Tacos and Tech Podcast
Neal Bloom
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Why Hustle Culture Breaks Community
Episode Summary In this episode of Tacos & Tech, Neal Bloom sits down with Juanny Romero, founder and CEO of Mothership Coffee Roasters, for a raw and deeply human conversation about building businesses rooted in belonging—not hustle. Juanny shares her journey from growing up in Queens, leaving New York after 9/11 in search of agency, opening her first café in Las Vegas with no business plan during the Great Recession, and learning math from fifth-grade textbooks to keep the business alive. What started as a single café became Mothership—now an eight-figure company built around community, connection, and purpose. The conversation explores loneliness in modern society, why baristas are “architects of meaning,” and how revenue becomes a byproduct when people feel they belong. Juanny also shares her bold next chapter: slowing down, rejecting hustle culture, and empowering 1,000 women to become millionaires by giving Mothership away like seeds. Key Topics * Failing forward and finding agency * Building community as the real product * Opening during the Great Recession * Learning numbers to trust intuition * Scaling without losing soul * COVID, chaos, and creativity * Belonging as a business advantage * Mentorship, incentives, and boundaries * Redefining success beyond money Links * Mothership Coffee Roasters Connect on LinkedIn * Juanny Romero * Neal Bloom This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe
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