I was Blank Street’s first employee. I almost said no to the drink that changed the company.

Jai Lott , 41, began working in the coffee industry as a teenager in Australia before moving to the US and joining the coffee chain Bluestone Lane. He later became Blank Street’s first employee. After recently leaving Blank Street to move back to Australia, Lott reflected on some of the things he learned while helping grow the coffee chain, which now has more than 100 locations globally. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.

In my career, I’ve been responsible for as many mistakes as good moves. The good moves, they 100x the bad ones, and the bad ones were always learning points. They were never one-way doors, which was good.

M…

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