Brothers Norman and Frankie Stark, graduates of classes 2015 and 2016 respectively, along with Ryan Wout have started their own independently owned coffee company. The company launched in October 2023 and sells bags of coffee beans online. The owners want to provide a quality, sustainable coffee that can be trusted by costumers.

“At the end of the day there’s a lot of people who like coffee,” Norman said, “and we wanted to provide an eco-friendly specialty coffee.”

The current platform is through their online website luckybeanroast.com. Using Shopify, the product is sent directly to the customer. The partners saw a growing trend in the push for sustainable agriculture and wanted a company focused on sustainability and specialty.

“We have a passion for this,” Ryan said. “Our mission is to get that trust and gain that transparency down the road.”

The coffee gets its premium description from its extraordinary flavors and exotic origins. The first bag the company produced contained beans grown in volcanically enriched soil, giving it a high quality taste.

“Each cup is an opportunity for consumers to really appreciate the beauty of this craft,” Frankie said. “We want to encourage customers to take a leap of faith with us because it’s not going to be a gimmick.”

The trio hopes to expand their business in the coming years, putting Lucky Bean in stores and across the country. The plan on providing a subscription for customers who want regular deliveries as well. They believe there is lots of room for growth in their market.

“Where do we go from here?” Ryan said. “We can go to the moon.”

Norman and Frankie believe that Prep endowed them with a competitive spirit that is necessary for life as an entrepreneur. They hope their story will serve as motivation for a larger part of the younger generations to make their business ideas into a reality.

“You can do what you’re passionate about and be profitable too, doing what you love,” Norman said.