Skin in the Game: How Coffee Culture Built a Marketplace from Crisis (Teaser) Artwork

Skin in The Game with Debbie Go

Skin in The Game invites you into the world of business and personal transformation, where host Debbie Go uncovers how successful leaders navigate their most challenging decisions and put everything on the line. Finally, a business podcast that moves beyond surface-level advice to deliver actionable insights through real stories of risk, resilience, and bold decisions that paid off.

Whether you're scaling a startup, advancing your career, or planning your next venture, these conversations equip you with battle-tested wisdom and practical strategies for success.
Join Debbie Go to learn how today's most successful leaders turn challenges into opportunities – and get ready to put your own skin in the game.

Connect with Debbie:

🌐 Website

💼 LinkedIn

▶️ YouTube

All Episodes

Skin in The Game with Debbie Go

Skin in the Game: How Coffee Culture Built a Marketplace from Crisis (Teaser)

February 01, 2026 • Debbie Go • Season 2 • Episode 2

“There’s more to Thai coffee than we know… I thought, this is something we can actually do and help.” — Susan Borvornpotsakul Villota ☕️

Turning crisis into opportunity, Susan launched Coffee Culture Thailand after losing 90% of her marketing clients during the pandemic. Starting with zero inventory, she raised 60,000 baht through a story-driven campaign—igniting a marketplace that now amplifies Thailand’s hidden coffee varieties to the world.

Tune into #SkinInTheGamewithDebbieGo to learn:
🔍 How she uncovered Thailand’s diverse, under-the-radar coffee profiles
🚀 Why she started with no product—just belief and a powerful story
🌱 How the “seed-to-cup” model connects farmers directly to global coffee lovers
🤝 The meaningful impact created through small-scale roaster collaborations

📈 A masterclass in agile, purpose-driven entrepreneurship.

🔗 Links & Resources:
• coffeeculture.asia
• @coffeeculturethailand
• facebook.com/coffeeculturethailand
• youtube.com/@coffeeculturethailand
• x.com/CoffeeCultureTh
• linkedin.com/company/coffeeculturethailand
• linkedin.com/in/susan-villota

#ThaiCoffee #SpecialtyCoffee #SocialImpact #Pivot #FarmToCup #CoffeeCultureThailand #WomenInBusiness #CoffeeCulture #SustainableBusiness #EntrepreneurStory #SkinInTheGamewithDebbieGo #BusinessResilience

Enjoying the podcast? Leave us a quick review!

Support the show

Follow Us:

🎧 Podcast website
💼 LinkedIn
▶️ YouTube

Debbie:
[0:00] How did that crisis became your unlikely catalyst in terms of launching Coffee Culture as an online marketplace?

Susan:
[0:08] As soon as the pandemic hit, we lost 90% of our customers. No income, stuck in the middle of a lockdown.

Susan:
[0:17] We ended up raising 60,000 baht on the sales of just coffee with no product. It was just based off of like my favorite coffee. And that kind of started the whole thing. There's more to Thai coffee than we know, and it's not well spoken for out there, like marketed, because the farmers, they don't know how to do marketing, honestly, to reach the foreigners or worldwide.

Susan:
[0:40] They can sell to the domestics because that's their native language. And so they were lacking the marketing side, and I thought, this is something that we can actually do and help. There's a hill tribe up in Germany.

Susan:
[0:52] They were small-scale roaster. I mean, they still are. Most of the ones that we work with are but they've grown so much that they give you this love and appreciation and I just feed off of that. I think it's amazing to know that you made a difference.