Ron Vieira: Urbana Cafe

Xavier Alumnus Celebrates Urbana and Moxy Merger

Ronald Vieira (Xavier ‘16): The Entrepreneurial Journey

 When Ron came to Xavier from Venezuela he found his passion in entrepreneurship very quickly. In Spring 2015, he traveled to India with Dr. Rashmi Assudani on a ‘Doing Business with India’ study abroad program. The focus of this visit was entirely on entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship in the global economy.

At the young age of 19 years old, he decided to step outside his comfort zone in an attempt to address the want for more food options on campus many of his peers expressed interest in. To accomplish this, he put together a team of entrepreneurial minded students to launch Faves, an on-campus food store in the library. As with any entrepreneurial venture, Ron had to learn how to navigate the challenges of a new startup. He advocated about this idea to several on campus and finally Faves was launched. 

This early learning opportunity allowed Ron to learn, progress, and get better for his future successes, such as being a large part in running and scaling local Urbana coffee shops.

 

 Urbana opened their first shop in 2015 in Over the Rhine, and began to expand to other locations in December 2015. Urbana had everything a good coffee shop deserves as they offered great coffee, pastries, and service. However, in 2017 when Ron became a partner while getting his master's in accounting at Xavier and locations expanded more over the next 5 years, he had a realization. The typical structure they had for pastries was a one-man, do-it-all strategy, but when the pastry chef was unavailable for a long period of time, the business suffered. The need for a consistent, favored by locals option came to light. This option was called Moxy, which was already partnering with 1215 Wine and Bar Coffee lab, Mom ‘n ‘em Coffee & Wine, Collective Espresso, and more local spots. Moxy will continue to deliver to these partners, but will also create a unique menu for Urbana.

 

 When talking to Ron, it is clear that no two days are the same as an entrepreneur. A growth mindset has been used to measure company success as clear goals are set by trackable metrics making progress towards that goal. Right before coming to view the Center for Innovation, Ron spent his morning doing deliveries, picking up flour, and being an extra set of hands wherever needed. After that, he goes to change into a suit where he discusses financials during a rooftop lunch. This shows that being an entrepreneur means wearing different hats, and being able to change from hustling around town to a professional setting in a matter of minutes. Ron has credited his experience with Faves as an undergraduate student at Xavier allowing him to have thick skin, and see success later in life as a result. Join us in congratulating Ron, Urbana, and Moxy on their merger!