Billy Goat Coffee is the brainchild of husband and wife duo, Yee Ken Saw and Rachel Ang. What started as a passion project has blossomed into a full-fledged business that resonates with coffee lovers and community enthusiasts alike.
Rachel, with a background in medical bioscience but a career in branding and marketing, brought a complementary skill set to the venture, blending the science of coffee with the art of brand building.
Yee Ken, a mechanical engineer by training, found his true calling in the aromatic world of coffee. His journey began during his university years in Melbourne, where a simple goal of trying all the lattes in the city evolved into a deep love for coffee.
Yee Ken’s coffee journey is not one of mere happenstance. After returning to Kuala Lumpur, he took on a role as a sales engineer for coffee equipment, which provided him with a front-row seat to the technicalities of the coffee industry.
For him, it wasn’t just about brewing coffee; it was about understanding the machines, the beans, the roasting process, and the subtleties that make a good cup of coffee great.
His dedication to his craft earned him accolades, including winning the International Coffee Roast Master Championship and the Liberica Coffee Roasting Competition for the Asian region. He even became a licensed Q grader, a prestigious certification in the coffee industry.
A weekend gig became a full-time passion
Billy Goat Coffee’s story began during the MCO (Movement Control Order) in 2020 when Yee Ken and Rachel decided to send greetings to friends and family they hadn’t seen in a while when the borders briefly opened.
They found an old box of alcohol bottles from a junk sale and, with a sprinkle of creativity, decided to repurpose them for their coffee.
“Without much thought, we designed labels teasing our friends with the note ‘STAY AT HOME. JANGAN KESINI KESANA’ plastered on the coffee bottles and made our first deliveries,” they told Vulcan Post.
The unusual presentation caught the attention of social media users, and soon, orders started flooding in through their DMs.
Despite Yee Ken’s full-time job, the couple found themselves producing 60 to 80 bottles of their signature iced coffee every weekend. It wasn’t long before they realised they had stumbled upon something special.
“We went into it pretty cowboy style,” they recalled. “It was like all the stars lined up for us.” The journey wasn’t just about making coffee—it was about connecting with people, sharing joy, and finding comfort in small pleasures during uncertain times.
A bold move to Kuching
In 2021, the couple made a bold decision to relocate their family to Kuching, Sarawak, Rachel’s hometown. The move was initially intended to be a period of settling in and adjusting to a new life. But, as fate would have it, Billy Goat Coffee was destined to grow even bigger.
Just three months into their new life in Kuching, Yee Ken woke up one morning and decided to make an enormous batch of their signature iced coffee, filling their fridge to the brim.
Rachel saw this as an opportunity to introduce Billy Goat Coffee to her Instagram followers, and the response was nothing short of explosive. The entire batch sold out, and within a week, they had received 400 orders.
It was a pivotal moment that marked the transition of Billy Goat Coffee from a part-time venture to a full-time business.
“We didn’t plan on making Billy Goat Coffee our full-time income, but the community in Kuching embraced us with open arms,” the couple said. “It was the right time, right place, and the right people who believed in us and supported us.”
Billy Goat Coffee is named after the Norwegian folktale “Billy Goats Gruff,” where three billy goats trick a troll into crossing a bridge. Yee Ken and Rachel incorporated this story into their brand, with the tagline “Defeat the trolls” symbolising overcoming challenges.
The challenges and triumphs of a home-based business
Running a home-based coffee business comes with its own set of challenges. Without a physical storefront, Billy Goat Coffee relied heavily on social media to reach customers.
Initially, it seemed like a limitation but turned out to be a significant strength, allowing the brand to connect with a far larger audience at an accelerated pace. The absence of a public storefront didn’t hinder them. Rather, it made them more innovative.
“One of our biggest challenges was operating with a super lean team,” they explained. “For the past five years, it’s just been the two of us juggling everything from operations to creativity.”
The couple’s circumstances forced them to think outside the box, finding inspiration in the ordinary and turning limitations into opportunities.
For instance, the lack of manpower led them to innovate with a draught coffee cart, inspired by draught beer. They infused nitrogen into their signature iced coffee, creating a unique and popular product in Kuching.
Another time, when they ran out of bottles, they pivoted to desserts, introducing their now-famous Apple Strudel, which paved the way for an expanded dessert menu.
The power of community
Reflecting on their journey, Yee Ken and Rachel are grateful for the community that supported them from the beginning.
In KL, they had the safety net of Ken’s previous job, allowing them to experiment and find their footing. Friends played a crucial role in organising bulk orders and spreading the word.
But it was in Kuching that Billy Goat Coffee truly found its home. The couple returned to a town in lockdown, where people were unable to visit their usual coffee spots.
This circumstance worked in their favour, as residents were eager to try something new. The word spread quickly, driven by the kampung spirit of word-of-mouth recommendations.
Bulk orders became a regular occurrence, and the support from the local community was overwhelming.
“We’re so grateful for the support we received in Kuching,” the founders said. “It was a time when people were looking for comfort and connection, and our coffee provided that.”
From home kitchen to physical store
Billy Goat Coffee has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Today, they are transitioning from their private residence to a physical outlet, making their menu more accessible to the public. Partnering with Design Network Architects, a locally renowned architectural firm, the couple is excited about this new chapter in their business.
“We’ve reached a pivotal point where it’s time to take the next leap,” Rachel and Yee Ken shared. “The support and faith that Design Network Architects have shown us gave us the confidence to grow and expand.”
The new physical store will feature their entire menu, both beverages and desserts, with a few upgrades to their signature items. From their signature iced coffee to the Serian Pineapple Macarons, inspired by pineapple tarts for Chinese New Year, the menu will continue to grow organically, staying true to their values of not rushing the process.
“We want to serve not just great quality coffee but also bring a sense of home and belonging to our customers,” they said. “We’re big on the food and beverages we serve, but we’re equally big on curating community, experiences, and memories.”
The path ahead
Billy Goat Coffee started with just under RM500—a testament to the couple’s determination to run a sustainable business without overinvesting.
Over the years, they reinvested profits back into the business, stretching every Ringgit and making complicated things simple.
“We’ve learnt the power of community,” they noted. “Where money can’t go, people can. The support we’ve received in Kuching has allowed us to share resources and grow in ways we never imagined.”
As Billy Goat Coffee looks to the future, their short-term plans include smoothing out operations at their physical store and building a strong core team. The long-term vision is centred around partnerships, community involvement, and continued creativity.
“We started small, and we’ve grown organically, but our core values remain the same. We’re here to serve great coffee, build community, and create memorable experiences,” they said.
Billy Goat Coffee is a story of love, community, and the pursuit of passion. From Melbourne to KL, and now Kuching, Yee Ken and Rachel have poured their hearts into every cup, defeating life’s trolls one brew at a time.
- You can learn more about Billy Goat Coffee here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.
Featured Image Credit: Billy Goat Coffee