Q&A with Pamela Yip of Bubble Tea Club
Bubble Tea Club has made inspiring progress since its launch in 2020. Early on in their journey, co-founders Pamela Yip and Jenny Le joined Atto Accelerator in 2020. The company now has over 30,000 customers and has served over one million bubble teas, as well as raising over AUD$1.6M in a record-breaking equity crowdfunding campaign.
In July 2021, Atto Program Manager Lana Weal interviewed Pam to hear what they’ve been working on and how they reflect on their Atto experience now. Watch the discussion or read the notes below:
During this discussion Pam shares:
How they first started:
“We pretty much launched in 4 days… we needed a source of income and we needed bubble tea.”
Their expectations of the Atto program:
“We were really keen on learning. Applying for the program we were trying to get a lot of exposure for the business, and we knew there was a lot we didn’t know.”
How they approached the Atto application process:
“We just shared our story. We wrote out dot points of what we wanted to cover but when we started we filmed it a few times. I was not thinking too much about it. You can over-plan and overthink and not much actually gets done. It was a matter of starting it and then watching ourselves back.”
What they got out of the Atto program:
“It was very resourceful. Atto put us in front of other businesses and who they recommend in the startup space. So we didn’t expect to be connected to the number of resources that we had.”
Advice for founders starting a business:
“Failure is guaranteed. And it’s more about getting used to it. I think if you’re failing you’re doing something right as you’re making progress. Even when you’ve made as many plans as you could - things never go to plan.”
Advice for founders considering applying to the Atto Accelerator:
“Don’t overthink it… take into consideration what's stopping you. It’s about getting exposure for yourself to more people in the network. Because Atto is really broad, you’re not joining to learn about marketing, you’re learning about every area of business and being connected with the startup community.”
What’s next for Bubble Tea Club?
“We’ve always been fast to make decisions. We’re not afraid to make mistakes. That’s how we launched so quickly. We launched with minimal products and we relied on our customers to tell us what they wanted.”
Video timestamps:
00:00 Intro to Bubble Tea Club & Pamela Yip
01:35 What were some of the first things you did to get started?
02:30 What was your vision for BBTC when you first started? And how did that vision change after Atto?
04:10 What were those things that helped you think bigger as if you’re creating a $10M business?
05:25 What were you thinking you were going to get out of the program when you first applied?
06:05 What was your application like? You and Jenny recorded the 2min video component together - what was that like?
07:30 What else was interesting about the program or how did your perspective change?
09:15 Did you think about funding models before / during / after Atto?
11:22 What’s next for Bubble Tea Club?
13:45 How do you maintain fun in your business working with a friend?
15:30 Do you have advice for founders who are taking things too seriously?
17:25 Do you have advice for founders considering applying to Atto? Or what would you say to yourself back when you were applying to the Accelerator?
18:50 What’s your favourite bubble tea flavour?
19:30 Any tips based on pivoting and creating new products quickly?
21:05 What businesses or business leaders you find inspiring?
22:46 Can you tell us about building your Facebook community?
24:45 Any other comments for founders considering applying to Atto?