Several years ago, Ofo was one of the most popular companies in Singapore offering bicycle-sharing services.
Although Ofo eventually ceased operations in 2018, its founder — Mr Dai Wei — did not give up hope. After four years, Mr Dai made a comeback in New York, setting up his own coffee chain — About Time Coffee.
Source: @abouttime.coffee on Instagram
With their signature boba coffee growing in popularity, Mr Dai Wei hopes that About Time Coffee will not face the same fate as Ofo.
Founded in 2014, Ofo was once a successful firm, with investors pumping billions of dollars into the bicycle-sharing company.
Unfortunately, in 2018, Ofo ceased operations due to a lack of funds.
Source: Yandex
However, this did not stop Mr Dai Wei from making a comeback. Despite his previous failure, Mr Dai Wei managed to gain enough funding from previous investors who had backed him up for Ofo before.
This enabled him to propel About Time Coffee, a New York-based coffee chain founded in 2022.
Mr Dai Wei is only a minority shareholder of the company and is not involved in the coffee chain’s day-to-day operations.
However, according to ST, About Time Coffee chief executive Marian Chen noted that “He is the one who glued us together.”
Following a similar business model to the Chinese company Luckin Coffee, their operations are highly technology-driven.
According to Yicai Global, About Time Coffee manages orders and payments via a mobile app. ST also reported that they use the data from the mobile app to “tailor discounts and coupons” for customers.
About Time Coffee is reportedly known for its canned iced boba coffee, which costs at US$4 (S$5.36) — priced more affordably than other coffee chains like Starbucks.
At the time of this article, the US boba milk tea market is valued at US$640 million (S$858 million) and is expected to grow to US$2.2 billion (US$2.95 billion)
Source: @abouttime.coffee on Instagram
It’s heartening to see Mr Dai persevering in spite of his past failures. Let’s hope he learned a thing or two from his Ofo venture and will put them into practice when it comes to managing About Time Coffee.
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Featured image adapted from cnBETA & @abouttime.coffee on Instagram.
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