ABE / Chat House Coffee Shop
Opening a new a coffee shop in Ufa, Russia.
Our Vision
Chat House is an American Bashkir Enterprises inititiative that couples gourmet
coffee, premium teas, and other unique hot drinks with social events and English practice; attracting customers and establishing a distinctive brand. Russia is considered one of the most promising markets for coffee shops, and our marketing strategy and original offerings give us a crucial advantage over the competition.
What We Would Offer
Chat House would offer quality hot drinks, focusing on gourmet coffee and teas. 
We would offer some specialty drinks that are not available anywhere else in the city, such as Oregon Chai and perhaps bubble tea. We would also offer a smaller selection of premium desserts and snacks to complement our drink offerings, including Ruma’s Handmade Chocolate. We would offer English conversational lessons and clubs, as well as other social events such as movie nights, mini-concerts, board game tables, etc.
We would look for a location where we could have regular seating and also a room or an area that could be closed off for events. This would allow us to offer English conversational classes, English clubs, and other events. We would seek to create a warm atmosphere that would be the premium place in the city for friends to gather for coffee and other drinks, and social interaction. We have discussed our plans with many of our local friends and they have responded very enthusiastically to this concept! These social events would help to expand our customer base and support our core business which would be premium quality coffee.
Our Progress
We have registered an LLC partnership in the US to accept investments for the 
startup funds needed, and have registered "Chat House LLC" here in Ufa as well.
We are negotiating an agreement to partner with GreenHouse Coffee. GreenHouse has opened several highly successful coffee shops in China, and we would like to use their model and draw from their expertise. Samuel Gurel, a co-owner of GreenHouse Coffee, has Q Grader Certification (the highest certification for coffee cupping), and many years’ experience in the coffee world. He is a member of the SCAA coffee Association and has been on the judging committees of several barista competitions. They will provide expert training and coaching to insure a successful startup and a premium quality product.
How We're Different
Chat House seeks to open the opportunities that English provides to the people of Ufa, Russia, while serving to strengthen the culture of fine coffee and tea in Bashkortostan. English is valued in Russian culture, but most schools focus on grammar and conceptual frameworks rather than the face to face interaction essential to fluency. This American Bashkir Enterprises inititiative intends to fill a gap in English language learning in Russia by 
providing a venue for conversational English to take place, while leveraging the growing interest in gourmet coffee in Ufa. Through exceptional and unique drink offerings and a unique marketing strategy, Chat House intends to attract a consistent customer base as it transforms the language and coffee culture of Southern Russia.
This concept has already garnered a lot of interest as we’ve told some of our friends about our plans. One of our local friends said “You’ll have all of Ufa coming to your place!”, and others have made comments like “I will be your first customer!”.
Use of Funds
The total funding we'll need to open the coffee shop will be about $320,000. Most of this will be raised from equity-based investments. What we need right now is seed money for the legal fees to complete the Private Placement Memorandum & Operating Agreement, travel expenses to meet with potential investors, the registration fee for the Business & Barista & Roasting Workshop in October, travel expenses to attend the UCTIE Coffee Expo in Moscow, and funding to set up a website for Chat House. These expenses will come to about $20,000; and we need $12,000 of this by the end of July to be ready to accept investments for the remainder of the funding needed.
Pledge $10+
Thank-you Note
We'll send you a thank-you note with 10 of our own coffee beans enclosed to give you a scent of our work!
(Note: you can choose this option for any pledge amount if you don't want a reward.)
2BACKERS
Pledge $20+
Burlap Sachet
We'll send you a burlap sachet filled with 2 oz. of our own Chat House coffee beans roasted in Ufa!
(Note: As noted above, each reward tier indicates the minimum pledge amount, but you can choose this or any other reward and enter a higher amount if you want to.)
1BACKER
Pledge $50+
Small Package of Coffee
We'll send you a 6-oz. pkg. of of our own coffee roasted in Ufa & ground in the US, along with a burlap sachet filled with Chat House coffee beans.
3BACKERS
Pledge $100+
I Don't Need a Reward
Maybe you don't drink coffee? Maybe you just want the money to go into the business without the cost of sending out a reward? Thanks for being a part of our venture!
7BACKERS
Pledge $200+
1 Kilo of Coffee
We'll send you one kilogram of our own coffee roasted in Ufa, along with a burlap sachet filled with Chat House coffee beans. Please indicate if you'd like your kilo of coffee ground, or as whole beans; and if ground, how fine/coarse you want it.
6BACKERS
Pledge $500+
3 Kilos of Coffee & Bashkir Honey
We'll send you three kilograms of our own coffee roasted in Ufa, along with some Bashkir honey in a decorative container. Please indicate if you'd like some of your coffee ground, or as whole beans; and if ground, how much and how fine/coarse you want it.
1BACKER
Pledge $1,000+
6 Kilos of Coffee & Bashkir Honey
We'll send you three kilograms of our own coffee roasted in Ufa, along with some Bashkir honey in a decorative container, and another shipment of our coffee about a year later. Please indicate if you'd like some of your coffee ground, or as whole beans; and if ground, how much and how fine/coarse you want it.
7BACKERS
Pledge $2,000+
I Just Want to Help
Maybe you don't drink coffee? Maybe you just want to help, and want the money to go into the business without the cost of sending out a reward? May the Lord reward you better than we could have!
0BACKERS
Pledge $5,000+
4 Kilos of Coffee for 8 Years!
We'll send you four kilograms of our own coffee roasted in Ufa, along with some Bashkir honey in a decorative container, and another shipment of our coffee each year for the next seven years.
0BACKERS
Pledge $10,000+
8 Kilos of Coffee for 8 Years
We'll send you four kilograms of our own coffee roasted in Ufa, along with some Bashkir honey in a decorative container, and another shipment of our coffee twice a year for the next 7 ½ years.
0BACKERS
Pledge $20,000+
Coffee and a Trip to Ufa!
We will provide an expense-paid trip for one person to visit our coffee shop in Ufa! Includes a tour of the city, a demonstration of our roasting facilities, an unlimited pass for Chat House coffee & pastries during your stay, a cultural event to experience the Bashkir culture, and lodging for 3-4 nights during your stay. We'll load you down with 10 kilograms of coffee on your way home, and then send you five kilograms of our coffee each year for the next eight years.
0BACKERS
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