How I’m Making It: Why this German entrepreneur wants to elevate the way we drink ‘kopi’

“Sure, you got instant kopi products, but for most taste buds, that doesn't cut it anymore. However, if we could offer people kopitiam-inspired, high-quality beverages in a convenient yet sustainable form, they might be willing to switch to that,” Lieberum shares.

With Nespresso machines being widely popular in homes and offices, Lieberum decided to package his kopi into Nespresso-compatible pods.

Aptly named No Harm Done, the local coffee company also believes that corporations should take the onus of “moving the sustainability needle”, thus creating fully compostable capsules.

“We got the power to change the world… at the end of the day, corporations will produce what people buy. The more we choose to spend our dollars on sustainable products, the more of those products will be offered,” the entrepreneur adds.

To Lieberum, No Harm Done is one of his proudest achievements. That said, he has not always been in the coffee business. In fact, prior to his latest venture, the entrepreneur was the managing director of packaging material company Rrts Contractpack in Singapore, and management consultant of tech company Accenture in Berlin, Germany. "It was a good time to explore something new," he admits. 

Today, No Harm Done is loved by coffee aficionados across the island. With the brand’s latest plan to expand to Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia this year, we catch up with Lieberum as he shares more about how he makes it all work.

What is a typical morning like for you?

Simon Lieberum (SL): I'm a creature of habit and really enjoy my mornings. I get up at 6 am and start with a big glass of lemon water, followed by a 15-minute meditation. I then take a cold shower and start getting ready for the day. As I have two young kids, anything after that is mostly about them. Once I get them out of bed, we play for a while or just goof around. By 7:30 am, we are all having breakfast together.

What do you usually have for breakfast?

SL: The entire family will have fruit smoothies for breakfast. It's a great way to load up on nutrients for the day. On Sundays, my wife will prepare her famous oat pancakes with caramelised bananas.

What does a standard work day look like for you?

SL: I work from 8:30 am to 3 pm, then again from 7 pm to 9 pm. The four hours in between are blocked out for my kids. A typical workday has dedicated time frames for emails, meetings, and creative work or business development. In the morning, my team has coffee together and we chat about ideas, business challenges, or just random private topics. I prefer very lean business set-ups and tend to outsource a lot to professionals in the respective areas. This is very efficient, but also comes with a lot of coordination work.

How would you describe your working style?

SL: I imagine something, draft the bigger picture, and go for it. I'm not good with details and work much better handing over those tasks to others with more attention to detail. The 80/20 rule applies to almost everything. I'm not a fan of perfection. What does perfection even mean? Perfect for me is certainly not perfect for you. Hence, I prefer to keep things flexible and remain open to continuous adjustments based on market feedback.

What time do you usually have lunch? What do you usually have for lunch?

SL: I love packing lunch from home. I don't eat meat, and great vegan or vegetarian options are limited around my office area. Ordering in is a treat, but not ideal for health or for the environment. A lunch that excites me? Thai green curry with tofu on brown rice.

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Free time: overrated or underrated? Why?

SL: Totally necessary. I believe in having free time, but I'm also incredibly bad at it. My New Year resolution is to set aside time (minimally two times a week) to do something for myself. It could be cycling or meeting a friend outside of work, just some simple things to keep my mind and mood in check.

How do you achieve a work-life balance? How do you set boundaries?

SL: Honestly, I don't. Building a company can easily consume all your time. It's hard for me not to work when everything is always on the line. It's different when it comes to my family, especially my kids. I'm very protective over our time together. When I'm with my kids, that's all I do. No emails in between, no drifting off into tomorrow's meeting agenda. They can feel the difference, and they have the right to get my full attention.

What was your first job? What did you learn from it?

SL: I did about a dozen different jobs during my school days. From construction work to event photography, everything was exciting to me. Right after university, I started my career in a consulting firm. The learning was great and I had the chance to meet lots of people and experienced great mentorship. Till today, I benefit from the methodologies taught to me and the ability to get to the bottom of problems. That was always my dream job, until I had it. I spent three years on planes and in hotels but never really felt like I did fit in. It was a good time for me to explore something new.

How do you chase your dreams?

SL: I really enjoy working on things that align with my values. It's incredibly fulfilling, even during times when success doesn't come easy. If I want to do something, I will try it out once, regardless of how raw or vague the prototype is. This stage allows me to get as much feedback as possible. 

Risks: should you take them? Why or why not?

SL: It's just way too risky not to take risks. I rather fail at something or find out that I was completely wrong about an assumption than not go for the things in life that really excite me! Not doing what I love scares me much more than taking risks or even failing at them.

How do you deal with your shortcomings?

SL: In entrepreneurship, we don't really know much. It's working with assumptions. What helps me to get better results is to ask others, preferably with very different points of view. I basically invite people to challenge my assumptions. Another thing that really helps is to vote. For example, when we want to launch a new product design, if I think it should be option one but a quick vote across the team shows that most favour option two, then that's the answer. It's so easy to believe you know something or you have done this before, but that's a dangerous path.

What is one failure that you have experienced and what did you learn from it?

SL: Trying to be someone that I was not. I'm an introvert and spent most parts of my life believing I had to be outgoing like Gatsby from The Great Gatsby. I was trying to fix what I considered to be a problem, rather than to function in ways that work well with my personality type. Slowly, I understood that I will never be a Gatsby and that's okay, it's liberating to come to terms with who I am and consider my own needs. 

What is one item that has changed your life for the better?

SL: Kopi-o. Can’t live without it. I’m serious.

How do you stay motivated?

SL: I always feel like I'm with my back against the wall. Nothing is for granted. I have cultivated that mindset and for now, that works well. At some point, I might have to see a therapist about that to learn how to manage the different aspects of life.

How do you prioritise tasks?

SL: The tasks that help me build my long-term goals always come first. It's difficult, but I try my best to work in that order and not to get caught up in payments and emails or other administrative details until I’ve finally settled the major tasks.

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How does No Harm Done ensure sustainability?

SL: There are certain materials, like plastic for example, that we avoid altogether. The materials that we use need to come from sustainable sources we can identify. That starts with the compostable capsules made from bio-based cellulose and vegetable oils. Our coffee beans are all sourced from Asia and don't have to be shipped around the world to get to us. We aim to understand where the ingredients come from and choose farms that add value to workers, the land, and the community. The best examples are our Thai Mountain Espresso and Akha Tribe Ristretto. Both are made from coffee beans sourced from Northern Thailand, are organic and Fair Trade Certified and supports the Akha Hill Tribe and their fight for change. Leaving a troubled past of opium cultivation behind them, the Akha Tribe turned to coffee farming and brought stability and sustainability to their people.

How do you manage stress?

SL: Meditation definitely helps me a lot. It creates space in the mind to react appropriately to whatever life throws at you.

How do you unplug?

SL: I recently started CrossFit, it's really intense and leaves you with this great feeling of having worked the entire body. Certainly a fantastic feel-good dopamine boost that helps get my mind off work. Other than that, I love doing a stretching or Pilates routine with my wife before we go to bed. That really helps to loosen up all the tension from a long day.

Do you have moments of doubt and how do you overcome them?

SL: I sure do. Like 10 times a day. That's normal and part of the journey. I try to label them in my mind as doubts when they come up. That helps me to differentiate between valuable thoughts and plain negative thinking. Doubts are not facts, they are just thoughts. It gets problematic if I feel that I’m stuck in a negative thought loop that could eventually stop me from doing what I want to do. In that case, I find it helpful to exercise or go for a walk. Something as simple as going for a walk activates both sides of the brain and helps process all sorts of emotions that are stuck in the nervous system.

What would you still like to accomplish?

SL: I'm more of a generalist, I can do everything, even if I learn it bit by bit. I would love to be excellent at something though. Maybe sailing, and then sailing with the family from island to island for a year. That would be a dream for me. 

Do you have any advice for entrepreneurs hoping to enter this industry?

SL: Just go for it. Don't over-plan. Start with a minimum viable product. Be open to your product changing along the way, and modify your product when you gain more insights from your customers.

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