Starbucks had a 6:1 debt-to-equity ratio, which limited our ability to innovate due to high debt service payments.

In 2008, I returned to Starbucks amidst a financial crisis, where the market cap had plummeted from $30 billion to less than $7 billion, and we faced negative sales growth for the first time in our history.

Starbucks was seven months away from insolvency, and I had to communicate the gravity of our situation to employees, emphasizing that we were trying to save the company.

I faced significant challenges raising $3.8 million to buy Starbucks, including competition from investors who wanted to take over the company without due diligence.

Starbucks was originally a small-time Seattle roaster that only sold beans before I took over and expanded it.

In 1982, I joined Starbucks as the head of marketing when they were preparing to open their fourth store, still focused solely on selling coffee beans.

Starbucks' success is rooted in creating a community space where people connect over coffee, which was a novel concept in the U.S. at the time.

We struggled in China for nearly a decade, facing significant financial losses until Belinda Wang joined and changed the course of Starbucks in that market.

I raised the money to buy Starbucks Coffee Company with the help of Bill Gates and my son.