Advice Line with Travis Boersma of Dutch Bros

Dutch Bros co-founder and former CEO Travis Boersma joins Guy Raz on the How I Built This Advice Line, sharing hard-won lessons from scaling his initial espresso cart into a 900+ location national business while answering questions from three early-stage founders facing common growth hurdles.

Tackling Delivery App Margin Erosion

Sean, founder of Atlanta-based Mukja Korean Fried Chicken, opens the call struggling to reach new customers as third-party delivery platforms cut into his already thin profit margins. Travis advises him to prioritize building a direct ordering system, even if it means slower short-term growth, to recapture lost revenue and build a loyal local customer base that doesn’t depend on platform fees. He notes that Dutch Bros avoided third-party delivery for years to protect its margins and maintain control over the customer experience.

Choosing Between DTC and Wholesale Growth

Next, Trenton of Central Pennsylvania’s Pine Ridge Coffee weighs whether to scale his roastery through direct-to-consumer sales or wholesale partnerships. Travis shares that Dutch Bros stuck to company-owned retail locations for decades to protect its brand identity and quality standards, warning that wholesale partnerships can dilute a brand if partners don’t uphold its core values. He encourages Trenton to align his growth strategy with what makes his roastery unique, rather than chasing the fastest path to scale.

Breaking Into the Mainstream Sober-Curious Market

Yasmin, founder of Austin-based Altar Native Bar, closes the call asking how to bring her social tonics to mainstream audiences as an alcohol alternative. Travis points to the rapidly growing sober-curious consumer trend, and advises her to build local visibility through venue partnerships and community events first, mirroring how Dutch Bros grew from a single cart to a national chain by embedding itself in local communities before expanding.

Travis wraps up the episode by emphasizing that most sustainable growth comes from small, intentional steps rather than rushing to scale, a principle that guided Dutch Bros from its first cart to its current national footprint.