A great business has to have a conscience. You have to know who you are and who you are not.

Customers must recognize that you stand for something.

We would take something old and tired and common - coffee - and weave a sense of romance and community around it. We would rediscover the mystique and charm that had swirled around coffee throughout the centuries.

I was taken by the power that savoring a simple cup of coffee can have to connect people and create community.

I was born on the other side of the tracks, in public housing in Brooklyn, New York. My dad never made more than $20,000 a year, and I grew up in a family that lost health insurance. So I was scarred at a young age with understanding what it was like to watch my parents lose access to the American dream.

When you're surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.

Great companies are defined by their discipline and their understanding of who they are and who they are not.