A loan helped .


Annie's story

As a born and raised native Angeleno, I thought that Hollywood would be the perfect place to do what I love: tell stories. A career in movies and television therefore made "perfect" sense.

After a short 18 months of working on popular shows, (i.e. Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Real World) I was able to attain the position of Additional Video Editor on one of the most well-revered shows in television—Project Runway.

But I was unhappy. Leaving a career is almost always a hard decision, and it was especially difficult for me. This is where coffee entered the picture.

Even while I was working in the entertainment industry, I wanted to open a coffee shop in Los Angeles. A coffee shop is a place filled with stories: the baristas' and customers' personal life stories, the spirit of the neighborhood the coffee shop is located in, and even down to the coffee's journey into the customer's hands itself. And in the lonely place that Los Angeles can sometimes be, stories amongst community is essential.

My background also lends itself to my reasons for opening up a small business. Currently, my parents own and operate an independent acupuncture clinic. My father owned a multitude of small businesses throughout his own career (i.e. mobile grocery truck, denim clothing factory, used car dealership). It is no coincidence that I inherited my parents' entrepreneurial spirit.

My coffee background started with Demitasse Coffee Roasters, a premiere and well-respected specialty coffee shop, as the former full-time General Manager at their Santa Monica location. I started at the company in March 2013, and within a mere four months, I was promoted from Intern to Barista to Director of Social Media to Manager.

With the help of generous Kiva lenders, I was able to secure my first Kiva loan in the matter of 16 hours -- a record for Kiva borrowers in Los Angeles! With that loan, I was able to purchase vital equipment to start my first coffee shop, Found Coffee, in the Eagle Rock neighborhood in Los Angeles. We opened our doors in February 2015. Found Coffee is a coffee shop where people are able to find themselves and find community—just as I have in my own life and in LA.

Where I'm at today: I've discovered that my passion is creating spaces that gather people from diverse backgrounds. I can't wait to do that with my second bakery + coffee shop, FrankieLucy Bakeshop.


This loan is special because:

It supports a coffee and bakeshop that uses ingredients from local vendors in California.



Loan details


About FrankieLucy Bakeshop

Industry: Food
Years in operation: New Business
Website: frankielucybakeshop.com

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Loan details