Mel Elias

Co-founder @ Bruvi

About

Mel Elias is an active investor, entrepreneur, former President & CEO of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and music composer based in Los Angeles. He has past and present Board experience in CPG and consumer facing businesses, both in the US and internationally. He is currently an advisor and board member to various venture funds and businesses from coffee and cannabis retail to music production. Mel is focusing his attention on BRUVI, a start-up he recently co-founded which will be launching a breakthrough coffee capsule system in the US in early 2021. BRUVI is a consumer-tech/razor razor-blade business and will provide noticeably tastier coffee in the convenience of an eco-conscious capsule system for an addressable market in excess of 62M households. Mel started in the specialty coffee business in 1998 and became President and CEO of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in 2008, until it was sold to private equity in 2013. He was responsible for growing the brand to over 1,000 stores and creating a global omni-channel business in excess of $500 million in systemwide sales, employing over 12,000 people. He remained on the Board of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf with additional advisory duties until the company was recently sold again in September 2019. Prior to his career in coffee retail, Mel was the Managing Director of the Tower Records Franchise in Malaysia and practiced law in Singapore for 2 years. Mel graduated from the London School of Economics and served in the Singapore Military for 2.5 years. In 2014, Mel founded Wava Studios, which later became Reverse Bird, where he actively composes music and scores for film and other commercial media. Mel is a proficient music producer and has written original scores for orchestras in the US and in Russia. His work can be found on CD Baby, Spotify, iTunes and other music platforms. Films he has scored have been entered in competition in both SXSW and the Sundance Film Festival. https://www.ascap.com/news-events/Events/2019/sundance/composers/Elias-Mel

Country

United States

City

West Hollywood

Industry

Consumer Goods

Skill

Executive Management, Consulting, Business Development, Leadership, Franchising, Specialty Coffee, Coffee Roasting, Master Franchising, Legal, Food & Beverage, Restaurants, Espresso, Building Brand Awareness, OmniChannel Strategy, Business Strategy, Retail, Management, Franchise Consulting, Food , Finance

Experience

Co-founder

Bruvi

2018-10 - Present · 8 yrs

Beverly Hills, California

America's soon to be favorite Coffee Single serve brewer delivering noticeably tastier coffee in the convenience of eco-friendly freshness sealed capsules. This consumer tech brand and business will launch it's first brewer for sale via DTC in March 2021

Board Member

MedMen

2020-2 - Present · 6 yrs 8 mos

Audit and Compensation Committee Member. MedMen Enterprises is a leading cannabis company in the U.S. with assets and operations nationwide. MedMen owns and operates licensed cannabis facilities in cultivation, manufacturing and retail, and is the most recognized cannabis brand in the world today.

Co-Founder

Divergent IP, LLC

2018-8 - Present · 8 yrs 2 mos

Beverly Hills, CA

Divergent IP is Patent and Engineering Company. We invent consumer products, patent protect the inventions and develop strategies to sell them in the most viable and efficient formats and channels - usually via DTC or Pure-play channels. We focus on industries that are dominated by monopolies and/or products that qualify as razor/razor-blade. Currently Divergent IP, LLC is the business that owns and operates BRUVI

Non-Executive Board Member

Miroma Group

2012-1 - Present · 14 yrs 9 mos

London, United Kingdom

A communications collective offering ideation, creation and distribution services. With challenger thinking, creativity and innovation at our core, Miroma delivers the right outcomes for every client. Miroma is spearheading a new age communications model across its global network that operates in 35 markets.

Venture Partner

Crosscut Ventures

2015-1 - Present · 11 yrs 9 mos

Santa Monica, California

Partnering with early-stage founders to build hyper-growth technology companies

Director

Sassoon Investment Corporation (SassCorp)

2016-2 - Present · 10 yrs 8 mos

Beverly Hills, California

Family office activities and advisory

Founder and Composer

Reverse Bird

2015-10 - Present · 11 yrs

Reverse Bird is a unique music production facility in the heart of West Hollywood. We provide music scores for film and television as well as music production services for commercial media and artists in most genres. We maintain a music library for sync projects and also provide audio post production services such as voice-over and ADR. Facilities boast a dual studio/live room, surround sound 5.1 mixing, mastering outboard equipment and also one of LA's largest collection of Analogue synths for sound design creation. Full pro-tools and logic x production set up available.

Operating Advisor

Cup Half Full Holdings, Inc (Muetos Coffee Co.)

2020-1 - Present · 6 yrs 9 mos

California

Muertos Roasters. a coffee company targeting the Fire Service/Fire family and their consumption of coffee. Our vision is to have each cup of coffee consumed and a portion of the proceeds be a means of giving back to victims of fire, line of duty deaths or people in need. Our intention is to build a brand that serves the fire service community across the US.

Consultant

Coffee and Tea Consultant and Advisor

2014-1 - Present · 12 yrs 9 mos

Greater Los Angeles Area

Provide consulting or advisory services for coffee, retail, food & beverage related brands and businesses. Including Advisory roles, Board and M&A services. Expertise in omni-channel, including brick & mortar, DTC and CPG