BUBBLE BATTLE

With a big dream but tiny wallets, Xing-Qin Fu and Wen-he Guo opened up a modest boba shop “Easy Way” on a street corner. Due to their limited resources, they had to come up with a business model that allowed them to stay afloat. The shop only offered drinks to-go, there were no seats, just a countertop. They also went through countless trial and errors to develop their own recipe.

At first, customers rejected their store because they weren’t used to the pick up and go routine. Even after business had picked up, the duo encountered issues with drinks spilling and the inability to keep up with massive orders. Xing-Qin Fu and Wen-he Guo would run the shop during the day and brainstorm for ways to improve deep into the night. They came up with bold, somewhat questionable ways of attracting new customers. They partnered with the manufacturer of a plastic sealing prototype. Unexpectedly, these fresh ideas soon brought them huge success.

But with success comes new obstacles. Other businesses started to copy their entire operation, even stole their former employee. Facing fierce competition from up and coming establishments, Xing-Qin Fu and Wen-he Guo decide to franchise their “Easy Way” brand. Even when the existence of “Easy Way” seem to become less and less significant in the booming industry of boba shops, there’s no doubt that Xing-Qin Fu and Wen-he Guo have paved the way for future generations to follow.