Luke Larson

Making matcha taste great and accessible.
Building a 1M-machine network.
Investing in Seattle.

We're doing it.

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

Vale’s GET’R DONE Master Plan 🚀

In 1997 Amazon was “just” an online bookstore.

Today Vale Concepts is Seattle’s fastest-growing modern matcha brand.

Our goal for the next five years is clear: become the market leader in matcha across the United States and beyond. I have strong conviction we will get there.
In 10 years, people will look back and say: “Wasn’t Vale that matcha company?”

Some might look to AI for their strategy I have a simpler muse. Mater from Pixar's Cars.

Our Master Plan is GET’R DONE:

GENESIS
The idea has lived with me since the mid-90s watching Microsoft, Starbucks, and Amazon scale in the Pacific Northwest. In 2014 I emailed my pal Tyler Conant and sketched out a plan to build an automated, app-pay beverage machine.

EXECUTION
Phase 1 (2025–2026): Build a deeply loved brand delivering amazing crafted cold drinks. Prove out an automated experience. We want to shatter people's expectations for what can come out of a machine.
Phase 2 (2027–2029): Refine and simplify automation and scale intelligent machines.
Phase 3 (2030+): Land and expand. City by city, country by country, category by category.

TRANSFORMATION
Move beyond drinks into broader daily essentials. People don’t want more pre-packaged crap. They want crafted food & beverage that actually tastes good delivered with radical accessibility and convenience.

REVOLUTION
Archaic zoning laws are broken. Why is mixed retail and residential impossible? My old boss Rick Smith had to go to war with Scottsdale to build housing close to his HQ and put some amenities there. Why should 90% of Americans have to drive 2.5+ miles for a decent café or restaurant?

We’re going to attack those outdated rules head-on. Push boundaries. Reimagine zoning. Put Vale machines on every corner real neighborhood fuel, crafted fresh, available 24/7.

This isn’t just a beverage company. This is smart infrastructure for better neighborhoods. Unmanned automated retail will happen. Vale is going to make it awesome and not suck.

I say we're going to have 1 million machines by 2040. I think that is a low ball estimate. I think it will be 10x that.

Join Us: https://t.co/bvVvxLU6Ag

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

GOD 10/10 every time. The ability to go all in on a purpose will not always but often times in the long run beat someone more talented but not serving a higher purpose.

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

We need to take a month off in 2030 in and follow the US team in Spain. Who’s with me. 🇺🇸⚽️

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@rrhoover There’s no argument only people who believe in person is the right answer and people who are wrong

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@garrytan Stop printing money and spending. Measure results. 10 year review of any program not meeting goals cut

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@nettermike Semper Fi

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@wagrowntv Love this

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@sammysintech Street team

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@angeladuckw Set conditions for success

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@bernsteind @AgExtensionist This is awesome

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@Alfred_Lin Everyone should be taught to believe they can make a difference and build a better version of the future. Believing is an essential element. This mindset also creates a nightingale’s song where a virtuous circle emerges vs a doom loop. Great piece!

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@realEstateTrent No billboards in Scottsdale, AZ

[Hadi Partovi @hadip]

As an Iranian American, my #1 wish for the Iranian diaspora is to treat each other as fellow Iranians — with the respect, humility, and hospitality that has defined Persian culture for thousands of years.

My twin brother @apartovi and I left Iran with nothing in 1984. Our father, Firooz Partovi, was the founding professor of Sharif University. Our extended family, the Khosrowshahis, helped build Iran’s industry before all was seized in the revolution. Since then, each of us and our cousins have done our best to contribute to Western society as legal immigrants.

Politics divides. Culture unites.
☮️❤️

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@hadip @eskandarii6 @apartovi @hadip and @apartovi are two of the best leaders on the planet for uniting people and focusing on lifting everyone up. These aren’t empty platitudes they’ve done it @neo and @codeorg .

Partovi twins, block out the noise keep doing what you’re doing. It’s noticed and appreciated

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@dliphotos https://t.co/52n3VWcdtp

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@paulg

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@dliphotos https://t.co/DMt7nTH2Lo

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@paulg then it gets automated

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@dliphotos https://t.co/VBUTTY6clQ

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

there are no silver bullets. just lead bullets. Figuring out the placement, resupply etc... is the work. Once that is done then the dream is you have the coke machine footprint that was in place when my grandfather went to high school, then my dad, then me. pretty great annuity for 15 sq ft of real estate

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@dliphotos https://t.co/9WeYDXM6o8

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

The idea is that these "Cute" Bars are the vanguard for a much larger vision. People come buy a drink. Download our app and have a great first brand impression. The bars also have a "Market Pull" where they are in request as an amenity offering a better product than a traditional vending machine.

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@dliphotos https://t.co/9REXUKwTqT

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@paulg some work goes into actually engineering this thing to be:
1) Easily deployable
2) meet health and safety standards
3) place these in high enough density areas where traffic works

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@dliphotos https://t.co/bxl639HVUI

[Luke Larson @Focus_Matcha]

@paulg often notes that the best startups and disruptive ideas initially look like toys. I think when people see Vale's matcha bars they think, that's a cute lemonade stand and discount the potential.