Cat & Cloud Podcast

Originally aired March 11, 2024
Some exciting news: as we approach Cat & Cloud's 10 year anniversary, we are gearing up to launch some changes to the Cat & Could Podcast. New segments. Fresh industry voices. Candid insights into all things craft, hospitality, culture and leadership development. While we're heads-down, we're pulling some of our favorite episodes from the archive.
This week: Doing the Right Thing, a Cat & Cloud After-hours episode. Jared, Chris, and Charles get into a wide range of topics spanning the business, with a single through-line: what does it actually mean to do right by people?
Stay tuned for fresh content Winter 2026.
Podcast Info and Contact: www.catandcloud.com/podcast 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/ 
Webstore: www.catandcloud.com/ 
Roasters Choice Subscription: www.catandcloud.com/collections/subscriptions 
Wholesale Partners: Interested in serving our coffee at your business? Learn more about our Partner Program https://catandcloud.com/wholesale
Cat & Cloud Coffee was founded in 2016 by three friends who believe experiences and connections shape our lives. Former barista champions and lifelong coffee professionals, they envisioned a better way to do business and set out to create a values-driven organization that put culture first.
Our mission is to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences. Whether it's with guests in our 4 retail locations in Santa Cruz, our team members, or our wholesale partners across the country, we strive to leave everyone better than we found them. The Cat & Cloud Podcast is a space for us to share our experiences and adventures in coffee and business in hopes of inspiring more people to create culture and values-driven organizations.
Hosted by Chris Baca and Jared Truby

Originally aired January 25, 2025
Some exciting news: as we approach Cat & Cloud's 10 year anniversary, we are gearing up to launch some changes to the Cat & Could Podcast. New segments. Fresh industry voices. Candid insights into all things craft, hospitality, culture and leadership development. While we're heads-down, we're pulling some of our favorite episodes from the archive.
This week: The Seven Steps of Service. What are they? What are they for? And why are they so straightforward? Learn why these fundamentals shape how we train hospitality in our cafes, and why leaning into the spirit of a system this simple can transform guest experience.
Stay tuned for fresh content Winter 2026.
Podcast Info and Contact: www.catandcloud.com/podcast 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/ 
Webstore: www.catandcloud.com/ 
Roasters Choice Subscription: www.catandcloud.com/collections/subscriptions 
Wholesale Partners: Interested in serving our coffee at your business? Learn more about our Partner Program https://catandcloud.com/wholesale
Cat & Cloud Coffee was founded in 2016 by three friends who believe experiences and connections shape our lives. Former barista champions and lifelong coffee professionals, they envisioned a better way to do business and set out to create a values-driven organization that put culture first.
Our mission is to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences. Whether it's with guests in our 4 retail locations in Santa Cruz, our team members, or our wholesale partners across the country, we strive to leave everyone better than we found them. The Cat & Cloud Podcast is a space for us to share our experiences and adventures in coffee and business in hopes of inspiring more people to create culture and values-driven organizations.
Hosted by Chris Baca and Jared Truby

Summer camp but for coffee professionals! Learn about what Jared & Charles were up to this week at Camp Coffee Shop, a brand new retreat hosted by Barista Magazine all about building community in the coffee industry. This was four days of coffee workshops and skill-building sessions, unplugged in nature, with everyone from new business owners to coffee industry veterans.

Jared gives us the industry veteran perspective. He covers a summary of the talk he gave, Building a Cafe People Love to Work In, impressions of panels and workshops he attended from other long-time industry friends, and how it compares to the vibes of a larger trade show like SCA's World of Coffee.

Learn more about Camp Coffee Shop: https://www.campcoffeeshop.com/
Podcast Info and Contact: www.catandcloud.com/podcast 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/ 
Webstore: www.catandcloud.com/ 
Roasters Choice Subscription: www.catandcloud.com/collections/subscriptions 
Wholesale Partners: Interested in serving our coffee at your business? Learn more about our Partner Program https://catandcloud.com/wholesale
Cat & Cloud Coffee was founded in 2016 by three friends who believe experiences and connections shape our lives. Former barista champions and lifelong coffee professionals, they envisioned a better way to do business and set out to create a values-driven organization that put culture first.
Our mission is to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences. Whether it's with guests in our 4 retail locations in Santa Cruz, our team members, or our wholesale partners across the country, we strive to leave everyone better than we found them. The Cat & Cloud Podcast is a space for us to share our experiences and adventures in coffee and business in hopes of inspiring more people to create culture and values-driven organizations.
Hosted by Chris Baca and Jared Truby

This week Chris & Jared get carried away in conversation with a newer member of the Cat & Cloud team. Misha Holtz— who's been ramping up in the marketing team at Cat & Cloud for the last three months— gets pulled onto the mic without warning and grilled about her path from founding software engineer to leading our digital platforms and marketing work.
Turns out her Cat & Cloud story started way before her start date. She was a barista at Verve Coffee back in the mid-late 2010s, crossed paths with Cat & Cloud and the founding team on opening day and then consistently throughout the early years, and went on to spend seven-plus years building software remotely in Santa Cruz— espresso in hand every single morning. They talk about what pulled her out of tech, what Cat & Cloud and SCA in San Diego look like through fresh eyes, and the parallels and differences between two industries that attract different crowds for different reasons.
A candid conversation about what it actually feels like to take the leap from a career you're great at into one that's been present all along.
Podcast Info and Contact: www.catandcloud.com/podcast 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/ 
Webstore: www.catandcloud.com/ 
Roasters Choice Subscription: www.catandcloud.com/collections/subscriptions 
Wholesale Partners: Interested in serving our coffee at your business? Learn more about our Partner Program https://catandcloud.com/wholesale
Cat & Cloud Coffee was founded in 2016 by three friends who believe experiences and connections shape our lives. Former barista champions and lifelong coffee professionals, they envisioned a better way to do business and set out to create a values-driven organization that put culture first.
Our mission is to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences. Whether it's with guests in our 4 retail locations in Santa Cruz, our team members, or our wholesale partners across the country, we strive to leave everyone better than we found them. The Cat & Cloud Podcast is a space for us to share our experiences and adventures in coffee and business in hopes of inspiring more people to create culture and values-driven organizations.
Hosted by Chris Baca and Jared Truby

Cat & Cloud Podcast 
Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com
Interview with Chris Baca: 10 Years of Cat & Cloud, Building Culture, and Keeping Specialty Coffee Accessible
Reflecting on nearing Cat & Cloud’s 10-year milestone, Chris Baca emphasizes valuing day-to-day progress over anniversaries while acknowledging the achievement of surviving a life in small business and growing from a single store with eight team members to four cafes and over 100 staff, plus a brand in good standing. He recalls early DIY demolition at the Portola location and clarifies the timeline: pop-ups began in 2015 and the first store opened September 30, 2016. They discuss sustaining community choice through hospitality, evolving menus, and staples like the breakfast burrito, plus Chris’s YouTube origins as pushback against pretentious specialty coffee. Chris also highlights the messy reality of small business, the importance of key leaders, career risks during growth, and the belief that great people and culture can be developed anywhere.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:27 Ten Year Reflections
05:05 Early Days Portola Build
08:06 Staying Relevant Locally
13:00 Service Culture Over Marketing
17:33 Burrito Staple Stats
18:53 YouTube Coffee Encounters
20:24 Anti Pretension Coffee
22:22 Simplify The Craft
23:06 Teaching Style Strength
24:37 Ten Year Reflection
25:20 Small Business Chaos
27:20 Key People Grit
31:01 Careers Trust Scale
34:57 Verve Expansion Lesson
36:42 Family Responsibility Shift
39:03 Cat And Cloud Future
41:29 Great People Everywhere
43:43 Podcast Sharing Wrap

Podcast Info and Contact: www.catandcloud.com/podcast 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/ 
Webstore: Want Coffee? Want cool schwag?!  www.catandcloud.com/ 
Roasters Choice Subscription www.catandcloud.com/collections/subscriptions 
Wholesale Partners! Interested in serving our coffee at your business? Learn more about our Partner Program https://catandcloud.com/wholesale

Cat & Cloud Coffee was founded in 2016 by three friends who believe experiences and connections shape our lives. Former barista champions and lifelong coffee professionals, they envisioned a better way to do business and set out to create a values-driven organization that put culture first.
Our mission is to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences. Whether it's with guests in our 4 retail locations in Santa Cruz, our team members, or our wholesale partners across the country, we strive to leave everyone better than we found them. The Cat & Cloud Podcast is a space for us to share our experiences and adventures in coffee and business in hopes of inspiring more people to create culture and values-driven organizations.
Hosted by Chris Baca and Jared Truby 
Produced by Casey Ryan July 2026

Podcast Info and Contact: www.catandcloud.com/podcast 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/ 
Webstore: www.catandcloud.com/ 
Roasters Choice Subscription: www.catandcloud.com/collections/subscriptions 
Wholesale Partners: Interested in serving our coffee at your business? Learn more about our Partner Program https://catandcloud.com/wholesale
Cat & Cloud Coffee was founded in 2016 by three friends who believe experiences and connections shape our lives. Former barista champions and lifelong coffee professionals, they envisioned a better way to do business and set out to create a values-driven organization that put culture first.
Our mission is to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences. Whether it's with guests in our 4 retail locations in Santa Cruz, our team members, or our wholesale partners across the country, we strive to leave everyone better than we found them. The Cat & Cloud Podcast is a space for us to share our experiences and adventures in coffee and business in hopes of inspiring more people to create culture and values-driven organizations.
Hosted by Chris Baca and Jared Truby