Brewing an Empire: A Conversation with Gabby Rubinstein ’97

What does it take to brew a coffee empire in the world’s greatest city? According to I-House alumna and Joe Coffee co-founder Gabby Rubinstein ’97, it starts with passion, kindness, and a little theatricality.

Rubinstein joined the I-House community for a high-energy conversation on entrepreneurship on October 8. The talk was part of a new series sponsored by the Götz Mäuser ’91 Global Entrepreneurship Fellowship, a new program at I-House designed to empower next-generation changemakers to lead with empathy, resilience, integrity, and cultural intelligence.

I-House President & CEO Sebastian Fries offered introductory remarks celebrating entrepreneurs and the Götz Mäuser fellowship that will steward them at I-House. “Entrepreneurs are a truly unique group of individuals,” Fries said. “They are creative. They are risk takers. They are driven. And they are always thinking about what is possible.”

Throughout the evening, Rubinstein reflected on her journey from opera singer to entrepreneur and business owner, describing how she channeled her artistic roots into building Joe Coffee as a welcoming, community-centered brand.

“I think what you get coming from a performance background is putting a show together. It’s the same thing as putting a business together,” she said. “The stage is where you’re making your coffee, the customers are the audience, and you’re the performer. That’s how we saw it. We put the show on, and we just had a lot of soul, a lot of heart, and passion for coffee and for people.”

Allison Karabu, one of four inaugural Götz Mäuser Fellows, moderated the discussion. The talk covered a range of topics including ethical sourcing, cultivating relationships with farmers and business partners, and creating a company culture rooted in hospitality and care.

The evening concluded with a question-and-answer session with residents. Rubinstein, who co-founded Joe Coffee with her brother Jonathan in 2003, offered aspiring entrepreneurs a simple but important piece of parting wisdom: Hire nice people.

“A big lesson we learned is you can’t teach people to be nice. You can’t teach people to be kind, empathetic humans,” she said. “But you can teach coffee.”