Mr Matthew Poh hit upon the idea of starting The Caffeine Experience while he was incarcerated.
Mr Matthew Poh, 53, managing founder of The Caffeine Experience, a social enterprise and cafe that helps former offenders find employment and restart their lives.The managing founder of social enterprise and cafe The Caffeine Experience says being sent to jail at age 44 was the jolt he needed to find his purpose. Now 53, he is focused on helping fellow ex-offenders find employment and restart their lives.
His then girlfriend, who later became his first wife, introduced him to party drugs and, over time, his drug habit escalated. He neglected his business. Even as clients filed lawsuits against his company for unfulfilled contracts, his addiction worsened when his friends introduced him to methamphetamine.
But he continued to use drugs until he was caught in 2015. When he was called up by the police to assist with investigations, he showed up at the police station, tested positive for drugs and was sent to jail for eight months, followed by four months in a halfway house.Six months into serving his sentence, he hit upon the idea of starting a social enterprise and put it into action when he left prison in 2016. Naysayers told him he would last three months at most.
“I lost count of how many people I approached. Some would not even hear me out and hung up as soon as I introduced myself. As an ex-offender and bankrupt, I had zero credibility,” he says. Mr Poh set up a cat cafe because he started keeping cats after he left prison. He fell in love with them as they are independent and easy to care for. They are also a source of comfort and joy for his staff.
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