Bosses of the Boba Business: Inside the Minds of Ralph & Malyn
Welcome back to another episode of Pochi Bubble Tea’s Spill the Tea!
On this episode, the tables have been TURNED as Ralph and Malyn take a step back from their usual interviewing positions and have instead turned into the interviewees! With two familiar faces – Megan and Sai – taking the wheel on interviewing the pair, we are able to step into the shoes of what it really takes to run a bubble tea business, and find out some behind the scenes details of Ralph and Malyn’s roles. From their initial emergence into the world of boba, to shaping the work experience of a younger generation, and of course, maintaining their marriage on top of it all, join us as Ralph and Malyn spill all the tea on their lives at Pochi!
Pictured Above: Co-owners Arthur, Malyn, and Ralph
Why Boba?
With a long-time love for bubble tea and being customers of Pochi themselves, Ralph and Malyn’s transition to owning a boba business of their own has felt like fate from the start. In fact, did you know Ralph’s first time trying bubble tea was at Pochi? It’s almost like it was meant to be! Going into the bubble tea industry isn’t exactly a career one dreams of from childhood, but Ralph and Malyn aren’t ones to stick to tradition! The draw of Pochi, for them, came from the unconventional, and unique model of the company itself: expanding outside the world of “traditional” bubble tea and instead offering drinks that “go against the grain”. For our two owners, the prospect of going into the business world was also something that felt natural to them. As Malyn was always surrounded with business minded individuals growing up, she feels that it was only a matter of time she followed in their footsteps. For Ralph, with his start in teaching martial arts, he shares how he enjoys the mentoring and growth aspect of building a company, as coaching and building community was already something he was familiar with.
Bubble Tea as a “Trend”
Although Pochi has become a veteran spot for all bubble tea lovers over the years, it isn’t hard to notice the amount of new boba shops constantly popping up around the area. With similar businesses all around them, Megan and Sai ask our business owners about what sets Pochi apart from the rest. Our owners share that Pochi is unique in that it focuses more on people than profits, and how saying “why not?” is more valuable than sticking with “no”. In this way, Pochi is able to provide products that are personalized to each customer’s taste, and are not afraid to experiment to create the perfect drink for any individual. By going beyond boundaries and tradition, Pochi also is able to live out its core values: “the team is family, the customers are family, and we take care of family”. With the expansion of new stores and the extension of their brand, Ralph and Malyn share how Pochi strives to expand the culture of their stores along with every new location, and that their ultimate goal is to share the values that have made the company so successful in the first place.
“In order to move the needle, you have to do something very different”
Working with a Younger Demographic
When stepping into any Pochi location, you may notice that the staff is made up almost entirely of teenagers and young adults. For Ralph and Malyn, working with a younger demographic has always felt like second nature to them, as they both have backgrounds in coaching martial arts (Ralph) and dance (Malyn). With their mentorship, the pair are able to shape the work experience of many first-time employees in the workforce, and have found that younger people are much more willing to adapt and grow with the company as they have had little experience with a job before. Unlike older employees that might be a bit stuck in their ways, a younger team has proven to respond well to change and are excited to grow their skills in the workforce. What employees have come to find out while working at Pochi is that there is so much more to the job than “just making boba”. Alongside making boba, crew members are able to learn leadership skills, responsibility, and confidence while working at Pochi, and can use these skills to translate into their future careers.
Business and Marriage
For any business owner, working with partners and collaborators can sometimes feel like a struggle to see eye-to-eye. Now imagine if your colleague was also your husband or wife! As Ralph shares, it can sometimes be uncomfortable to have difficult conversations about what needs to be executed at work with Malyn, as the line between being direct and empathy becomes blurred. But, as the pair shares, it is important to realize that feedback from either side shouldn’t be taken personally, and instead, just a means to keep the business on its feet. At the end of the day, they are still husband and wife, and our owners feel secure in their position as both partners at home and at work. Now, some of you may be wondering: how do they keep a healthy work life balance? As our hosts Megan and Sai pose the question, Ralph and Malyn share how they don’t put the expectation to keep the two separated, as their work has become a huge part of their lives. Working together every day, it’s only natural that some conversations regarding their work trickle into their lives at home, and for them, they are perfectly accepting of it.
