We all make choices in our life. Some of them yield good results, while others simply don’t. People begin making choices from the day they become conscious of their existence. Each and every action from that moment forward decides what their life will be like. We build and destroy our destiny on our own through our decisions and actions. One can never tell what the future holds. All we can do is hope that everything will probably be all right and that we wouldn’t regret our choices. Amidst all the decisions and choices comes the moment to decide what to do with our lives. What to make of it. To give in and perish beneath the harsh and cold system or to follow your passions and set ablaze all the chains strapping you to the ground.
While it is true that not all individuals walking this earth have an era-defining idea or unique business plan, each and every individual is, without a doubt, filled with a passion of some kind, it is not always something that ensures capital growth. Still, it is something they love to do nonetheless. If it does make you money, all the better. One such individual is Douglas Weber, who made a choice to leave Apple Inc., the American multinational technology company. The Stanford graduate was a product design lead at Apple, Inc. and played an integral part in the development of the iPod. His most notable patents are the glass display on the iPhone and the oleophobic coatings used therein.
While at Apple, Weber was tasked with moving to Japan and setting up a team of multinational product designers focused on advanced materials and innovative manufacturing technologies across Asia. In no time, his team, comprising material scientists and product designers, spread throughout Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan, with Weber’s patent portfolio, strategic vendor relationships, and several core technologies in its product line still being used by Apple.
While employed at Apple, Weber had begun fostering a passion for coffee. He realized that his newfound passion easily exceeded his excitement of working for a company many people would dream of. Weber left Apple in 2014 and founded a coffee-based brand Weber Workshops, a lifestyle brand Kamakiri Workshop, and later the Kamakiri Coffee chain in Fukuoka, Japan, in 2018. He figured that he could combine his passion and expertise to create something innovative and was determined to introduce something revolutionary to the gourmet coffee industry. Soon, Weber launched his main product, the grinder, which received equal praise from professionals and coffee enthusiasts because of its high degree of precision in aligning powder grains. Due to his passion and determination, Weber created a brand people could trust, and he made money along the way.
Weber currently resides in Itoshima, Japan, and his brand, Weber Workshops, offers a wide range of intelligently designed products aimed at bettering your daily routine. His innovations have landed him a spot in several Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) documentaries in Japan on foreign entrepreneurs, and he has been featured throughout the news media both in Japan and internationally.
Weber launched a crowdfunding campaign for a coffee product – the KEY Coffee Grinder on IndieGogo and Kickstarter in 2021 and subsequently achieved the accolade of the ‘Best New Product Award’ from the Specialty Coffee Association. While for some, leaving a firm like Apple to make and sell machines individually may sound like a childish idea, however, if you have what it takes to make a name for yourself on your own, just like Weber did, it might turn into an opportunity to create not just a brand but a legacy.