Coffee Project New York has been voted the best coffee shop in New York City by Time Out Magazine, gaining world wide attention within just a few years of opening – but it wasn’t an overnight success.

Chi-Sum Ngai and her partner Kaleena Teoh had no entrepreneurial experience when they decided to start a coffee shop, so when they first opened their doors in September 2015 they had no customers except for a few neighborhood regulars. However, the decisions the couple made in the early days, even before brewing a single cup of coffee, were instrumental in their eventual success.

Hear how they got their start by deciding to go to a coffee conference in Seattle on a whim, building a massive network of coffee experts and influencers that pushed them to open their own shop. We also uncover how they created a differentiated business in a city with thousands of coffee shops, and even dive into the financial details of building a business like this.