Hidden Gems: Meet Mukund Komanduri of Mocha Tribe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mukund Komanduri.

Mukund Komanduri is an Indian/American Music Producer and Entrepreneur born in Mumbai, India. Adopted at the age of one his immigrant parents then brought him overseas to Stillwater, Oklahoma where his is father was a college professor and his mother raised him and his older sister. Mukund gravitated to creativity from an early age starting piano at the age of six and violin at the age of nine. He fell in love with music when he picked up the guitar as a teenager and practiced religiously every day. He soon got asked to play in local bands where he learned to write songs, put together shows, and sell merchandise. As soon as Mukund graduated high school he got accepted into the world-renown Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, California and started school immediately. There he received an intense education in music and learned many subjects such as arranging, music theory, film composition, and session playing. After three years, he started an entertainment/ label service company and started working in Artist Development but decided to split up with his business partners after two years due to wanting to go in a different direction.

Mukund noticed that his artists were always coming into sessions with giant cups of coffee. He asked them how much they spend a month on coffee and was appalled by the amount they waste on average tasting coffee. The subscription model has been around for a while and e-commerce has reigned for two decades so Komanduri decided to merge the two to create a coffee service that doesn’t need a brick and mortar shop while also delivering quality coffee to the consumer’s doorstep. This will save them money, time, and physical effort for people who are always on the go. But wait, that wasn’t enough for him. CBD coffee and tea is the new trend so he decided to add that as well as leverage his experience in the entertainment industry to turn Mocha Tribe into not only a B2C Startup but also a full-scale Content Creation + Marketing behemoth.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been very bumpy. In Oklahoma, I grew up very conservative Indian family and the stereotype was very true. Anything other than following the traditional path garnered a concerning look and an intervention of sorts. I had to fight to be in the arts and eventually, my family realized that this is what I love and excel at. They let me move to LA after high school but still kept a close eye because they still didn’t really understand this lifestyle.

As per my adult life, when I moved to LA I had to learn so much in regards to socializing, networking, gigging, and making money without any real backup plan. The biggest struggle was starting a business at a younger age (right before I turned 22) that had a lot of moving parts. Managing talent, finances, irresponsible business partners, planning logistics for shoots, and entrepreneurial skills all while trying to hone my production style in artist development. A lot of times it got so crazy that I thought I would explode but I got used to it. I’m finally reaping the benefits of having to be ten different people at the same time and a lot of what I experienced has made things easier for starting and scaling Mocha Tribe.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Mocha Tribe provides a modern twist on drinking coffee. Customers will be able to have a curated subscription box of both regular and CBD coffee delivered to their homes and will become part of a digital Tribe ecosystem. They’ll receive fresh content through social media channels, as well as be invited to weekly “Tribe Sessions” which will feature up and coming singer/songwriters, highlighting my passion and history in entertainment. In doing so, Mocha Tribe will set the industry standard for the new era of creative startups.

Mocha Tribe is the only company in LA to infuse CBD oil directly into the coffee beans. The brand has been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, ABC, NBC, and many more.

What’s unique about Mocha Tribe is that I’m able to create my own products, content, use advanced strategies to market both, cross-brand with celebrities/influencers, and generate revenue from a product. This is exactly why the business will flourish in this new era of entertainment, technology, and logistics. I try to be aware of what people want, how they behave, and most importantly cutting edge marketing and product innovation is what I do best.

With the monthly subscription service as well as financing options, I’ve made the products more cost-effective for consumers. People’s spending habits have changed during and coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic so it’s very important for me to keep in mind. Mocha Tribe is in an advantageous position because of my inherent ability to blend a B2C business with a full-scale entertainment, content creation, and marketing company.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
For me, I think my rationality and independence will be most important to my success. I pride myself on how my mind works and nearly any situation can become an opportunity to expand my knowledge and hone my rational thinking skills. I feel like I can devise inventive solutions to even the most arduous of problems.

I’ve only met a few people that can match my ability to transform complex principles into clear and actionable strategies. That being said, I tend to surround myself with people that balance me out; ones whose strengths are my weaknesses. I don’t mean to knock conformity, but it’s is more or less synonymous with mediocrity. Creative and self-motivated, I strive to do things my own way. I find nothing more frustrating than allowing rules or conventions to stand in the way of success.

I want to spend my life tackling meaningful challenges and find elegant solutions to important problems whether it be in entertainment, business, or my personal life.

Pricing:

• Regular whole bean coffee starts at $17.97
• CBD whole bean coffee starts at $22.97
• Regular Single Serve Pods start at $18.97 for 24ct box
• CBD Serve Pods start at $31.97 for 24ct box
• There’s a 3 for 2 sale going on. Just add 3 products to your cart and the discount is immediately applied.

Contact Info:

• Email: mu@mymochatribe.com
• Website: www.mymochatribe.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mymochatribe/
• Other: https://www.tundra.com/shop/mymochatribe

Image Credits:
Luis Rodriguez, Johnny Pena