Coffee Cart Chronicles: Brewing Dreams & Giving Back

High School Grade Project 5 weeks

Brewpreneurs on Wheels: San Diego Edition!

Leo R

1-pager

Purpose

Starting a coffee cart business serves as a dynamic, real-world project where you gain firsthand insights into entrepreneurship, from brand creation to community engagement. By documenting your journey through vlogs and reflections, you chronicle not only your learning progression but also your contributions to the community by donating profits to charity. Through hands-on experience and mentorship from established professionals, you are positioned to understand the multifaceted nature of business ownership, including challenges and successes, ultimately preparing you for a future in entrepreneurship.

Learning goals

You'll explore the key components of entrepreneurship, such as market research, brand development, and operational logistics, while gaining skills in graphic design and digital storytelling. Develop proficiency in financial management and community engagement through practical experiences at local events. Enhance critical thinking and problem-solving abilities by iterating your business model based on feedback from community partners and industry professionals.

Products

Transform your innovative ideas into reality by developing and launching your coffee cart at local San Diego events. Engage with the community, sell coffee, and gain firsthand business insights. This tangible product will serve as a platform to connect with potential partners and gather valuable feedback to refine your entrepreneurial approach. Document each event and interaction to enrich your digital portfolio, capturing the essence of your real-world business journey.

Launch

Kick off your project with a dynamic 'San Diego Coffee Crawl', where you visit thriving coffee carts and pop-ups to understand their operations, branding, and customer interaction. Engage with business owners during the crawl to gather valuable insights and explore different business models that can inspire your venture. Use this opportunity to network, ask questions, and capture the unique aspects of the local coffee scene to inform the launch of your own business.

Exhibition

Host a community event where you set up your coffee cart at a local venue, inviting peers, family, mentors, and community members to experience your brand and coffee offerings. Arrange interactive stations showcasing your digital portfolio, logo designs, and vlogs, offering behind-the-scenes insights into your entrepreneurial journey. Facilitate guided tastings where attendees can sample your coffee blends and engage in Q&A sessions to discuss your process, successes, and future business aspirations.

Rubric

Competency Progression Rubric Competency-first rubric

Category	Learning Goal	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Stage 4
Branding and Marketing	Entrepreneurial Brand Development - Create a cohesive brand for a coffee cart business, including logo, brand values, and marketing materials that align with community outreach goals.	I can brainstorm and present a brand concept for my coffee cart, including a logo and brand values that connect with my community outreach goals I am capable of explaining how my brand design achieves these goals, and I can collect and reflect on feedback from peers, mentors, and community partners to refine my ideas.	I can clearly present my coffee cart logo and brand concept, outlining how they reflect my business values and community outreach goals, with some feedback considered for improvement.	I can effectively create a cohesive brand for my coffee cart by developing a clear logo and brand concept that reflects my business values and community outreach goals I am able to design marketing materials like flyers and social media content that consistently communicate my brand message Additionally, I can articulate how my brand aligns with the needs of my target audience and gather constructive feedback during the launch event to further refine my brand strategy.	I can design a cohesive and visually appealing brand for my coffee cart that includes a logo and branding materials, ensuring they effectively communicate our business values and community outreach goals I demonstrate mastery by creating marketing materials that attract attention at local San Diego events and during the Festival Del Sol, receiving positive feedback from community members and partners.
Financial Literacy	Financial Management and Planning - Develop a detailed business plan that includes target market analysis, marketing strategies, and financial projections demonstrating understanding of business economics.	I can effectively analyze my target market and identify key consumer segments for my coffee cart I produce a comprehensive business plan that outlines my marketing strategies with clear goals and tactics, and I detail financial projections that reflect realistic economic assumptions and demonstrate my understanding of budgeting and forecasting.	I can create a basic business plan that outlines my coffee cart concept, including identifying potential target markets and developing initial marketing strategies I can provide some financial projections that show an understanding of business costs and revenues, even if some areas need further detail or refinement.	I can create a comprehensive business plan that includes a detailed analysis of my target market, outlines effective marketing strategies, and presents financial projections, demonstrating a solid understanding of key business economic principles.	I can develop a comprehensive business plan that clearly outlines my coffee cart concept, including an accurate analysis of target markets, innovative marketing strategies, and detailed financial projections that reflect a deep understanding of business economics.
Communication and Collaboration	Community Engagement and Networking - Engage effectively with peers, mentors, and community partners to gain insights and feedback, enhancing communication and collaboration skills for business growth.	I can confidently present my coffee cart vision and branding concept to peers, mentors, and community partners during the launch event, actively seeking their feedback and suggestions to improve my business idea.	I can clearly explain my coffee cart vision, sharing how my brand aligns with community goals, and actively seek feedback from peers and mentors to improve my business ideas and communication approach.	I can confidently present my coffee cart vision to peers, mentors, and community partners, actively seeking their feedback and suggestions to enhance my project I demonstrate effective communication by listening to diverse perspectives and incorporating these insights into my business plan.	I can confidently engage with my peers, mentors, and community partners by actively listening, asking insightful questions, and incorporating their feedback into my coffee cart business plans, showing growth in my communication and collaboration skills while effectively expanding my network.
Critical Thinking and Reflection	Real-World Application and Reflection - Launch and operate a coffee cart at local events, incorporating community feedback to refine business strategies, while documenting the journey and reflecting on the entrepreneurial process.	I can confidently present my coffee cart vision at the launch event, sharing my brand concept and business values with the audience Through engaging with attendees and asking for their feedback, I am able to refine my ideas and gather new perspectives that enhance my project.	I can share my coffee cart vision and brand concept clearly and receive constructive feedback from peers and community members, which I incorporate into my business plan to make thoughtful improvements.	I can effectively launch and operate my coffee cart at local events, showcasing my brand and engaging community members to gather constructive feedback I document my business journey through detailed vlogs and reflect on the insights gained to adjust my strategies and enhance my entrepreneurial skills.	I can effectively launch and operate my coffee cart at local events, actively incorporating community feedback to refine my business strategies I can document my journey through detailed vlogs, showcasing how I applied entrepreneurial skills in real-world scenarios I can engage in meaningful reflection on the entire process, analyzing the impact of my strategies and decisions on my business success.
Innovation and Design	Creative and Practical Problem Solving - Design a functional mobile coffee cart by addressing storage, equipment needs, and accessibility, demonstrating innovation and practical problem-solving skills.	I can demonstrate my ability to creatively and practically solve problems by designing a functional mobile coffee cart that effectively addresses storage and equipment needs, ensuring accessibility for all users I showcase my innovation skills by developing unique solutions that enhance the usability and efficiency of the cart, confidently overcoming any design challenges I encounter.	I can design a mobile coffee cart that incorporates basic storage solutions and equipment needs, and I creatively adapt existing ideas to improve accessibility, balancing design appeal with functional requirements.	I can design a fully functional mobile coffee cart by creatively solving problems related to storage, equipment setup, and accessibility, and demonstrate my ability to innovate by explaining how each design choice supports my coffee cart's operation and customer experience.	I can creatively solve problems by designing an innovative mobile coffee cart that effectively addresses storage solutions, equipment needs, and accessibility features, ensuring it meets the practical demands of a real-world business.

Learning Journey

Empathize

You will conduct interviews and surveys with potential customers and community partners like Por Vida Cafe to uncover their coffee preferences, buying habits, and values, which will shape your coffee cart brand and business strategy.

Days 1 - 3

Milestone Activities

Meet Real Coffee Lovers

Launch 60m

In pairs, identify and interview 2-3 community members or local café staff (e.g., Por Vida Cafe) to learn about coffee preferences, buying habits, and what matters to them in a brand. Use open-ended prompts, record quotes, and capture quick observations. End with a brief interview plan and readiness to complete three interviews during Day 2.

Define

You will distill your research insights to craft a clear and compelling problem statement for your coffee cart business journey, aligning your objectives with community impact and entrepreneurial growth.

Days 4 - 6

Milestone Activities

Frame Problem and POV

Deliverable 90m

Collaborate in small groups to define your coffee cart's user-centered problem. Conduct quick interviews or observations with a peer, mentor, or community member to gather empathy data (needs, constraints, context). Synthesize insights into a clear POV statement that frames the problem from the user's perspective. Develop 3–5 How Might We (HMW) questions to explore potential directions, and create 2–3 user persona profiles that represent typical customers or partners. Build a simple problem tree or systems map illustrating root causes and relationships affecting the opportunity. Collect empathy artifacts (quotes, notes, photos) and prepare a brief reflection on how the insights shaped your framing. This deliverable prepares you for iterative ideation and prototyping in the next phase.

Ideate

You will brainstorm a wide array of creative ideas for your coffee cart's brand, products, and community engagement, leveraging feedback from Por Vida Cafe and local mentors to envision unique approaches that address real-world business opportunities and challenges.

Days 7 - 10

Milestone Activities

Portfolio of Brand Directions

Deliverable 60m

Individually assemble a concise concept portfolio with refined branding directions for your top ideas. Include the empathy artifacts, a brief user testing plan, implementation steps, and a one page summary suitable for the exhibition and feedback session. Prepare to present and discuss your approach with peers and mentors.

Prototype

You will create a prototype of your coffee cart, incorporating your brand design and community outreach goals, and prepare to test your business concept at local San Diego events with input from Por Vida Cafe experts to refine your approach and build confidence for the exhibition at Festival Del Sol.

Days 11 - 15

Milestone Activities

User Testing Documentation

Deliverable 90m

Design and run a structured user testing session for your cart prototype and branding concepts. Produce a testing protocol, synthesize user feedback, and document revision decisions with clear rationale. Use the findings to refine branding, layout, and operations in preparation for local San Diego events and Festival Del Sol.

Test/Present

You will present your coffee cart business model and branding to community stakeholders and at Festival Del Sol, engage in meaningful dialogue to receive constructive feedback, and document the entire experience through a reflection video to consolidate your learning journey.

Days 16 - 20

Milestone Activities

Cart Mock-up & Ops

Deliverable 75m

Build a physical or digital mock-up of the mobile coffee cart layout, including storage, equipment needs, and accessibility features. Iterate on the design to address user flow, safety, and operations. Present a photo or 3D model to the class and receive feedback.

Plan

Week 1	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
Phase	Empathize Define
Activities	Meet Real Coffee Lovers Launch 60m	Stakeholder Mapping and Problem Framing Knowledge/Skill Building 60m	Brand Values to Logo Concepts Knowledge/Skill Building 60m	Frame Problem and POV Deliverable 90m
Preparation

Week 2	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7	Day 8
Phase	Define Ideate
Activities	Brand Identity Sketches for Your Coffee Cart Knowledge/Skill Building 60m	Audience Research & Signage Messaging Knowledge/Skill Building 60m	Portfolio of Brand Directions Deliverable 60m	Brand Identity Deep Dive: Logo and Palette Knowledge/Skill Building 60m
Preparation

Week 3	Day 9	Day 10	Day 11	Day 12
Phase	Ideate Prototype
Activities	Signage Design and Cart Graphics Mockups Knowledge/Skill Building 60m	Community Outreach Plan with Por Vida Cafe Knowledge/Skill Building 60m	Operations Sprint: Menu, Pricing, and Flow Knowledge/Skill Building 60m	Pilot Readiness: Testing Plan and Data Toolkit Knowledge/Skill Building 60m
Preparation

Week 4	Day 13	Day 14	Day 15	Day 16
Phase	Prototype Test/Present
Activities	User Testing Documentation Deliverable 90m	Branding Build: Logo & Signage Refinement Knowledge/Skill Building 60m	Identify Target Market & Value Prop Knowledge/Skill Building 60m	Pricing & Budgeting Basics Knowledge/Skill Building 60m
Preparation

Week 5	Day 17	Day 18	Day 19	Day 20
Phase	Test/Present
Activities	Cart Ops: Layout, Safety & SOPs Knowledge/Skill Building 60m	Cart Mock-up & Ops Deliverable 75m	Empathize with Customers: Conduct Interviews Knowledge/Skill Building 60m	Design Brand Identity: Logo and Signage Knowledge/Skill Building 60m
Preparation

Brewpreneurs on Wheels: San Diego Edition!

Purpose

Learning goals

Products

Launch

Exhibition

Milestone Activities

Edit Phase

Milestone Activities

Edit Phase

Milestone Activities

Edit Phase

Milestone Activities

Edit Phase

Milestone Activities

Edit Phase