesson I’ve learned is that emotional discipline matters in risk management, sometimes more than technical analysis. I once held onto a real estate property way too long because I was personally attached to the project, even when the numbers screamed “sell.” That emotional decision tied up capital I could have deployed elsewhere.
On the flip side, I learned the hard way in crypto that panic reactions are just as dangerous. Selling during a dip locked in losses that would have recovered with patience and a longer perspective.
The pattern became clear: risk management isn’t just about diversifying your portfolio, it’s about recognizing when your emotions or biases are driving decisions. As an entrepreneur, I’ve built processes that force me to pause and review the data before acting. It’s saved me both money and countless sleepless nights.
Sometimes the best investment strategy is simply knowing when to step back from your own feelings and trust the numbers.
Health and wellness are crucial for entrepreneurs. How do you personally maintain work-life balance while running a startup, and what advice would you give to other founders struggling with burnout?
For me, balance didn’t come from trying to do everything perfectly. It came from learning when to pause. In Cafely’s early days, I was glued to my laptop 12-14 hours straight, thinking constant hustle equaled progress. I burned out fast.
What saved me were small, non-negotiable wellness rituals: morning walks with my husband before the chaos starts, cooking simple Vietnamese meals that ground me in home, and short but consistent workouts. Even 20 minutes on my rowing machine clears my head completely.
Here’s my advice for fellow founders: stop treating self-care like a luxury. It’s maintenance, like charging your phone before it dies. Schedule downtime in your calendar exactly like you schedule investor calls or product launches, then protect that time fiercely.
When you’re rested and present, you make sharper decisions, connect better with your team, and actually grow faster without the burnout. Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish. It may just be the smartest business strategy you can implement!
You’ve dealt with platform changes affecting your online store. Can you share a specific instance where a sudden change forced you to pivot quickly, and what this taught you about adaptability in business?
Platform changes can blindside you when you run an online store. For Cafely, Shopify quietly updated how third-party apps integrated with checkout, and overnight our subscription flow for recurring coffee orders completely broke. Customers were confused, and cart abandonment spiked. It felt like chaos!
But we rallied fast. My team and I pulled all-nighters testing fixes, contacted app developers directly, and temporarily rerouted orders through a simplified checkout to keep momentum going.
That crisis taught me two crucial lessons: never build your business too dependent on one tool without backup plans, and adaptability isn’t about predicting every change; it’s about staying calm, moving quickly, and being transparent with customers.
We immediately emailed subscribers explaining the hiccup and offered a discount for their patience. Instead of damaging our reputation, it actually strengthened customer trust. They saw we could handle problems head-on and still put them first.
Now we always have contingency plans ready and treat every platform hiccup as a chance to show our values in action.
In the competitive coffee market, how do you approach product innovation at Cafely? Can you share an example of a unique offering you’ve developed and how it’s impacted your business?
Product innovation at Cafely comes from listening to both my cultural roots and modern wellness trends, then finding creative ways to blend them. Our breakthrough was Vietnamese Coffee 2.0: traditional robusta blends infused with adaptogens like ashwagandha and ginseng. The inspiration hit when I noticed two things: younger U.S. customers craving functional beverages, and remembering how herbs and tonics were as natural as coffee in my Vietnamese upbringing. Why not combine them?
This line didn’t just differentiate us from generic coffee brands; it let us tell a much richer story about heritage meeting wellness. Our DTC sales spiked, and unexpectedly, wellness-focused retailers who’d never considered stocking coffee started reaching out.
That success taught me something powerful: innovation doesn’t always need flashy tech. Sometimes the most impactful products come from reframing tradition to meet today’s needs. We took something deeply familiar from my culture and made it relevant for a whole new generation of wellness-conscious consumers.
Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest opportunity for startups at the intersection of personal finance and health & wellness? How are you positioning Cafely to potentially capitalize on this?
Consumers are becoming incredibly intentional not just about spending, but about how their purchases align with their values and long-term well-being. This creates massive opportunities for startups to connect smart money habits with sustainable, healthy living. Think loyalty programs that reward wellness choices, or financial tools showing the long-term savings of investing in healthier routines.
At Cafely, we’re already leaning into this by positioning our products as daily wellness rituals that deliver measurable value for energy and focus. Our adaptogen-infused line doesn’t just compete on taste. We frame it around long-term wellness benefits, so customers see it as an investment in themselves.
We’re exploring how to tie this closer to financial mindfulness, like subscription models that help customers save money while maintaining consistent wellness routines. It’s about making healthy choices feel financially smart, not like splurges.
The future belongs to brands that can prove their products aren’t just purchases but investments for a better you.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
To wrap up, I’d say that building Cafely has taught me entrepreneurship isn’t just about chasing growth but also about pacing yourself and staying anchored to your deeper purpose. For us, that’s honoring Vietnamese coffee culture while advancing wellness. There will always be unexpected pivots, funding challenges, and moments when burnout feels dangerously close. But if you’ve built a genuine community around your brand and you’re willing to adapt without losing your core values, you’ll always find a path forward. The businesses that last aren’t necessarily the ones that scale fastest. Instead, they’re the ones that know why they exist and never lose sight of that mission, even when everything else is shifting around them.