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Lisa Lindsay on Entrepreneurship, Data, and Building Community
25 Plays12 days ago
Dean Jeff Hemsley sits down with Lisa Lindsay '93, founder of Fruity Bubbles Café, to explore her journey from corporate technology leadership to building a thriving, community-centered business. Lisa shares how project management, data-driven decision-making, and cultural inspiration shaped her brand—and what it really takes to turn an idea into a sustainable entrepreneurial venture.
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Transcript
Introduction to Lisa Lindsey and Fruity Bubbles Cafe
00:00:09
Speaker
Welcome to Infovarsity, the official podcast of Syracuse University School of Information Studies or iSchool. I'm your host, just Jeff Hemsley. Today I'm joined by Lisa Lindsey. It's good to see you again. She is a 1993 iSchool alum and co-founder and CEO of Fruity Bubbles Cafe.
00:00:32
Speaker
She's also 2025 CUSE50 honoree, which wreckish so she's recognized as one of the fastest growing alumni led businesses.
Corporate Experience and Business Growth
00:00:43
Speaker
Before launching her company, Lisa spent years in corporate technology roles focused on project leadership, process improvement, and strategic operations.
00:00:54
Speaker
Now she's applying that same systems mindset to growing a successful consumer brand rooted in a culture, community, and thoughtful operational design.
Education's Influence on Business Operations
00:01:09
Speaker
We'll talk about how her iSchool background shaped her approach to entrepreneurship, the role technology and process thinking play in running her business, and how she scaled from a small idea to award-winning company.
00:01:24
Speaker
So I'll start by asking, um how did your information systems degree influence how you run and scale a business today? Sure, Jeff. Well, first of all, thank you for having me. I'm so delighted to to be here today and representing the iSchool. So thank you again for for having me. um How did my information systems degree kind of influence my disability or run a business?
00:01:54
Speaker
the My education in the iSchool was all about systems, right? My degree is in information systems. So working in systems and not silos is is what is operational, is is the foundation of operations altogether.
00:02:12
Speaker
So I learned to take a look at how people, process, technology, they all just kind of work together. And it shows up in how I've designed the operations of my business, even from inventory, taking inventory to scheduling to customer flow to recipes.
Leadership and Community Building Skills
00:02:29
Speaker
And I'm just of the foundation that information is power and systems are what makes business successful.
00:02:39
Speaker
So were there technical skills that you learned, technical or analytic skills that you learned while you were here that you still use today? Definitely. um Process mapping for sure. And then most importantly, problem solving hands down. There isn't a problem I don't have to solve every single day. So I'm looking at average ticket size. I'm looking at peak hours. I'm looking at labor ratios. And just product performance, just to see what is working, what's selling well one day. am I overstaffed? Am I understaffed?
00:03:16
Speaker
um And then the iSchool just taught me how to break down complexity, right? And that's what's incredible and incredibly valuable for when it comes to running a business and and things are changing on a daily basis. Having to constantly pivot and, again, back to systems. Systems create consistency.
00:03:36
Speaker
Good. so So speaking about this stuff, um how did your iSchool experiences like in student organizations shape the way that you approach leadership and community?
00:03:50
Speaker
Yes, um great, great, great question. um So BLIST, Black and Latino Information Studies Support Group was one of the or was the organization that I co-founded during my time and in Syracuse. um And it just it really taught me how to to lead, how to recognize a need And then essentially develop a ah ah process, a system um and and build
Rapid Business Launch and Project Management
00:04:18
Speaker
a foundation. And that's similar to exactly what it is that I did with creating Fruity Bubbles Cafe.
00:04:25
Speaker
um I saw that there was a need. and I took all the steps necessary to to develop that need. and then implement it it as such. So innovation, creativity, identifying the need, taking the steps to to satisfy that need. But I couldn't have done it without the community that I was involved with.
00:04:46
Speaker
um And I keep really relating those parallels. um In Blist, I wasn't the only one that that founded it, um and so I had others, but then others bought into that idea, and that's how the the group had been established. And then now it's it's just a community organization and others support that.
00:05:06
Speaker
So speaking about Blist, are you still in touch with people that that you were working with back then? Absolutely. and Even though all of us have gone into different career directions, and that there's a couple that I i call and bounce ideas off of and re-pivot in directions, and we're constantly learning from one another. So we absolutely all still keep in contact. of I've got all of them on speed dial right now. That's nice. So they also are some of them also in leadership roles?
00:05:38
Speaker
They in fact are all in leadership roles, but again, just in different industries altogether. All right, so so you've gone from a corporate career to a founder.
00:05:52
Speaker
What parts of your experience leading technology projects translated most directly into entrepreneurship? I would say my background in project program and project management. That essentially was the foundation. and When this idea became came to be, um it happened in and around August, September. um And from August until December is four months that i literally had to develop an idea.
00:06:26
Speaker
to fruition. um And that was because of my strong project management skills. identified a critical path, identified all the the the potentially pain points and all the steps that needed to to happen in order to make that be successful. So whereas I i know I've spoken to a lot of other business owners, and it may take upwards of nine to 12 months for a business to launch and especially a restaurant and because of my critical thinking skills and that critical path and my project management background, four months to to opening our doors is is all that it took.
00:07:03
Speaker
That's pretty fast. So that must have been an exciting time. Very exciting, very stressful. But I think with with just being focused and in knowing what the end result would or should be, it it really time just flew by quickly.
00:07:21
Speaker
Yeah. Now, I asked about leadership before. um My sense is is that leadership skills grow over time. So I'm wondering about, we talked about leadership from Blist. How about leadership in your corporate roles and how that plays a role in how you lead your company today, your experience?
00:07:41
Speaker
Yeah, no, again, great, great question. um What I've learned is that people overall, they want to do good work, but they need clear direction. They have to be have their expectations set for them.
00:07:55
Speaker
And then you also have to give them the tools as well as the support to let them be successful. um I remember my my kids used always tell me that I project managed them and then also the household. But this just goes back to being a testimony that systems and structure is is what was important. and that's what made for a smooth operation.
Operational Consistency and Data-Driven Decisions
00:08:16
Speaker
So with that, that is truly exactly how it is that I led. I led my household and and i lead the team by giving them the tools that they need to be successful, making it clear of the expectations and then supporting them throughout the journey.
00:08:33
Speaker
Yeah, I know for me, I feel like like one of my key jobs is to empower the people that report to me absolutely and and give them the resources they need to be successful.
00:08:44
Speaker
Yes. so um So what processes or systems did you put in place early to keep operations running smoothly as the business grows?
00:08:56
Speaker
So I recognize that repetition, again that word consistency, consistency breeds that repetition. You have to be you're not going to go into your favorite cafe and expect to get the same drink as you are eating every time, eat differently.
00:09:15
Speaker
Right, that's definitely not going to work. So when it came to standardizing recipes, ensuring that the customer experience was always going to be the same. ah My point of sale reporting system, opening, closing checklist, again, back to the the systems and processes. That's that's how I just live live my life. When you put systems and processes in place,
00:09:37
Speaker
and instill that those are the same processes that repeat consistently, you're going to get the the results that you do expect. Now, granted, you may have to tweak them and and and make some modifications and pivot, but so long as you have that foundation of repetition, that is what is going to work.
00:09:58
Speaker
Now, you know that the iSchool is very passionate about data. And so my next question is about data. And how are you using data? um How did data and metrics guide your daily kind of work? You know, how you choose what what you're serving, employing people, like all that stuff.
00:10:18
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. um After the first year, and you could say that my first year was kind of my testing grounds, right? And didn't know what I didn't know, didn't know what worked. And and a lot of that, although it's somewhat data driven based on the research that I've done, ah the actual data is going to tell you what you need to do the the following year. So first year, we had an idea of the menu that that our customers would would like. We had our hours of operation set but
00:10:48
Speaker
Quickly did I learn that by this time, wintertime, that sales would would drop um because our business actually is seasonal.
00:10:59
Speaker
So with that, using that data, I was able to adjust the hours of operation, adjust the the the inventory that we kept in supply at any given time.
00:11:11
Speaker
My staffing would change the types of product that we were offered to our customer would change. Even our marketing would adjust as ah as a result of
From Juices to Storefront: Brand Creation
00:11:20
Speaker
that. So we truly, truly rely on data to see what works and what doesn't work and we're quick to respond to those adjusting needs.
00:11:30
Speaker
So my next question is about thinking about how you decided it was time to evolve from making smoothies and juices for your community to opening a storefront. And it kind of sounds like data might have played a role in that.
00:11:46
Speaker
Data along with opportunity. So when I first began, I always wanted to be in business. I recognized that juicing was kind of a dime or dozen. I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. My dad was an entrepreneur.
00:12:01
Speaker
And I made drink concoctions for some friends and family, or got out to the to the community ah as well. So um when my daughters actually introduced me to this new concept of bubble t didn't know what it was myself, um I, again, data-driven, did some research and realized that bubble tea business was about a $4.9 billion dollars industry. Well, did some more research and recognized that that did not exist in the market in which we lived.
00:12:34
Speaker
so ah But I will tell you that I wasn't quite a fan of all the flavors for for bubble tea. So using my family's background and our Caribbean influence, I was really more attracted to the tropical flavors. So kind of merging the two together That's how the brand was created. Now, the opportunity part was ah just in some networking and discussing opportunities with one of my sorority sisters.
00:13:01
Speaker
There was actually a place downtown Smyrna, where we are right now, that was opening up. Another person had attempted the same concept. but just did not have a solid business plan in in order for it to work. So, as I mentioned before, I created my own brand.
00:13:17
Speaker
I just really utilized the space or or kind of re-assumed the lease of the space and created entirely new brand and concepts that didn't it currently exist in the community.
Balancing Cultural Inspiration and Efficiency
00:13:32
Speaker
so So, we're talking about community. And I'm wondering about balancing cultural inspiration with operational efficiency. To be a business operationally, you have to be successful, but b to be part of a community, you you need to speak to the community. Can you talk about how you design your menu and customer experience to balance cultural inspiration and operational efficiency?
00:13:59
Speaker
um Absolutely, yes. So I will tell you, so a Fruity Bubbles Cafe is all about the experience. When you walk into the doors, and you might even see it and even in the room that I'm sitting, you walk in and you almost feel like you're transformed into at a Caribbean island. So you've got the walls that are sky blue, the floors you can't see, but they're sandy.
00:14:20
Speaker
ah they They have a sandy kind of look, and then you've got Caribbean music kind of playing in the background. so That's your first take when you feel when you walk into the doors. Now our menu, it's got kind of quirky names for some of our drinks from Caribbean Sunset to Mango Mami to Taro Ting. so it's It's got to play on what maybe some of the most popular drinks are along with the the Caribbean influence or even the Asian influence where that's concerned. But how from an operational perspective, they essentially are all the same. Most of the drinks are really all the same ah or the same makeup, but you get your customization from the flavors that are different. For example, you can pick ah a base, tea a green tea, a black tea, a lemonade base, then you add a flavor, and whether it's passion fruit or mango or strawberry and and a plethora of others, and then you choose a topping.
00:15:19
Speaker
So those are the three main ingredients, and the topping is the boba or the pad the the the popping pearls, which is also a number of different flavors. That essentially is the makeup of the the they drink.
00:15:32
Speaker
And every but sort every person, every customer that comes in orders exactly what it is that they want. Or if there's too many choices, then we have the standardized menu, which are the most popular, some of the ones that I spoke about before.
00:15:46
Speaker
But what makes us different is that we have even created themed themed menu like desserts. So you can get a New York style cheesecake still following that same operations, right? It might be a vanilla milk tea, but then you've got the cherry pearls that are on top.
00:16:04
Speaker
That's what makes it inspired by New York style cheesecake. So same concept, different ideas, and makes you guys really kind of feel like you're getting exactly what it is that you want.
Challenges and Rewards of Entrepreneurship
00:16:16
Speaker
So what's your most popular drink? Our most popular drink is the Caribbean sunset. That's a strawberry lemonade with rainbow popping pearls, followed by the mango mommy, which is a mango green tea with passion for popping pearls.
00:16:30
Speaker
And then wouldn't you believe we have the the brother drink to that, which is a passion fruit green tea with mango popping pearls. So we have a lot of fun creating our drinks and I give a lot of autonomy to the team to come up with some really fascinating drink ideas.
00:16:45
Speaker
Well, if I'm in the area, I'm going to have to try to mangle one. Oh, absolutely. so Okay. So what surprised you most about moving from a corporate environment to being your own boss, to being an entrepreneur?
00:17:00
Speaker
I'm the one that wears every single hat, but or at least to begin with, it was wearing every single hat. I am the final decision maker.
00:17:10
Speaker
on everything pertaining to Fruity Bubbles Cafe. If I had a partner, that might be something different, but being a ah the sole owner of of the business, it is it is all me.
00:17:24
Speaker
And again, even further, because this was a created brand, I also have autonomy to kind of March to my own beat. It's not a franchise yet, but maybe it will one day. So I don't have to follow the guidelines. But that also meant that every single thing, every um ah ah every system, every, what am I thinking of? And I'm drawing a blank right now. standing operating procedures, every single procedure had to be developed from ground zero.
00:17:56
Speaker
and That's a lot of pressure. Whereas in corporate, at least you had other resources to potentially bounce ideas off of, you had other people who would share the same responsibility. Unfortunately, that was not the case, that is not the case when you leave the corporate environment and go into entrepreneurship.
00:18:18
Speaker
Okay, so now you've talked about strategic thinking, you've talked about systems thinking, you've talked about being creative, you've talked about leadership. I mean, all sorts of different aspects.
00:18:31
Speaker
Which ones are your favorites? What do you enjoy the most? I do enjoy the autonomy of making my own decisions and watching the brand grow in parallel to what I had and envisioned overall. And it's actually grown beyond what I had initially thought it to to be. I remember one one point we had a probably a hundred pound ice maker And we thought that that's all, or at least I thought that that's all we were willing to need.
00:19:05
Speaker
No, in fact, we had to go ahead and trade it in pretty quickly. But that was testament to, yes, we we've got the foundation, but now we can we can grow bigger than what you know I may have initially had in my project plan or at least my projections for the next couple of years. So we far exceeded that. And even the the goals that I set for myself, some of the awards that we've we've won, as I said, this year we were named but Minority Owned Business of the Year for 2025 Cobb Chamber. Last year, we were woman-owned business of the year by Cobb Chamber. We have a number of other awards, as you can see on the shelves behind me, that that we've won. Never did I set out to just win awards, but um following my passion and and following my vision, this is what has afforded me.
00:19:59
Speaker
So that sounds rewarding. and I'm happy to hear that that's satisfying, probably. Yes, definitely. so um So a lot of times we have these ideas about how things are going to work out.
00:20:12
Speaker
I think that a lot of people have this idea that you're an entrepreneur, you get to kind of make stuff up and you get to just kind of be creative and kind of loose and run your own business. You're always in charge.
00:20:25
Speaker
What's the big surprise? What's different? what's What's different than you expected about stepping into this role? ah It's not as as luxurious as it seems. I think we were just talking a little bit before the call. and In terms of vacation, I'm probably way overdue for a vacation. so you don't really just get time away like you like you normally could if you had a a regular nine to five. So this really is a twenty four seven job.
00:20:56
Speaker
I know my my daughters, at least one's still in school, one had graduated. um And then I went ahead and I birthed a business, right? So now I have a baby that I've got to think about first thing in the morning and it's the last thing that I think about at at night. So misconceptions about that, but I think the knowing what I've done and what I've developed and what the community now has is what is most rewarding. I'm all about service and we have created that environment for the community.
00:21:27
Speaker
to be able to find a safe haven and just enjoy tea time. I mean, that's that's our tagline. When best is is what's the best time of day? It's tea time. And that's just the time of day anybody can just have a cup of tea and a light snack and and just relax. And the world just doesn't matter. Just that moment does.
00:21:48
Speaker
You know, I imagine that putting that kind of time and commitment into something and then seeing it grow, that's the part that's got to be amazing. It has. We're coming up on a four-year anniversary and in time is's really flown, but I'd love to look back at where we went.
00:22:06
Speaker
and now to see where where we are
Community Engagement and Future Plans
00:22:08
Speaker
today. It really pleases my heart. Either I'm recognized or the brand is recognized and just people that we didn't think might have even heard about our our brand says a lot of good things about it.
00:22:24
Speaker
Yeah, that's cool. Okay, so community plays a big role in your brand. Yes. How does that shape your business decisions or long-term goals? One of the early decisions that we, well, we, we was made, but I had a team that I made was to really get involved with the community. So we've developed partnerships with the schools.
00:22:50
Speaker
ah That way, the schools, their students would have jobs with with us and they would also earn earn school credits as well. um And that's called work-based learning. um I'm very much in support of other businesses within the community. So there's a couple other cookie cookie brands um that are homemade or homegrown brands. And I support them by having them sell their products on our shelves as well too. so So without the community, we couldn't be here today. So we listen to what the community says that they want. We go out in the community. We're not just a storefront. We also have, ah we do pop-ups and at other locations. We're all throughout the county and branched into other counties as well.
00:23:41
Speaker
So it sounds like um it sounds like you have partnerships with other businesses as well as people in the community. yeah Together that's kind of helped things grow.
00:23:52
Speaker
Absolutely. Absolutely. We've even done collaborations with some of our neighboring business and contests and When one grows, another grows, right? So we might have a a certain following and when we partner and collaborate with another business, then we share that, their following as well and so on and so forth.
00:24:13
Speaker
So now you were recently named Acuse 50 honoree, which is probably a major milestone. What does that recognition mean to you and your company?
00:24:26
Speaker
It validates all of the education that I obtained when I was at the high school, followed by the implementation of that education into my corporate career as well.
00:24:46
Speaker
um And now following into the steps in the the realm of entrepreneurship, um it's it's just been an evolution. And it it also reassures me that not it doesn't have to be any traditional path. There's no set forth path towards becoming the big towards being in any of the careers that you would choose to be. So that evolution is can just lead to any any impactful outcome overall. So go Orange.
00:25:16
Speaker
Yeah. All right. So what's next for Fruity in terms of expansion, innovation, or new opportunities? Is there a Fruity truck in the future? There is, we already have a Fruity Bubbles Cafe trailer. and So we do pop-ups throughout Metro Atlanta. um And I'm really, really excited that the World Cup is coming to Atlanta.
00:25:39
Speaker
So we are already in in discussions and we are going to have activations everywhere. In Cobb County, down by the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
00:25:51
Speaker
um We have already, as I said, I let my team ah just have a field day at creating new drinks. So we may have drinks that are themed by each of the countries. So we we have a lot of fun. But that is what I see in my near s future. I mean, six months, seven months is amazing.
00:26:12
Speaker
is not that far away when it comes to to planning and making sure that we've we've done all we can do. So I am in the process of looking for even temporary locations, potentially some another long-term location. As you asked before, we already we're already mobile and we have capabilities to do pop-ups throughout. So long, long-term may possibly be creating Fruity Bubbles Cafe into a franchise. So if there's any franchisees who might be interested.
00:26:46
Speaker
might see you in Syracuse sometime. I'm sorry? So we might see you in Syracuse sometime. Oh, that'd be lovely. That'd be lovely. I'll have somebody else go. I can kind of, you know, do without the snowy weather, but I'll go ahead and have my franchisee
Closing Remarks and Gratitude
00:27:01
Speaker
own that one. Well, Lisa, like every time you and I have talked, I have enjoyed this conversation.
00:27:07
Speaker
Thank you for joining the podcast. And go Orange. Go Orange. And remember, it's always tea time. Yep. Thank you.