In addition to their full-time corporate careers, Simmons School of Management (SOM) graduates Kayla (Humel) Gates ’18 (marketing major) and Steph DeFina ’17 (business and management major) launched Ludlow Coffee Co., a coffee shop offering community events, partnerships with independent businesses, and fundraisers for local nonprofits. We spoke with Gates and DeFina about their experience as business owners and how it feels to approach the coffee shop’s one-year anniversary this July.
When Kayla Gates ’18 moved back to western Massachusetts, where she and her husband, Matt, grew up, she noticed a lack of independent coffee shops in the area.
“I said, ‘Why not open one?’” recalls Gates. “We know nothing about it, but we can learn.”
At first, her husband thought it was impossible. However, after struggling to commute from Ludlow to his job in Boston, he became open to discussing the idea. The two sketched a rough business plan. Gates, who works full-time as an internal auditor at MassMutual, wanted to share it with her longtime Simmons friend, Steph DeFina.
“I trusted her professionally and wanted her thoughts on our plan,” Gates recalls. She shared a PowerPoint presentation with DeFina during a visit at their home, “you know, like you do on a Saturday night.”
Since graduating from Simmons, DeFina has worked at TIAA and is now the director of wealth performance and analytics.
“In the year before Kayla brought this idea up, I had been trying to figure out my career aspirations,” says DeFina. “I had reached a point in my career that I was happy with but was still looking for something missing. I wanted to explore being an entrepreneur, but I didn’t want to work alone.”
DeFina saw the coffee shop as the perfect collaborative opportunity, she says. “Kayla is highly motivated and able to get stuff done, and Matt is amazing, with experience managing a team.”
Currently, Matt works full-time at the coffee shop, handling operations and working with the staff. DeFina oversees events, marketing, and strategy remotely from New York City while Gates handles fundraising and finances.
“In the beginning it was especially difficult,” Gates says. “Most of my work for the coffee shop can be done online, but in the beginning it was a matter of setting up processes.” These included managing inventory, a streamlined system for ordering supplies, and developing standard operating procedures for opening and closing the store that they could delegate to baristas.
“Now we have systems in place, and we’ve figured out a groove,” she says.
Community Element: Creating a ‘Third Place’
As for their ultimate goal for Ludlow Coffee Co., it’s about more than selling coffee.
“Coffee doesn’t need to be marketed,” says DeFina. “Everyone already has a perspective on it, whether they like it or not. So this wasn’t about creating a shop with the best coffee of all time.”
However, she notes that Ludlow Coffee Co. is the only shop in western Massachusetts serving George Howell Coffee, a high-end coffee roaster out of Acton, Massachusetts.
That said, the shop is about more than what they serve. As DeFina says, “We want to be that third place where people want to go, somewhere other than work or school or home. A place where people cultivate relationships and community.”
To that end, Ludlow Coffee Co. hosts a robust schedule of events, including painting with friends, bouquet making, sourdough workshops, book clubs, and fundraisers for local nonprofits.
“It’s not just community members attending these events but other small businesses, small niche creators, artists, and vendors,” says DeFina. “There are so many unique folks in western Mass, people who slow down and create things and sell them and share with communities. We provide that space for those businesses as well.”
Small, local vendors have set up tables to sell their products in person, including dog treats (Paw Street Barkery), biscotti (Baker's Lane Biscotti), locally made candles (Brookman Candles), crocheted stuffed animals (KnotMamaMade), locally sourced honey (Benny's Bees), all natural bird feeders (Impeckable Bird Feeders), permanent jewelry (Boho and Bond Permanent Jewelry).
Gates is also enthusiastic about philanthropic opportunities. “It means a lot to us to give back to the community. That’s a fun part of owning a business; we can do what we want and work with businesses and local creators that we love and respect and then give back to organizations that mean a lot to us.”
Most recently, Ludlow Coffee Co. held an event to benefit the Friends of the Ludlow Animal Shelter; a partnership suggested by a regular customer. “We did a fundraiser for the day, and I couldn’t believe how much money we raised,” says Gates. “The foot traffic was huge, and we got the word out about the shelter.”
This month, they are planning a pizza party to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association, featuring pizza from local shops. “We don’t make money from these events; the goal is to use the space to raise money for the organization,” says Gates. “I did a similar fundraiser for the Student Government Association at Simmons, but on a smaller scale, so I knew how to approach businesses and create relationships. Basically, ‘If you help us raise money, we’ll post about your business on our socials, advocate for you, and get your menus out there.’ It’s a great opportunity to get into the community and meet more small business owners.”
Originally, they launched special coffee flavors seasonally to support specific causes. Last fall, a portion of sales from their blueberry pancake latte was donated to the Pioneer Valley chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. They raised over $1,000 in just over a month, and the flavor became a popular favorite. The unique latte flavors gained such traction that they are now a part of their business strategy.
“Now we talk about syrups and bringing in new seasonal flavors regularly,” says Gates. “People will come back to try new flavors, and it’s a way to get new people in the door.”
Learning Entrepreneurial Skills and Strategy at Simmons
Gates enjoyed taking classes in entrepreneurship at Simmons and, while she’s not surprised to own her own business, she says, “If you had told me years ago that I would own a coffee shop in Ludlow, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
Thanks to her Simmons education, the planning process for the shop was familiar. “It felt like the strategy projects we did at Simmons,” says DeFina. “We asked, ‘What’s our target audience? How do we reach them?’ It was non-stop planning and so much fun, right off the bat.”
DeFina connected with Simmons’ approach. “Simmons was a very collaborative environment, and the projects were often group-based.” A group project for “Strategic Management” (BUS 340), where students had to choose a business and determine their sales strategy and challenges they faced, offered a foundation.
“Doing it together, you’re getting feedback on how to present and frame things. That direct feedback was helpful,” she says. “When you open a business, you want to talk about the fun stuff, but you also have to figure out your pricing strategy in comparison to nearby businesses, how many people you plan to hire, and what unique merchandise you can offer. We had to tackle each one in granularity. The class was broader, but the experience at Simmons gave us the tools to think critically.”
What are the most impactful lessons the pair took from their time at Simmons?
“Cold messaging or calling!” says Gates, who has made a habit of calling or emailing potential colleagues without prior contact. “The worst thing that someone can do is say ‘no.’ That’s how I got my job at MassMutual. I literally sent an email saying, ‘I want to join your team, can we get coffee?’ The sheer audacity!”
That audacity has served her, and the coffee shop, well.
“I haven’t been afraid to ask questions and move forward. Starting a business requires resourcefulness,” she says. “There isn’t a handbook about how to start any business, as so much varies from town to town. You have to roll with the punches and reach out when you need help. I give credit to Simmons for teaching me that.”
DeFina focuses on the customer experience. “I always think, how will this impact the customer? A product is sold to someone and the experience needs to be positive so they come back. I learned all of that at Simmons.”
A Growth Mindset
“We went into this with a lot of plans, but we changed directions many times as we learned new information,” says Gates. “That PowerPoint I showed Steph is so different from what we ended up with! We went into it with a growth mindset.”
The shop opened with a small menu, but numerous customer requests for breakfast sandwiches inspired them to rethink. “That hadn’t even been on our radar, but we’ve seen a lot of positive feedback.” Including sandwiches on the menu required further licensing from the health department, and the purchase of new equipment, as well as coming up with a menu. “Not all of the suggestions we receive are feasible, but they are always good to consider.”
That consistent flow of feedback is pivotal, says DeFina. “Don’t assume that your first idea will be the best. Once you get feedback, you can pivot. You have to be flexible when you approach challenges. It’s one thing to complain about it for a day and get stuck, but then you have to move forward. There may be 50 things we want to do, but we need to prioritize the most important.”
Gates is always gratified when Simmons alumnae/i visit the shop. “We learned so many things at Simmons that helped us achieve this,” she says.