People of Dripos: Mariana Koffend
For Mariana Koffend, no two coffee shops are the same — and that's exactly what she loves about her job. As Dripos' Implementation Lead, Mariana is often the first face new customers see when they make the switch to Dripos, guiding them through onboarding with the kind of calm, patient energy that leaves a lasting impression. Whether she's launching 35 locations in a single day or going 4-wheeling with a customer in Oklahoma City, Mariana brings the same enthusiasm to every milestone. Three years in, she's not just building customer relationships — she's helping build Dripos itself.
Please introduce yourself!
I am the Implementation Lead here at Dripos, I've been at Dripos for a bit over 3 years now after graduating early from the University of Wisconsin. I'm originally from Michigan but have been living in different parts of the city for the past few years (going back and forth between parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn). I love traveling! My mom lives on Guam, so I am fortunate enough to explore countries all over Asia pretty often. In my free time after work, I love doing pottery, reading, or exploring all the fun restaurants and cocktail bars in the city!
What is your go-to coffee order?
Iced latte with whole milk
What is your go-to coffee shop?
What is your role at Dripos? and what is your favorite part of your role?
Implementation Lead, my favorite part of my role is learning about all of our new Dripos customers. It's like getting a sneak peek into the newest and coolest shops in the coffee industry!
What do you enjoy most and least about working at a tech start up?
There's no "user manual" at a tech startup. But, this gives me the autonomy to fill gaps and create processes and workflows myself that our team needs now or in the future! I get to help build Dripos alongside the rest of my teammates.
Can you describe a specific achievement at Dripos you are most proud of?
I loved launching our customer, Not Your Average Joe (NYAJ), out in Oklahoma City! It was an amazing trip where we got to spend time with the owners and employees of NYAJ and learn all about their mission, and help them switch to Dripos seamlessly and had a lot of fun while doing it.
What are you most excited to build, solve, or see come to life at Dripos this year?
I am excited to see our new branding come to life more and more throughout the year! Our new logo, branding, colors, and marketing are all much needed and excited to see the product get some facelifts in the coming months.
What is a customer win you're especially proud of?
It's not a single customer moment, but three years ago we launched 35 locations on January 1st and at the time, it was just Jack (our CEO) and me running an onboarding pipeline three times the size of what I manage today. It taught me how to juggle a huge volume of customers at once, and it showed the whole company what we're capable of pulling off in a single day. That moment really crystallized the impact one person can have on the team.
Outside of that, I got to tour a handful of coffee shops across Texas last year and meet existing customers in person. Seeing how they actually use Dripos day to day was eye-opening. At one point, I ended up behind the counter taking orders on the POS and chatting with patrons. This was a fun "role-play" moment that taught me more about how baristas use our product than any demo could.
What's something a customer has done or said that genuinely made your day?
Any time a customer tells me I'm patient, calm, and good at my job. Just the other day, someone asked how long I'd been doing this because I "do such a nice job.” It’s small comments like that that really stick with me.
But the moments that mean the most are the in-person ones. Visiting Chris from the NYAJ team at his family home and going 4-wheeling on their property is one I'll never forget. Sitting down for lunch or grabbing a coffee with a customer face-to-face is the most illuminating part of this job.
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