Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed James Green.
Purpose of the Interview
The interview aimed to showcase James Green’s entrepreneurial journey as the founder of KyuTeaCo (Kyushu Tea Company), a premium tea brand focused on curating authentic Japanese tea experiences. It highlighted his unique position as an African-American entrepreneur bridging cultures, his passion for tea, and his mission to educate consumers about tea’s health benefits and heritage.
Key Takeaways
-
Background & Inspiration
- James Green grew up in Atlanta, studied international business and Japanese, and lived in Japan for five years.
- His passion for tea began during a high school exchange program in Fukuoka, Japan, and deepened through cultural immersion.
-
Business Model
- KyuTeaCo partners with eight small, organic tea-growing families in Kyushu, Japan.
- Direct-to-consumer and B2B approach: e-commerce platform launching soon, plus partnerships with cafes.
- Simplified supply chain: Farmers → Kuti Co → Customer (eliminates middlemen, ensures fair pay for farmers).
-
Mission & Differentiation
- Focus on storytelling and cultural connection, not just selling tea.
- Educates consumers on tea’s health benefits (e.g., reducing hypertension and diabetes risks).
- Premium curated experience vs. mass-market tea brands.
-
Challenges & Lessons
- Kickstarter campaign failed due to lack of collaborators and marketing reach.
- Learned importance of storytelling and emotional connection for crowdfunding success.
-
Social Impact
- “11% for Good” Program: 11% of every sale goes to sustainability efforts for Japanese tea farming.
- Name significance: “11” in Japanese sounds like “ii,” meaning “good.”
-
Future Plans
- Launching e-commerce in January.
- Exploring subscription models and virtual tea tastings.
- Goal: Build a brand that consumers care about through cultural education and premium experiences.
Notable Quotes
-
On launching a business:
“I’m learning now more than anything, just launch it. Just go. You’ll build it brick by brick, day by day.” -
On cultural connection:
“We’re not just selling tea; we’re telling the stories of Kyushu and these families. It’s about legacy and sustainability.” -
On social impact:
“Every bag of tea someone buys, 11% goes toward rehabilitating the Japanese tea industry. We’re investing in their futures.” -
On entrepreneurship:
“Anybody can sell a product. What we’re doing is creating an experience and educating people about the culture behind it.”
#SHMS #STRAW #BEST
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Rashan McDonald host this weekly Money Making Conversation
Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this show provides
offer everyone. It's time to start reading other people's success
stories and start living your own. If you want to
be a guest on my show, Money Making Conversations Master Class,
please visit our website, Moneymakingconversations dot com and click to
(00:20):
be a guest. But if you're a small business owner, entrepreneur,
motivational speaker, influencer, or nonprofit I want you on my show.
My guest is the founder and owner of qt Co.
It was formed not just to share exceptional teas, but
to offer an experience, a connection to the rich history, culture,
and health benefits of tea. At qt co, they're crafting
(00:43):
more than t They're curating an experience that connects you
to curation your soul, culture and craftsmanships. Please welcome to
the Money Making Conversation master Class. The one and Only
He's from North Atlanta made his way to Japan.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
James Green. How you doing, James?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
I'm doing well in yourself for so well? You know.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I You know, first of all, I got an upfront teller.
My wife is a phenomenal tea drinker, not just an
average a phenomenal tea drinker. If she doesn't have our tea,
I don't have the same woman I woke up with.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Okay during the day, I was just gonna let you
know upfront.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So I am very excited to talk to a curator
of teas and also a young man who's African America.
Because we're so often stereotyped in lanes of entrepreneurship. Tell
us a little background about you before we get into
qt CO.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Yes, sir, so, my name is James Green. I am
the founder and chief curator of Qsha Tea Company, also
known as qt CO. I grew up in Atlanta, originally
from Atlanta, Georgia. I went to the University of Georgia
study international business in Japanese. I lived in Japan for
a period of my life roughly five years, and my family,
(01:59):
much of my family and still back home in the
Atlanta area. For me, tea has been a part of
my life growing up. You know, you grow up in
the South, so you get used to drinking sweet tea
and different things like that. And my pivot point came
when I was a senior in high school, and there
was an exchange program between Atlanta and Fukuoka, their sister cities,
(02:20):
and a young man came there with my family, and
in turn, I went and stayed with his family in
that summer and it was just one of the most
amazing life changing experiences of my life. And we'll talk
more about that here, but that's just a little bit
about me.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Well, I think that's important because one thing that we
always complain about is that it seems like English is
kind of like the international language, but when you get
to America, all we know is English. Right, So I'm
assuming spending five years in Japan you are.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Bilingual, yes, sir, Yes, sir.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Cool. But they always say learn the language young because
as you get older, the difficulty and you know, people
get they know they didn't want to use it, they
just go back to their natural language. So talk about
that transition here, because Kirti Coal is important because you're
branding your name to a heritage brand.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
But also, yes, you mentioned sweet Tea, which.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
We all grew up on, and we're not talking with it,
and you're not pushing sweet Tea on his phone.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
On this call. This is not about sweet Tea. Y'all
going over to barbecue.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Going over there gets you some barbecue at your grandma's house,
going to just dumping a whole barrel of sugar in
some yellow water.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
No, this is not what we're talking about.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
We're talking about curated tea that can be medicinal in
certain instance.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Yes, sir, yes, sir. No, So let's let's let's let's
start at the beginning.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Right.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
So you mentioned, you know, being bilingual in different things,
and you're totally right. I mean, as you get older,
it gets it gets harder to to to grasp it
in many cases. So I was fortunate because when I
went into the university it was my minor so my
junior year I studied in Japan for a year I
lived over there, and then after that it's like I
want to go back. I want to really get immerged,
I want to really learn. And I've been very fortunate
(04:06):
to work in organizations and where I was able to
use my Japanese consistently, and now after forming qt COO,
I still get to use my Japanese as well. And
you're right, it's not this isn't the sweet tea that
you and I know, the sweet tea that I grew
up with your grandmother's sweet tea. You know, it is
still tea at its base, and we're we're qt CO
(04:27):
is all about curating and really bringing that premium experience forward.
Right So for a lot of people, all they know
is like black tea or we'll just say sweet tea.
But there's way more to it than that, right, you
got your green tea, you got Oolong tea. You you you.
Black tea is a part of that as well. But
we're really focused on storytelling, you know, really bringing forward
(04:49):
this this this this region of Japan that you don't
often get exposed to. You don't often hear about a lot,
and it's a region that's very close to my heart,
a place that I spent a lot of time and
these are farmer through that we spend a lot of
time with side across from. So we're excited to be
bringing their products, you know, these small backs, organic, organically
grown and and and created Teed's forward to a North
(05:10):
American market.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Okay, cool, So let me ask you this where you
based right now?
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Currently, I'm based we are based here in Wisconsin. But
at the end of the day, I mean we're we're
we're we're focused on the North American market. So our farmers,
we are a partnering with eight families right now in
in q Shu, Japan, Okay, and they sent to US
and we go from there.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
So basically, and how did this business model come to you, James?
You know, because you because let me just lay the groundwork.
You know, he's an African American young man. Traditional sweet
tea that we all get backyard barbecues and free unlimited
tea type though this is not unlimited tea.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
This is curated tea.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
And I say that because of the fact that you
are I saw a business model, and I always admire
people that go beyond and see something that everybody to
see on a regular basis, all participated in regular bations.
You say, hey, I could do I can make this
a business. How did that light bulb pop in your
head to develop QD Co, which is now based in Madison, Wisconsin. Correct,
(06:21):
And you still have the relationship back in Japan.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Certainly, Certainly that's a great question for Sean. So the
idea first came to me several years ago and I
was living in Japan getting ready to come back to
the US. I first had it back then and I
didn't act on it, and that was one of those things,
just a failure to launch right. And a lot of
times people feel they need a full on plan to
launch something. But I'm learning now more than anything, just
(06:44):
launch it. Just go. You know, you'll build it, break
by brick, day by day. And it was roughly about
It was back in February of this year. Actually, I
was I was gifted some tea from one of our families,
and it just awoken in me this sense of what
are you doing? You like this stuff so much, you
can speak to the stuff so much, why aren't you
sharing it with more people. My family knows my pension
(07:05):
for for for for Japanese team, for green tea, you
name it. And you know that I'm a big advocate
for for you know, being healthy and different things because
these are kind of things like hypertension, diabetes that disproportionately
affect our communities, right black and brow communities.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
And here is.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Something that I can speak to. Here is a region
that I can that I can share, And it just
made sense, and it's like, you need to you need
to bring this forward. You're very passionate about this. Here's
your niche. You know you are you are an African
American man, a black man in this space? This is
something that you can bring forward. You're bilingual in Japanese,
(07:39):
you can speak about tea in both languages, and you
lived in an area that has a very rich t
t U culture. So it just it just all came
together in this moment, and it's the building block started
forming from there.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Talk about the origin of t for me, yes, or
you know why and when?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
The origin of tea? So great questions. So tea really
is aside from water. I mean, tea has a longer
history than than coffee, right, So traditionally in your Asian cultures,
I mean it's been consumed for millennia, made popular in China.
It all comes from the same plant. The plant is
(08:25):
called Camellia synisis. And then you've got essentially two types
of Camelias nisis. You've got what's called the Assam tea
and you've got your Chinese tea. So much of what
we drink comes from these two, these two variations, if
you will, So much of your black tea is going
(08:47):
to be like your Assam tea, and then much of
your green tea and some of your others is going
to be from the Chinese tea leave so for well
over a thousand, for well over millennia. Now, I mean
we have enjoyed tea. And in these communities where they
enjoy where they drink tea or consume tea in green
tea form, you know, like without without oxidation. In many
cases they they have the benefits often of they live longer,
(09:11):
live more robust lifestyles, different things like that. Then, of course,
by the time you bring it over to the Western world, oftentimes,
you know, things get added to it, like in many
cases sugar sweet tea, you name it. It's still it's
still a great beverage. But part of Qdcoa's mission is
to really educate people on I know you love your
sweet tea, but now we want to introduce you and
(09:34):
bring you a loan to more. And there's a lot
more out there. Right now, you like what we sent
you with some macha from one of our farmers. Macha
is going through a boom right now. You know, Macha
is a big thing. You can't walk into a coffee
cafe or even a tea cafe without seeing macha laatee.
But what we're looking to do more than anything is
(09:54):
through storytelling really bring people along for the journey to say, hey,
I'm glad you like Maya, I'm glad you like your
sweet Tea. But let me tell you more about what
other teas are out there.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
But let's talk about you and the platform and the
funding and the Kickstarter and what exactly you trying to do.
Is your business up and running? All your business is
in the trying to scale?
Speaker 3 (10:20):
That's a great question. So we are up and running
right now and we are going live from next month,
matter of fact. So our focus right now is just
on going to market. So we started partnering already with
local cafes, you know, local area, local.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Cafes you talk about in the Madison area. Are you
trying to get to the side.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
All around Wisconsin currently? But we are branching out, so
we're focusing starting first here right now with just a
three person operation. Right so, we've got one colleague in
Japan and then summer of myself. So right now, it's
just we're still in that bootstrap mode and it's still
boots on the ground as we continue to scale the operation.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
So how do you introduce it? How does that work?
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Because you know this is money making conversations masterclids. I
bring it on entrepreneurs or established entrepreneurs or small business
owners on this show to give people a sense of
this is how I'm doing it, and hopefully they here
and go, wow, that's how he's doing I would never
thought of that. So this is almost like knocking on
the doors introducing your product. Now, Yes, sir, what is
(11:21):
the plan of operation? And who do you select or
how do you select the doors you're gonna knock on?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Great question. So we're focused on a two prong approach
for Sean. I'm glad you asked that. We're focused on
a two prong approach, direct to customer and then directed
business B two B and a B two C approach.
Our e commerce site is about to go live in January,
so that's going to take us right to that B
two C, that director customer, and from a B to
B standpoint, we are. We are knocking on doors, we
(11:47):
are going into different business. We're picking up the phones,
cold calling, you know, getting in front of business owners
to say, hey, I get that you you right now
are invested in t or I get right now that
you're invested in you know, bringing macholattes different things like that,
this is who we are, this is our market model,
and this is what we can do for you. So
we are bringing along, you know, kind of these Onesie
(12:09):
Tuesdies right now to say this is who we are.
Give us a shot. You know, we have a lot
to prove, and our business model is unique in that
we we're not trying to be all things to all people. Right,
there are going to be some businesses out there that
won't fit the model that we're after because we want to.
We are presenting a premium experience, a curated experience. So
(12:29):
an owner who is invested in their business to say, hey,
I'm selling tea, but I want to sell I want
to sell tea better. I want I want to introduce
my clientele to to a premium experience and you can
help me do that. So we're not we're not going
to be a big distributor, like I said, or all
things to all people. I've sat across from cafe owners
(12:50):
who are like, yeah, I currently order my t off
of Amazon. I'm like, wait, what what are your off
of Amazon? So we also are doing our due diligence
to make sure that whenever we're recording a potential potential client,
who owns a who owns a store, who owns a cafe,
or whatnot. They also fit our business model right because
they're a representation of.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Us as well.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to Money Making Conversations
master Class hosted by me Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversation
master Class continues online and Moneymaking Conversations dot com and
(13:31):
follow Money Making Conversations master Class on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Now you launched a Kickstarter program campaign, I should say,
why did you do that?
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Great question? So we launched a kickstarter because you know,
venture capitalism, when it comes to to black startups in particular,
the numbers don't lie. They're very low. Success rate is
very low. So we wanted to go to market and say,
oh hey, can we go to the public to to
to secure some buy in, to see to see what
(14:06):
the feedback is like. And that's what we did. The
lesson learned from that was at the end of the day,
taking on too much, maybe too soon, not bringing in
enough collaborators, and so that was something because we didn't
hit our Kickstarter. We're still moving forward, but realizing early
on that we need more collaborators and we need to
get the word out to more people. And so that
(14:27):
was one of the main one of the main takeaways.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Well, this is the story.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
And like I said, that's why you're on the show
is to tell your story. You know, Yes, QD code
name sounds good. Everybody got that idea what Tea is.
But he is a passion to you. And so that's
a different conversation. And sometimes when people are passionate about something,
can they tell that story that it engages other people
(14:51):
to want to participate as a buyer or consumer.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
That's what we are right now. You know.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
If you don't have that implemented, then a kickstarter is
just gonna be what it is. You're gonna get kicked
to the rocks and kick to the curt you know
what I'm saying, Because that's how it works, you know.
And people do things or do these campaigns or go
fund me. It's all tied to emotion, James. And so
if people can't imagine an experience, and people can't understand
(15:21):
the value of a situation or be relatable to you,
your storage is very interesting from a standpoint of a
black young man going to Japan, it's been roughly five
years there and becoming a consumer, being accepted because there
are so many stereotypes of what Japan looks like, you know,
very tight, very small, very inconvenienced in some ways, and
(15:43):
it doesn't look like in the Atlanta city where they
have parks. So with that being said, educate us about
what Japan looks like and some of the stereotypes that
you had to kind of like debunk when people talk
about Japan, especially from a black African American man going
over there.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
Yes, sir, so you know, it's it's it's it's as
many people imagine, very traditional, steeped in a lot of history. Right.
So you you've got I think when most people think
of Japan, at least when I was, when I was
growing up, when I was younger, it was you thought
of samurai culture, you thought of you know, or in
many cases now people think of animation, right, anime, different
things like that, and and those things are still relatively prevalent.
(16:27):
And Japan is is is a country in flux right now.
You know, it's it's it's a country that I think
is is it's kind of struggling with this identity because
you've got a couple of different things that are that
are going on right now, and chief among them is
the population is on the decline. People young men aren't,
aren't aren't feeling very confident about you know, work situations,
(16:49):
work outcomes and different things, and you're getting less people
getting married and less people appropriating, and that's resulting in
justice ongoing decline. Now we're seeing that also in the
tea market, in the Japanese team market, because your average
farmer is well into his seventies and many of them,
like some of our families, don't have that next generation
that pass down to. So it's a it's a sad situation.
(17:12):
And we'll get to something that we also have, uh
that we've also developed here call eleven percent for good.
But it's a sad situation right now that's kind of
playing out in Japan, and it's playing not in real time.
But Japan is a very rich country when it comes
to it's it's it's history and and and it's it's
it's an ecosystem and I was very fortunate to be
(17:34):
a part of that as a black man. I mean,
I will say you know, going to school there my
junior year of college back in two thousand and then
living in a very small town. You know, you you
people have certain they have certain expectations, or they have
certain you know, uh thinking if you will one of
(17:54):
the things. More than but more than anything, what I
realized is people are just curious, right. They wanted they
wanted to under you know, and after you started to
talk to them, and after they started to get to
know you, then it was like, oh, okay, so you're
a little different from the images that I've been presented
for for so long. And now you kind of move
away from you yourself as a minority being guarded to
(18:17):
you yourself now becoming that ambassador, right, ambassador for your culture,
ambassador for your people, you name it. So I was
very fortunate in that instance because a lot of people
gave me a chance. A lot of people gave me
a chance.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Well, you know the interesting thing about when you're telling
your story, Let's go back to the kickstarter because I've
never done a kickstarter, and just for my audience to
be educated on it. Sure, how does one who contribute money.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Do they get it back? Do they get a percentage
of your business?
Speaker 3 (18:50):
How does that work, Rashaun, I tell you I never
did it. We never did a kickstarter either. It was
one of these head scratches, but it's like, hey, we
keep moving, we keep building this thing brick by brick.
So the way that the crowdfunding kickstarting typically works is
individuals the public they pledge, right, So in the case
of QD code, we go out there, we share a video,
(19:10):
this is who we are, this is what we're doing,
and then it kind of gets pushed out. So you
as as as as as John Doak and I'll go
out there and say, Okay, I believe in what's going
on here. I'm going to pledge twenty five dollars. I'm
going to pledge two hundred and fifty dollars. And it's
with kicks started, with crowdfunding, or at least kickstart in particular,
it's all or nothing. You either hit your your goal
(19:31):
and get the pledged amount or you you you you
don't hit your goal and the pledged amount goes back
to back to the potent fund these yes, sir, yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Good.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
So from that standpoint, I mean again with us not
having any experience, you know, and going and just really
putting ourselves out there and being vulnerable with it. It
was it was quite a quick lesson learned. It was
quite a quick lesson learn But that's typically how it works.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Well, let me ask you this tea, just asking questions.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
I know you're a man. What's consoling? I know this
is a tremendously cold period that exists Wisconsin right now.
She probably starts in August and doesn't end till me.
Are you a type of brand that's gonna be in
like little flea markets or a little weekend shops so
people can sample your brand of tea. Because my whole
(20:27):
thing is that I know my wife. We go to
the restaurant, they bring a little box of tea out there.
She knows exactly what she wants. I want this. The
water has to be super hot. She's not happy if
it's not super hot. And then she's a happy person
after she's gotten everything that she wants. Sure, So I
(20:47):
as a business person, I'm just I'm a consumer, but
I'm also a businessman, and I'm also a person always
looking for opportunities to invest in something, whether I know
or not.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
But I can.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
See the opportunity because with this audience, this audience.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
This could be really really good. We can make money.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
How do you make money as a tea distributor? Is
this a can you be the Elon Musk of teas?
James Gray, I'm.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Trying to figure out what's going on? Man? You just
want to pay your rent? What's going on here?
Speaker 3 (21:21):
No? So so at the end of the day, more
than anything, what we what we're looking to do. I mean,
you can anybody can sell your product, right, anybody can
sell your product. Anybody can sell can sell tea at
a fraction of the price that will sell it to
you for more than anything. What we're doing is, in
our case, we are telling the stories of QSU. We
are telling the stories of these families, these small batch
(21:43):
artisans that we work with eight yes, sir, currently eight
yes sir. So we are telling their stories. I mean,
these are generational legacies and different things, and we are
working with them to pass on that legacy. Now, where
you'll find us You'll find us on our on our
website qdco dot com. Additionally, you can find us in
your local cafe uh and as well as when it
(22:06):
comes to storefronts. Of course, we're going to be very
We're going to be very open to who who we
work with when it comes to me to storefronts and whatnot,
because it's a very purposeful mission for us, Like you said,
I'm very passionate about it. I mean I can speak
all day and then do it in two languages to
tea and for us, we're not We're not out there
trying to compete with like a lipting or you know,
(22:27):
different things like that, because at the end of the day,
what the experience that we're looking for our audience to
have is, I can I know where my tea is
coming from. I know, I know, I know some of
the history behind it, I know the family that's behind it.
I know exactly where it's coming from. And that's something
that a lot of other companies out there they can't
really speak to, right. They buy from big distributors, they
(22:48):
buy from big wholesalers, and then they just they start
blending in different things, so you don't really have that consistency,
whereas in our case, we are focused on the storytelling.
We are focused on on and back, and we are
focused on giving people that one off experience that that
they can now take back to their communities and be like, hey, listen.
I just I just had a one on one virtual
(23:10):
T tasting with this young man. I didn't know that
there was as much the tea. I didn't know about
all these these these additional health benefits and different things
like that. So that's that's one of the big biggest
things for us as well, is to really bring along
our audience and educate them on the benefits of not
just T but also what QU means to to QDCO
(23:31):
and and and so forth.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Yeah, I'm talking to the founder and on a q
T that's t e A because he's a T distributor
and spent five years in Japan, fell in love, fell
in love with the craft and of teas, the curating
the experience.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So let's talk about that.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Those eight families you mentioned them at the very beginning.
I just brought up that number again. What is the
And you said something about these families the second then
third generations aren't being created because the population of Japan
is not being is not growing. It's decent, right, So
why these eight families? Give me some background on them.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Certainly, why these A families? So you know, you've got
a number of tea growers up and down the country.
We knew for first off that we only were going
to focus on Qsu, right, Japan is just too expansive
a country. I mean, Qsu is uh so there's there
summer and then there's Natsu. Natsu is actually from the
island of qu as Well. I live there extensively, traveled extensively,
(24:34):
so I can speak to these different areas, you know,
like when I'm talking to you about the different teas,
I can talk to you about the Minno Mountains, or
I can talk to you about Cheatahan, you know, where
we source some of our teas from. So these eight families,
these are all families that I've sat across from, have
phone calls with, you know, we've spoken to. These are
all families who are you know, they're they're focused on
organic practices. They're not commercial. Uh they are in many cases, yes, second, third,
(24:59):
four and even fifth generation. And we the these are
the these are the stories that we really want to
bring forward. Right Like, at the end of the day,
much of what you have out there in the market
does come from large commercial farms, and we're like, that's
not our story. You know, that's that that's a successful
business model, but that's not the story that we're that
that is ours. So we want to be very purposeful
(25:21):
about that. So we started with these eight families in
the different regions of Qushu, sat down with them, wanted
to understand, you know what they're also looking to get,
you know, as far as as as far as growth
and development goes, as far as legacy goes, and different
things like that, and some of our content to say, hey,
we we don't want to be we don't need to
be big. We're excited about the opportunity to expand into
(25:43):
North America, but we we we don't need to be
you know, like I said earlier, all things to all people.
So we we We've spoken to these families and sat
down with them, and they're very excited. You know, one
in particular. One in particular is a second generation farm,
the Foodothos, and in their case, they're looking to pass
this on to their sons. But the problem that they're
(26:06):
running into is they the husband and wife, they're like James,
we don't know that we will have something to actually
pass on because the business just isn't there for us
right now. And so that's why they're excited, and we're
excited to be like Hey, when you purchase from us,
you're also continue to like you're also helping to continue
the legacy of farmers like the foodtos.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Okay, cool, Just you know, my whole world is about
marketing and branding. And I hear these a families, I
hear this culture, I hear this tea.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Okay, the thing that I'm missing is why should I care?
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Sure? Sure?
Speaker 1 (26:46):
And that I guess because I hear I hear all this.
You know, I'm this is a business conversation. You know,
it's just about trying to get people not only to
consume your tea, but to care about your tea because
because you brought up in these eight families. So I'm
asking you from a marketing standpoint, how are you going
to get me to care? And I'm not even a
(27:07):
consumer of it, But I can still care because I
can recommend.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
You, see what I'm saying. That's that's how it works.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
People recommend cars, they recommend people live, they recommend food,
they recommend how you dressed, all those things. So a
recommendation is just as powerful as a consumer.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Right.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Okay, So with that being said, I'm asking you because
I think you're close to it.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
In my mind and.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Hearing it because you you know the language, you live,
the culture, you know you you you, you're trying to
convey the culture and the t and the rich history
when you enjoy this t you know where it's coming from.
You have these eight families. Okay, now help me bring
it all together for me, Jamee's because when you go
(27:54):
maybe it's missing in this conversation with you and I
is what are you telling these people when you sit
down with them, who are now willing to put your
tea in their place of business?
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Sure? Sure, certainly so on the one of them, all right,
So traditional supply chain right, farmer grows, the tea sells
to domestic buyer, sells to international importer, sells to distributor,
sells to retailer customer buys. By the time the tea
reaches the customer, the farmer got maybe ten twenty percent
of the retail price, so everyone else took a cut.
Our model, simplified farmer grows. The tea ships a qtico
(28:30):
customer buys. We eliminate three to four middlemen, and that
means our farmers get paid fairly. They keep more value
that they create. We have better margins fewer hands in
the pots, and then also our customers get better prices
or we can invest more inequality. But here's here's what
makes this powerful beyond the margins, and that's this program
(28:50):
that we have called eleven percent for Good. Eleven percent
of every sale goes to our sustainability program. And the
name tells the story. So in Japanese one one is
pronounced e, which means good, so it literally is good
percent for good. So every bag of tea that someone buys,
eleven percent goes toward investing in rehabilitating Japanese tea industry.
(29:13):
So it's not just about you know, better margins. It's
the foundation that makes eleven percent for Good financially viable.
So we're not just buying their tea, we're investing in
their futures. And that, for us, is what real partnership
looks like.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Ra Sean.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
So you said, is the website up, Yes, sir, okay, website.
When you go to the website, what experience are you
offering a person who is curious and a person who
wants to buy tea?
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Oh man, we're offering We're offering a one off experience, right,
And that's something of course, as we grow in scale,
it's going to be is something that we're going to
have to continue to tackle. But right now where we are,
we're offering a one off experience. Individuals can reach out
and they can connect with me personally. I'm James at
qtco dot com. I We're doing virtual ta tastings, we
(30:01):
are doing on site t tastings, different things, so we're
really taking the experience to our audience. But that's some
of the stuff that we're offering to to our people
to say, hey, however, you enjoy your tea. Enjoy your tea,
but here's a bit more about that tea that you're enjoying.
And if they want to learn a little bit more,
I mean, we're willing to bring them along for the
journey of you've got roasted teas, you you've got you've
(30:21):
got your your your your gyilgrol. You know, you've got
all these different variations and now we get to bring
you into we yet to bring you along for that journey.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
Well, that sounds outstanding. That sounds like something that I
want to be a part of. That sounds like something
that I want to, you know, learn more about. So
what is the name of the website.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
QD code dot com, K y U T E A
c O dot com.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Okay and continue, go ahead. And so so now with
that being said.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Mmm, you you in partnership. Basic got partnership with their families.
They are in Japan.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
You're a distributor based in Madison. We'st com. In January
you said you are launching what we.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Are launching our We're launching our e commerce platform. So
now our our website is going to look a little different.
We've actually are finalizing that up right now. Packaging is
finalized on the Japan side, and so we're gonna be
We're gonna be taking orders from next month.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Now can they do that now?
Speaker 3 (31:24):
Right now they cannot, just because we are still in
the process of just the final the final steps, if
you will. But from next month they will be able to.
And the best thing is right now, I mean, if
anyone wants to, they can communicate directly with me, uh
and the rest of the team.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
And we can imagine this question do you have are
you building a fan club membership?
Speaker 3 (31:44):
Uh so, what we're looking at is a subscription model,
if you.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Will say, kind of saying what all I'm saying is
that is that right now.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Basically you have a landing page. Basically, yes, yes, on
that landing.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Page it should be uh uh you know. Click here
for more information.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
Yes, sir, feel like you got that?
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Okay, cool, you got this because when you lunch officially
you got it. You want to send it to somebody
to get them excited and keep building. These people get
their specials. These people get an early premium membership for
those subscriptions and all those things. So yeah, I'm excited
James for you. I'm excited that I'm having this conversation
at such an early stage of your launch. Thank you
for allowing me to tell your story. James Greed the
(32:28):
founder of an owner of q T Co as mean
T T e A. He's a distributor of T for
eight Japanese families and Madison, Wisconsin.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Brother, good luck man, really ready, James Green.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Rashan, I really miss McDonald. Thank you so much for
your time and for anyone listening. If you're interested in
following us again, find us at QT code that's at
k y U T A c O. We love to
interact with you, we love to learn from you. Thank
you so much, sir. We appreciate you very much.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Absolutely thank you.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
This has been money Making Covers Masterclass with me Rashaun McDonald.
Thanks to our guests and our audience. Visit Moneymakingconversations dot
com to listen or register to be a guest on
my show. Keep leading with your gifts, keep winning,
Hi, I'm Rashan McDonald host this weekly Money Making Conversation
Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this show provides
offer everyone. It's time to start reading other people's success
stories and start living your own. If you want to
be a guest on my show, Money Making Conversations Master Class,
please visit our website, Moneymakingconversations dot com and click to
(00:20):
be a guest. But if you're a small business owner, entrepreneur,
motivational speaker, influencer, or nonprofit I want you on my show.
My guest is the founder and owner of qt Co.
It was formed not just to share exceptional teas, but
to offer an experience, a connection to the rich history, culture,
and health benefits of tea. At qt co, they're crafting
(00:43):
more than t They're curating an experience that connects you
to curation your soul, culture and craftsmanships. Please welcome to
the Money Making Conversation master Class. The one and Only
He's from North Atlanta made his way to Japan.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
James Green. How you doing, James?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
I'm doing well in yourself for so well? You know.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I You know, first of all, I got an upfront teller.
My wife is a phenomenal tea drinker, not just an
average a phenomenal tea drinker. If she doesn't have our tea,
I don't have the same woman I woke up with.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Okay during the day, I was just gonna let you
know upfront.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So I am very excited to talk to a curator
of teas and also a young man who's African America.
Because we're so often stereotyped in lanes of entrepreneurship. Tell
us a little background about you before we get into
qt CO.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Yes, sir, so, my name is James Green. I am
the founder and chief curator of Qsha Tea Company, also
known as qt CO. I grew up in Atlanta, originally
from Atlanta, Georgia. I went to the University of Georgia
study international business in Japanese. I lived in Japan for
a period of my life roughly five years, and my family,
(01:59):
much of my family and still back home in the
Atlanta area. For me, tea has been a part of
my life growing up. You know, you grow up in
the South, so you get used to drinking sweet tea
and different things like that. And my pivot point came
when I was a senior in high school, and there
was an exchange program between Atlanta and Fukuoka, their sister cities,
(02:20):
and a young man came there with my family, and
in turn, I went and stayed with his family in
that summer and it was just one of the most
amazing life changing experiences of my life. And we'll talk
more about that here, but that's just a little bit
about me.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Well, I think that's important because one thing that we
always complain about is that it seems like English is
kind of like the international language, but when you get
to America, all we know is English. Right, So I'm
assuming spending five years in Japan you are.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Bilingual, yes, sir, Yes, sir.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Cool. But they always say learn the language young because
as you get older, the difficulty and you know, people
get they know they didn't want to use it, they
just go back to their natural language. So talk about
that transition here, because Kirti Coal is important because you're
branding your name to a heritage brand.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
But also, yes, you mentioned sweet Tea, which.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
We all grew up on, and we're not talking with it,
and you're not pushing sweet Tea on his phone.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
On this call. This is not about sweet Tea. Y'all
going over to barbecue.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Going over there gets you some barbecue at your grandma's house,
going to just dumping a whole barrel of sugar in
some yellow water.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
No, this is not what we're talking about.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
We're talking about curated tea that can be medicinal in
certain instance.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Yes, sir, yes, sir. No, So let's let's let's let's
start at the beginning.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Right.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
So you mentioned, you know, being bilingual in different things,
and you're totally right. I mean, as you get older,
it gets it gets harder to to to grasp it
in many cases. So I was fortunate because when I
went into the university it was my minor so my
junior year I studied in Japan for a year I
lived over there, and then after that it's like I
want to go back. I want to really get immerged,
I want to really learn. And I've been very fortunate
(04:06):
to work in organizations and where I was able to
use my Japanese consistently, and now after forming qt COO,
I still get to use my Japanese as well. And
you're right, it's not this isn't the sweet tea that
you and I know, the sweet tea that I grew
up with your grandmother's sweet tea. You know, it is
still tea at its base, and we're we're qt CO
(04:27):
is all about curating and really bringing that premium experience forward.
Right So for a lot of people, all they know
is like black tea or we'll just say sweet tea.
But there's way more to it than that, right, you
got your green tea, you got Oolong tea. You you you.
Black tea is a part of that as well. But
we're really focused on storytelling, you know, really bringing forward
(04:49):
this this this this region of Japan that you don't
often get exposed to. You don't often hear about a lot,
and it's a region that's very close to my heart,
a place that I spent a lot of time and
these are farmer through that we spend a lot of
time with side across from. So we're excited to be
bringing their products, you know, these small backs, organic, organically
grown and and and created Teed's forward to a North
(05:10):
American market.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Okay, cool, So let me ask you this where you
based right now?
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Currently, I'm based we are based here in Wisconsin. But
at the end of the day, I mean we're we're
we're we're focused on the North American market. So our farmers,
we are a partnering with eight families right now in
in q Shu, Japan, Okay, and they sent to US
and we go from there.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
So basically, and how did this business model come to you, James?
You know, because you because let me just lay the groundwork.
You know, he's an African American young man. Traditional sweet
tea that we all get backyard barbecues and free unlimited
tea type though this is not unlimited tea.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
This is curated tea.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
And I say that because of the fact that you
are I saw a business model, and I always admire
people that go beyond and see something that everybody to
see on a regular basis, all participated in regular bations.
You say, hey, I could do I can make this
a business. How did that light bulb pop in your
head to develop QD Co, which is now based in Madison, Wisconsin. Correct,
(06:21):
And you still have the relationship back in Japan.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Certainly, Certainly that's a great question for Sean. So the
idea first came to me several years ago and I
was living in Japan getting ready to come back to
the US. I first had it back then and I
didn't act on it, and that was one of those things,
just a failure to launch right. And a lot of
times people feel they need a full on plan to
launch something. But I'm learning now more than anything, just
(06:44):
launch it. Just go. You know, you'll build it, break
by brick, day by day. And it was roughly about
It was back in February of this year. Actually, I
was I was gifted some tea from one of our families,
and it just awoken in me this sense of what
are you doing? You like this stuff so much, you
can speak to the stuff so much, why aren't you
sharing it with more people. My family knows my pension
(07:05):
for for for for Japanese team, for green tea, you
name it. And you know that I'm a big advocate
for for you know, being healthy and different things because
these are kind of things like hypertension, diabetes that disproportionately
affect our communities, right black and brow communities.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
And here is.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Something that I can speak to. Here is a region
that I can that I can share, And it just
made sense, and it's like, you need to you need
to bring this forward. You're very passionate about this. Here's
your niche. You know you are you are an African
American man, a black man in this space? This is
something that you can bring forward. You're bilingual in Japanese,
(07:39):
you can speak about tea in both languages, and you
lived in an area that has a very rich t
t U culture. So it just it just all came
together in this moment, and it's the building block started
forming from there.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Talk about the origin of t for me, yes, or
you know why and when?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
The origin of tea? So great questions. So tea really
is aside from water. I mean, tea has a longer
history than than coffee, right, So traditionally in your Asian cultures,
I mean it's been consumed for millennia, made popular in China.
It all comes from the same plant. The plant is
(08:25):
called Camellia synisis. And then you've got essentially two types
of Camelias nisis. You've got what's called the Assam tea
and you've got your Chinese tea. So much of what
we drink comes from these two, these two variations, if
you will, So much of your black tea is going
(08:47):
to be like your Assam tea, and then much of
your green tea and some of your others is going
to be from the Chinese tea leave so for well
over a thousand, for well over millennia. Now, I mean
we have enjoyed tea. And in these communities where they
enjoy where they drink tea or consume tea in green
tea form, you know, like without without oxidation. In many
cases they they have the benefits often of they live longer,
(09:11):
live more robust lifestyles, different things like that. Then, of course,
by the time you bring it over to the Western world, oftentimes,
you know, things get added to it, like in many
cases sugar sweet tea, you name it. It's still it's
still a great beverage. But part of Qdcoa's mission is
to really educate people on I know you love your
sweet tea, but now we want to introduce you and
(09:34):
bring you a loan to more. And there's a lot
more out there. Right now, you like what we sent
you with some macha from one of our farmers. Macha
is going through a boom right now. You know, Macha
is a big thing. You can't walk into a coffee
cafe or even a tea cafe without seeing macha laatee.
But what we're looking to do more than anything is
(09:54):
through storytelling really bring people along for the journey to say, hey,
I'm glad you like Maya, I'm glad you like your
sweet Tea. But let me tell you more about what
other teas are out there.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
But let's talk about you and the platform and the
funding and the Kickstarter and what exactly you trying to do.
Is your business up and running? All your business is
in the trying to scale?
Speaker 3 (10:20):
That's a great question. So we are up and running
right now and we are going live from next month,
matter of fact. So our focus right now is just
on going to market. So we started partnering already with
local cafes, you know, local area, local.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Cafes you talk about in the Madison area. Are you
trying to get to the side.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
All around Wisconsin currently? But we are branching out, so
we're focusing starting first here right now with just a
three person operation. Right so, we've got one colleague in
Japan and then summer of myself. So right now, it's
just we're still in that bootstrap mode and it's still
boots on the ground as we continue to scale the operation.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
So how do you introduce it? How does that work?
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Because you know this is money making conversations masterclids. I
bring it on entrepreneurs or established entrepreneurs or small business
owners on this show to give people a sense of
this is how I'm doing it, and hopefully they here
and go, wow, that's how he's doing I would never
thought of that. So this is almost like knocking on
the doors introducing your product. Now, Yes, sir, what is
(11:21):
the plan of operation? And who do you select or
how do you select the doors you're gonna knock on?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Great question. So we're focused on a two prong approach
for Sean. I'm glad you asked that. We're focused on
a two prong approach, direct to customer and then directed
business B two B and a B two C approach.
Our e commerce site is about to go live in January,
so that's going to take us right to that B
two C, that director customer, and from a B to
B standpoint, we are. We are knocking on doors, we
(11:47):
are going into different business. We're picking up the phones,
cold calling, you know, getting in front of business owners
to say, hey, I get that you you right now
are invested in t or I get right now that
you're invested in you know, bringing macholattes different things like that,
this is who we are, this is our market model,
and this is what we can do for you. So
we are bringing along, you know, kind of these Onesie
(12:09):
Tuesdies right now to say this is who we are.
Give us a shot. You know, we have a lot
to prove, and our business model is unique in that
we we're not trying to be all things to all people. Right,
there are going to be some businesses out there that
won't fit the model that we're after because we want to.
We are presenting a premium experience, a curated experience. So
(12:29):
an owner who is invested in their business to say, hey,
I'm selling tea, but I want to sell I want
to sell tea better. I want I want to introduce
my clientele to to a premium experience and you can
help me do that. So we're not we're not going
to be a big distributor, like I said, or all
things to all people. I've sat across from cafe owners
(12:50):
who are like, yeah, I currently order my t off
of Amazon. I'm like, wait, what what are your off
of Amazon? So we also are doing our due diligence
to make sure that whenever we're recording a potential potential client,
who owns a who owns a store, who owns a cafe,
or whatnot. They also fit our business model right because
they're a representation of.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Us as well.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to Money Making Conversations
master Class hosted by me Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversation
master Class continues online and Moneymaking Conversations dot com and
(13:31):
follow Money Making Conversations master Class on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Now you launched a Kickstarter program campaign, I should say,
why did you do that?
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Great question? So we launched a kickstarter because you know,
venture capitalism, when it comes to to black startups in particular,
the numbers don't lie. They're very low. Success rate is
very low. So we wanted to go to market and say,
oh hey, can we go to the public to to
to secure some buy in, to see to see what
(14:06):
the feedback is like. And that's what we did. The
lesson learned from that was at the end of the day,
taking on too much, maybe too soon, not bringing in
enough collaborators, and so that was something because we didn't
hit our Kickstarter. We're still moving forward, but realizing early
on that we need more collaborators and we need to
get the word out to more people. And so that
(14:27):
was one of the main one of the main takeaways.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Well, this is the story.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
And like I said, that's why you're on the show
is to tell your story. You know, Yes, QD code
name sounds good. Everybody got that idea what Tea is.
But he is a passion to you. And so that's
a different conversation. And sometimes when people are passionate about something,
can they tell that story that it engages other people
(14:51):
to want to participate as a buyer or consumer.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
That's what we are right now. You know.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
If you don't have that implemented, then a kickstarter is
just gonna be what it is. You're gonna get kicked
to the rocks and kick to the curt you know
what I'm saying, Because that's how it works, you know.
And people do things or do these campaigns or go
fund me. It's all tied to emotion, James. And so
if people can't imagine an experience, and people can't understand
(15:21):
the value of a situation or be relatable to you,
your storage is very interesting from a standpoint of a
black young man going to Japan, it's been roughly five
years there and becoming a consumer, being accepted because there
are so many stereotypes of what Japan looks like, you know,
very tight, very small, very inconvenienced in some ways, and
(15:43):
it doesn't look like in the Atlanta city where they
have parks. So with that being said, educate us about
what Japan looks like and some of the stereotypes that
you had to kind of like debunk when people talk
about Japan, especially from a black African American man going
over there.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
Yes, sir, so you know, it's it's it's it's as
many people imagine, very traditional, steeped in a lot of history. Right.
So you you've got I think when most people think
of Japan, at least when I was, when I was
growing up, when I was younger, it was you thought
of samurai culture, you thought of you know, or in
many cases now people think of animation, right, anime, different
things like that, and and those things are still relatively prevalent.
(16:27):
And Japan is is is a country in flux right now.
You know, it's it's it's a country that I think
is is it's kind of struggling with this identity because
you've got a couple of different things that are that
are going on right now, and chief among them is
the population is on the decline. People young men aren't,
aren't aren't feeling very confident about you know, work situations,
(16:49):
work outcomes and different things, and you're getting less people
getting married and less people appropriating, and that's resulting in
justice ongoing decline. Now we're seeing that also in the
tea market, in the Japanese team market, because your average
farmer is well into his seventies and many of them,
like some of our families, don't have that next generation
that pass down to. So it's a it's a sad situation.
(17:12):
And we'll get to something that we also have, uh
that we've also developed here call eleven percent for good.
But it's a sad situation right now that's kind of
playing out in Japan, and it's playing not in real time.
But Japan is a very rich country when it comes
to it's it's it's history and and and it's it's
it's an ecosystem and I was very fortunate to be
(17:34):
a part of that as a black man. I mean,
I will say you know, going to school there my
junior year of college back in two thousand and then
living in a very small town. You know, you you
people have certain they have certain expectations, or they have
certain you know, uh thinking if you will one of
(17:54):
the things. More than but more than anything, what I
realized is people are just curious, right. They wanted they
wanted to under you know, and after you started to
talk to them, and after they started to get to
know you, then it was like, oh, okay, so you're
a little different from the images that I've been presented
for for so long. And now you kind of move
away from you yourself as a minority being guarded to
(18:17):
you yourself now becoming that ambassador, right, ambassador for your culture,
ambassador for your people, you name it. So I was
very fortunate in that instance because a lot of people
gave me a chance. A lot of people gave me
a chance.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Well, you know the interesting thing about when you're telling
your story, Let's go back to the kickstarter because I've
never done a kickstarter, and just for my audience to
be educated on it. Sure, how does one who contribute money.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Do they get it back? Do they get a percentage
of your business?
Speaker 3 (18:50):
How does that work, Rashaun, I tell you I never
did it. We never did a kickstarter either. It was
one of these head scratches, but it's like, hey, we
keep moving, we keep building this thing brick by brick.
So the way that the crowdfunding kickstarting typically works is
individuals the public they pledge, right, So in the case
of QD code, we go out there, we share a video,
(19:10):
this is who we are, this is what we're doing,
and then it kind of gets pushed out. So you
as as as as as John Doak and I'll go
out there and say, Okay, I believe in what's going
on here. I'm going to pledge twenty five dollars. I'm
going to pledge two hundred and fifty dollars. And it's
with kicks started, with crowdfunding, or at least kickstart in particular,
it's all or nothing. You either hit your your goal
(19:31):
and get the pledged amount or you you you you
don't hit your goal and the pledged amount goes back
to back to the potent fund these yes, sir, yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Good.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
So from that standpoint, I mean again with us not
having any experience, you know, and going and just really
putting ourselves out there and being vulnerable with it. It
was it was quite a quick lesson learned. It was
quite a quick lesson learn But that's typically how it works.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Well, let me ask you this tea, just asking questions.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
I know you're a man. What's consoling? I know this
is a tremendously cold period that exists Wisconsin right now.
She probably starts in August and doesn't end till me.
Are you a type of brand that's gonna be in
like little flea markets or a little weekend shops so
people can sample your brand of tea. Because my whole
(20:27):
thing is that I know my wife. We go to
the restaurant, they bring a little box of tea out there.
She knows exactly what she wants. I want this. The
water has to be super hot. She's not happy if
it's not super hot. And then she's a happy person
after she's gotten everything that she wants. Sure, So I
(20:47):
as a business person, I'm just I'm a consumer, but
I'm also a businessman, and I'm also a person always
looking for opportunities to invest in something, whether I know
or not.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
But I can.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
See the opportunity because with this audience, this audience.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
This could be really really good. We can make money.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
How do you make money as a tea distributor? Is
this a can you be the Elon Musk of teas?
James Gray, I'm.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Trying to figure out what's going on? Man? You just
want to pay your rent? What's going on here?
Speaker 3 (21:21):
No? So so at the end of the day, more
than anything, what we what we're looking to do. I mean,
you can anybody can sell your product, right, anybody can
sell your product. Anybody can sell can sell tea at
a fraction of the price that will sell it to
you for more than anything. What we're doing is, in
our case, we are telling the stories of QSU. We
are telling the stories of these families, these small batch
(21:43):
artisans that we work with eight yes, sir, currently eight
yes sir. So we are telling their stories. I mean,
these are generational legacies and different things, and we are
working with them to pass on that legacy. Now, where
you'll find us You'll find us on our on our
website qdco dot com. Additionally, you can find us in
your local cafe uh and as well as when it
(22:06):
comes to storefronts. Of course, we're going to be very
We're going to be very open to who who we
work with when it comes to me to storefronts and whatnot,
because it's a very purposeful mission for us, Like you said,
I'm very passionate about it. I mean I can speak
all day and then do it in two languages to
tea and for us, we're not We're not out there
trying to compete with like a lipting or you know,
(22:27):
different things like that, because at the end of the day,
what the experience that we're looking for our audience to
have is, I can I know where my tea is
coming from. I know, I know, I know some of
the history behind it, I know the family that's behind it.
I know exactly where it's coming from. And that's something
that a lot of other companies out there they can't
really speak to, right. They buy from big distributors, they
(22:48):
buy from big wholesalers, and then they just they start
blending in different things, so you don't really have that consistency,
whereas in our case, we are focused on the storytelling.
We are focused on on and back, and we are
focused on giving people that one off experience that that
they can now take back to their communities and be like, hey, listen.
I just I just had a one on one virtual
(23:10):
T tasting with this young man. I didn't know that
there was as much the tea. I didn't know about
all these these these additional health benefits and different things
like that. So that's that's one of the big biggest
things for us as well, is to really bring along
our audience and educate them on the benefits of not
just T but also what QU means to to QDCO
(23:31):
and and and so forth.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Yeah, I'm talking to the founder and on a q
T that's t e A because he's a T distributor
and spent five years in Japan, fell in love, fell
in love with the craft and of teas, the curating
the experience.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So let's talk about that.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Those eight families you mentioned them at the very beginning.
I just brought up that number again. What is the
And you said something about these families the second then
third generations aren't being created because the population of Japan
is not being is not growing. It's decent, right, So
why these eight families? Give me some background on them.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Certainly, why these A families? So you know, you've got
a number of tea growers up and down the country.
We knew for first off that we only were going
to focus on Qsu, right, Japan is just too expansive
a country. I mean, Qsu is uh so there's there
summer and then there's Natsu. Natsu is actually from the
island of qu as Well. I live there extensively, traveled extensively,
(24:34):
so I can speak to these different areas, you know,
like when I'm talking to you about the different teas,
I can talk to you about the Minno Mountains, or
I can talk to you about Cheatahan, you know, where
we source some of our teas from. So these eight families,
these are all families that I've sat across from, have
phone calls with, you know, we've spoken to. These are
all families who are you know, they're they're focused on
organic practices. They're not commercial. Uh they are in many cases, yes, second, third,
(24:59):
four and even fifth generation. And we the these are
the these are the stories that we really want to
bring forward. Right Like, at the end of the day,
much of what you have out there in the market
does come from large commercial farms, and we're like, that's
not our story. You know, that's that that's a successful
business model, but that's not the story that we're that
that is ours. So we want to be very purposeful
(25:21):
about that. So we started with these eight families in
the different regions of Qushu, sat down with them, wanted
to understand, you know what they're also looking to get,
you know, as far as as as far as growth
and development goes, as far as legacy goes, and different
things like that, and some of our content to say, hey,
we we don't want to be we don't need to
be big. We're excited about the opportunity to expand into
(25:43):
North America, but we we we don't need to be
you know, like I said earlier, all things to all people.
So we we We've spoken to these families and sat
down with them, and they're very excited. You know, one
in particular. One in particular is a second generation farm,
the Foodothos, and in their case, they're looking to pass
this on to their sons. But the problem that they're
(26:06):
running into is they the husband and wife, they're like James,
we don't know that we will have something to actually
pass on because the business just isn't there for us
right now. And so that's why they're excited, and we're
excited to be like Hey, when you purchase from us,
you're also continue to like you're also helping to continue
the legacy of farmers like the foodtos.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Okay, cool, Just you know, my whole world is about
marketing and branding. And I hear these a families, I
hear this culture, I hear this tea.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Okay, the thing that I'm missing is why should I care?
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Sure? Sure?
Speaker 1 (26:46):
And that I guess because I hear I hear all this.
You know, I'm this is a business conversation. You know,
it's just about trying to get people not only to
consume your tea, but to care about your tea because
because you brought up in these eight families. So I'm
asking you from a marketing standpoint, how are you going
to get me to care? And I'm not even a
(27:07):
consumer of it, But I can still care because I
can recommend.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
You, see what I'm saying. That's that's how it works.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
People recommend cars, they recommend people live, they recommend food,
they recommend how you dressed, all those things. So a
recommendation is just as powerful as a consumer.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Right.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Okay, So with that being said, I'm asking you because
I think you're close to it.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
In my mind and.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Hearing it because you you know the language, you live,
the culture, you know you you you, you're trying to
convey the culture and the t and the rich history
when you enjoy this t you know where it's coming from.
You have these eight families. Okay, now help me bring
it all together for me, Jamee's because when you go
(27:54):
maybe it's missing in this conversation with you and I
is what are you telling these people when you sit
down with them, who are now willing to put your
tea in their place of business?
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Sure? Sure, certainly so on the one of them, all right,
So traditional supply chain right, farmer grows, the tea sells
to domestic buyer, sells to international importer, sells to distributor,
sells to retailer customer buys. By the time the tea
reaches the customer, the farmer got maybe ten twenty percent
of the retail price, so everyone else took a cut.
Our model, simplified farmer grows. The tea ships a qtico
(28:30):
customer buys. We eliminate three to four middlemen, and that
means our farmers get paid fairly. They keep more value
that they create. We have better margins fewer hands in
the pots, and then also our customers get better prices
or we can invest more inequality. But here's here's what
makes this powerful beyond the margins, and that's this program
(28:50):
that we have called eleven percent for Good. Eleven percent
of every sale goes to our sustainability program. And the
name tells the story. So in Japanese one one is
pronounced e, which means good, so it literally is good
percent for good. So every bag of tea that someone buys,
eleven percent goes toward investing in rehabilitating Japanese tea industry.
(29:13):
So it's not just about you know, better margins. It's
the foundation that makes eleven percent for Good financially viable.
So we're not just buying their tea, we're investing in
their futures. And that, for us, is what real partnership
looks like.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Ra Sean.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
So you said, is the website up, Yes, sir, okay, website.
When you go to the website, what experience are you
offering a person who is curious and a person who
wants to buy tea?
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Oh man, we're offering We're offering a one off experience, right,
And that's something of course, as we grow in scale,
it's going to be is something that we're going to
have to continue to tackle. But right now where we are,
we're offering a one off experience. Individuals can reach out
and they can connect with me personally. I'm James at
qtco dot com. I We're doing virtual ta tastings, we
(30:01):
are doing on site t tastings, different things, so we're
really taking the experience to our audience. But that's some
of the stuff that we're offering to to our people
to say, hey, however, you enjoy your tea. Enjoy your tea,
but here's a bit more about that tea that you're enjoying.
And if they want to learn a little bit more,
I mean, we're willing to bring them along for the
journey of you've got roasted teas, you you've got you've
(30:21):
got your your your your gyilgrol. You know, you've got
all these different variations and now we get to bring
you into we yet to bring you along for that journey.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
Well, that sounds outstanding. That sounds like something that I
want to be a part of. That sounds like something
that I want to, you know, learn more about. So
what is the name of the website.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
QD code dot com, K y U T E A
c O dot com.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Okay and continue, go ahead. And so so now with
that being said.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Mmm, you you in partnership. Basic got partnership with their families.
They are in Japan.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
You're a distributor based in Madison. We'st com. In January
you said you are launching what we.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Are launching our We're launching our e commerce platform. So
now our our website is going to look a little different.
We've actually are finalizing that up right now. Packaging is
finalized on the Japan side, and so we're gonna be
We're gonna be taking orders from next month.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Now can they do that now?
Speaker 3 (31:24):
Right now they cannot, just because we are still in
the process of just the final the final steps, if
you will. But from next month they will be able to.
And the best thing is right now, I mean, if
anyone wants to, they can communicate directly with me, uh
and the rest of the team.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
And we can imagine this question do you have are
you building a fan club membership?
Speaker 3 (31:44):
Uh so, what we're looking at is a subscription model,
if you.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Will say, kind of saying what all I'm saying is
that is that right now.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Basically you have a landing page. Basically, yes, yes, on
that landing.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Page it should be uh uh you know. Click here
for more information.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
Yes, sir, feel like you got that?
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Okay, cool, you got this because when you lunch officially
you got it. You want to send it to somebody
to get them excited and keep building. These people get
their specials. These people get an early premium membership for
those subscriptions and all those things. So yeah, I'm excited
James for you. I'm excited that I'm having this conversation
at such an early stage of your launch. Thank you
for allowing me to tell your story. James Greed the
(32:28):
founder of an owner of q T Co as mean
T T e A. He's a distributor of T for
eight Japanese families and Madison, Wisconsin.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Brother, good luck man, really ready, James Green.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Rashan, I really miss McDonald. Thank you so much for
your time and for anyone listening. If you're interested in
following us again, find us at QT code that's at
k y U T A c O. We love to
interact with you, we love to learn from you. Thank
you so much, sir. We appreciate you very much.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Absolutely thank you.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
This has been money Making Covers Masterclass with me Rashaun McDonald.
Thanks to our guests and our audience. Visit Moneymakingconversations dot
com to listen or register to be a guest on
my show. Keep leading with your gifts, keep winning,
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