Key ideas from Todd Carmichael

• La Colombe started when Todd squatted in JP's closet and refused to leave until he agreed to start the coffee company
• They walked uninvited into Le Bec Fin, the #1 restaurant in America, cleaned their equipment, and walked out with their first account
• Todd jackhammered a hole into a 20-story garbage chute to create ventilation for roasting coffee in their first cafe
• The company escaped a disastrous private equity deal after just 52 days when investors wanted 200 cafes instead of innovation
• Hamdi Ulukaya of Chobani saved La Colombe by buying out the private equity firm and enabling the draft latte innovation
• Todd held the world speed record for trekking to the South Pole on foot, unassisted, documented in a National Geographic film
• JP estimates luck accounts for roughly 50% of La Colombe's success, with hard work being the other half