I didn't "come up with" this idea, it just sorta happened.
Nothing makes me happier than hearing people walk up to one of our coffee buses and say, 'this is SO cool...'
But I can't take all the credit.
I didn't set out to start a coffee company, and certainly not in a vintage VW Bus.
It was the pivot, not the plan.
Oops?
Anyways, I'm endlessly grateful you think it's cool, and I hope you'll read more about Considered below.
we make (really good) coffee — on the curb
Howdy, I'm Pia, the founder of Considered. I'm a marketer. And an entrepreneur. Until 2022, I was *not* a barista or a mechanic.
I grew up in Cleveland, OH and attended UCSB because I wanted to be at the beach. I double majored in Communication and Psychology, and minored in Professional Writing. I still found time to dance on tables in my bathing suit in IV, and graduate on time.
01 / 03
I began my career in the tech and startup worlds, then started my first business, a marketing agency, in 2019.
My sweet spot is creating integrated brand ecosystems. I'm great at designing customer experiences that include both physical and digital touchpoints to create consistent, deeply felt, and intuitive action across the entire sales funnel. I know how to turn a brand into a systematized and scalable lived experience, without losing the art of it.
That's a whole lot of resume-speak for: Considered is my proudest case study.
02 / 03
I figured out what Considered was as I was building it — in some ways, I still am.
This means you might see me pull up in my pajamas with my dog, King, jumping out of my truck behind me. It means my team and I will make mistakes. It means I know your name, and yes, I do want a hug, thank you.
We do a lot of things differently at Considered. Because at the end of the day, that's what really matters — that each of us moves through this wildly fucked up world feeling at least a little bit Considered by someone else.
Coffee is just the vehicle (wink wink) I'm using to make that possible.
03 / 03
I spent 3 months looking for a brick and mortar location for Considered. I interviewed industry veterans, engaged a commercial real estate broker, secured funding, and prepared a business plan, proforma, and initial build out budget. I had years of financials from my first business. I put in three offers at or above asking price, agreed to NNN terms and personal guarantees.
And I couldn't get anyone to rent a space to me.
Why? While I can't prove it, I'm pretty sure it was because of what I didn't have: a known name, the right connections, the right age on my drivers license, a male business partner, money to lose.
I was a woman just shy of 30, wearing sneakers, riding a scooter, and showing tattooed arms.
I asked questions, voiced opinions, and made counter offers when they expected me to sit down, shut up, and look pretty. When I asked for feedback, the only response I got was: you're not the tenant the owner wants in the space.
NOW
JAN. 2025
JAN. 2024
NOW
JAN. 2023
SEPT. 2022
JULY 2022
NOW
JAN. 2025
JAN. 2024
JAN. 2023
How do I make this happen?
This is what I was asking myself as I clicked on a Craiglist Ad for a 1965 VW Bus — cherished by generations, the same as the 1979 Bug my brother and I grew up riding around in.
The truth is, I started this business because I had something to prove: I'm going to do this — with or without you.
I clicked through pictures of that old bus with plenty of patina, peeling upholstery, priced right, and located just up the road, and thought... could I put a coffee shop in this?
I bought the bus in cash on the spot. I didn't know what questions to ask about the engine, or how to drive it home.
If I was going to do this, I was going to do it my way: with profit as an outcome, and people as the driving force. What would happen if I built this business "backwards" — exactly the opposite way the guys at all those commercial spaces would want me to? I set my sights on generosity, candor, and efficient AF systems.
SEPT. 2022
SEPT. 2022
JULY 2022
In just 4 short months, I managed to turn a 60 year old vehicle into a coffee shop — thanks in large part to the kind guys at Cory Motors and Campo Vans.
We did an engine and break overhaul, replaced upholstery, read all 212 pages of Santa Barbara County Health Code, built a fully self-sufficient coffee shop (plumbing and electric included), replaced coroded window seals, and gave the bus a fresh paint job.
No one had done something exactly like this before, and we weren't totally sure it was going to work. It wasn't until I pulled the first espresso shot off the machine in the buys that I thought for the first time, this could actually work...
We hit a coffee-heavy market hard and fast with plenty of print media. We threw a big launch party, and ruffled a ton of feathers.
Our first year was filled with trial and error, some expected pushback, and ultimately: setting a new precedent for food trucks in Santa Barbara.
JAN. 2023
NOW
JAN. 2025
JAN. 2024
JAN. 2023
SEPT. 2022
JULY 2022
Getting Considered off the ground was the hardest thing I've ever done. While everyone else was focused on how I got a health permit, I was dealing with staff turnover, generator oil changes, tight cashflow, wet weather, failing brakes, backlash from B/M business owners and everything in between.
It was chaos behind the scenes, but on the curb, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. You kept telling us how cool it was, that the coffee was some of the best you'd had, that you'd been seeing us everywhere, that our staff's service was incredible.
By the end of year 1, we'd had our first profitable month, were getting 3-5 inquiries per week. And YOU all had become our reason to stay open. Knowing your names, your orders, how to make your kids smile, your dog's favorite rubs became the things we looked forward to most.
NOW
JAN. 2025
JAN. 2024
JAN. 2023
SEPT. 2022
JULY 2022
NOW
Two years after I bought the VW Bus, it was clear: we needed less operational unpredictability, more geographical range, and a more reliable foothold to keep growing.
I set my sights on a short school bus in August 2024, and came home from Temecula with it a few weeks later.
We did another fast build between October and January, and Shortie hit the streets February 1st 2025.
Those 3-5 inquiries per week had turned into 5-10, and demand was increasing faster than our old VW bus could drive....
NOW
JAN. 2025
JAN. 2024
JAN. 2025
JAN. 2023
SEPT. 2022
JULY 2022
NOW
Our first vehicle, the 1965 VW Bus, is stationed at The Mission — happily retired from driving, and still making a mean cup of coffee.
Meanwhile, Shortie, a 1998 Ford school bus, is all over Santa Barbara.
Yes, you can come in! I really had to work the Health Department on this one.
With Shortie's larger layout, we can serve larger groups more efficiently — and, we were able to include some other cool upgrades like an expanded menu, fresh food drops, a grab and go fridge, and a fun polaroid for you to play with.
If you book the bus for your private event or pop up, it's Shortie that's coming to serve you and your crew.
NOW
JAN. 2025
JAN. 2024
NOW
JAN. 2023
SEPT. 2022
JULY 2022
It's been a long road (get it?) and plenty of chaos for Considered. But here we are: slinging espresso shots on the side of the road, and hoping to keep doing it.
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@consideredsb.co