Story map
Read this like a founder: problem, early product, first customers, then the moments that changed everything.
Key moments
Experiments, pivots, and surprises. Look for what changed their thinking.
- 1Test
What happened: A Starbucks location tested the espresso-bar concept before Schultz built Il Giornale.
Lesson: A front-stage experience needs an operating model that can deliver it repeatedly.
Impact
Every product creates value, and every decision has a trade-off. Good founders stay honest about both.
Positive
- +The concept became part of Starbucks' global coffeehouse model.
Trade-offs
- ±Scale changes local culture and creates labour, sourcing and environmental responsibilities.
What to remember
If you had to explain this story to a friend, what would you want them to remember?
- Separate what customers see from the work that produces it.
- Map people, supplies, routines and controls behind a simple experience.
- Treat front-stage and back-stage as a lesson lens, not a quotation from the founder.
Featured in these lessons
Open the lessons where this story appears in the learning experience.
Explore skills
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Sources & further reading
- Starbucks, Company timeline - https://stories.starbucks.com/uploads/2019/01/AboutUs-Timeline-Q4-2013-1.pdf
- Starbucks, Il Giornale history - https://about.starbucks.com/history/il-giornale/
- Starbucks, Howard Schultz on the 1983 Italy visit - https://about.starbucks.com/stories/2025/brian-niccol-and-howard-schultz-on-reclaiming-the-third-place-and-delivering-performance-through-the-lens-of-humanity/