cofipass launches new web-app during SXSW in Austin, Texas

Thursday, May 4th, 2023

On March 11th, I had the chance to watch cofipass finally come to life. Our founding team (Abhinav, Ricky, Max) met together in Austin, Texas to unveil our new web-app to the public. Our inaugural launch party brought in over 200+ attendees from across the country, with people from diverse backgrounds spanning technology, venture capital, finance, real estate, and the fine arts.

We celebrated the launch of cofipass at our first partner cafe, Cuvée Coffee, a coffee bar where professional bartenders served top-shelf espresso martinis and coffee cocktails that sampled Cuvée's world famous Karmadillo espresso and Nitro Cold Brew. At our first "reserve partner," users can make reservations on the cofipass app for free, as long as they hit the $10 tab minimum during their session.

A new way to discover work-friendly cafes

After incorporating design feedback from our launch users over the last few weeks, cofipass available and ready-to-use for anyone in search of work-friendly and specialty cafes across the world, currently serving the United States and India (select cities in Europe coming Summer 2023). Our search engine allows users to filter for important work-friendly criteria in the form of "badges." We have six badges and hope to expand to more criteria as we gather additional data from our users:

1. Reservations - partner cafes that offer reservations for work sessions
2. WiFi - secure and high speed internet access included with a purchase
3. Music - ambient and focus-friendly music playing in the background
4. Outlets - accessible power outlets for people to charge their devices
5. Food - snack and pastry options for those that get hungry
6. Parking - lot or street parking available adjacent to cafe location

Building a loyalty and rewards experience

Wondering what's next for cofipass? We're currently building "Starbucks Rewards for everyone else." Set to release by Fall 2023, cofipass is working with shop owners to create a FinTech powered loyalty engine that will:

1. Reward users for every $1 they spend at cofipass cafe with "cofibeans"
2. Gift free items like drip coffee, espresso, and lattes in exchange for cofibeans
3. Allow independent shop owners to directly deploy their own custom incentives

Thank you to all our launch party sponsors

We could not have made this event possible without the support from our event sponsors. Please check out these Austin-based companies that are selling some pretty incredible products - you might even find some of these brands at your local coffee shop today!

• Cuvée Coffee - specialty coffee bar located on East 6th St in Austin, Texas
• Richard's Rainwater - canned and bottled Texas-based rainwater sold nationwide
• Liquid Death - fresh mountain water sold nationwide, specializing in concerts/events
• Rambler Sparkling Water - limestone filtered Texas-based water sold nationwide
• Unity - bottled CBD infused wellness beverages made in Texas sold nationwide
• Thirsty Planet - Austin-brewed craft beer serving ambers, hazy IPAs, and more
• MinuteMen Press - printing press company with branches across the world
• Zeke's Liquor - liquor store with loyalty and rewards program based in East Austin
• Austin Monogram - 30+ years serving embroidery and apparel solutions in Austin

Getting involved with cofipass

If you are an investor, designer, or engineer, we would love to chat. Please don't hesitate to find time on my calendar here.

If you are a student at a university or college and want to learn more about our upcoming student ambassador program, please write me a note at [email protected] with some initial information about yourself and the school you are studying at.

And of course, if you are looking for a work-friendly coffeeshop, click the button!

Start grinding.

abhinav sridharan

founder & ceo