A Latte Risk

Bauer alumnus Jonathan Kay (BBA ‘22) just can’t slow down. 

Less than five years after graduation, the Wolff Center graduate built his own beverage shop, RoadRunners, which claims to be the world’s fastest beverage drive-thru. The business serves coffee, matcha and more. 

“We have a vision to have the highest quality, the best hospitality and the best speed,” Kay said. “Speed is what would have to be in the foundation because it would be the hardest thing to go back and do later. It's our commitment to excellence.” 

But the journey to RoadRunners has included a few speed bumps.  

Kay grew up in a small town just north of Atlanta. Halfway through college in Georgia, he wanted to drop out. Working at a fast food restaurant at the time, Kay had his eyes set on starting his own business.  

After taking his mom’s advice, Kay decided to look for an entrepreneurship program and give school one last shot. At the time, Kay said undergraduate entrepreneurship programs were less common. However, it didn’t long in his research process to find the No. 1 ranked Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship. Enthralled with what he read, Kay booked a plane ticket the same day, emailed Wolff Center Executive Director Dave Cook and had a meeting in Houston a week later. 

“I told him, ‘I want to join this program. This is what I'm doing in Georgia right now. I have these dreams of starting this business,’” Kay said. 

That meeting affirmed his choice to attend Bauer and apply for the Wolff Center, but he just missed the application deadline. That didn’t stop Kay from taking a risk, though. 

He quit his job and moved to Texas, so when the next application cycle rolled around, he would be an in-state resident. In his downtime, Kay worked for the corporate office of a fast food restaurant.  Eventually, he got the word that he’d been accepted into the next Wolff Center cohort.  

“I had this dream of being the first student in the Wolff Center to win every single project,” Kay said. “They changed the projects around a little bit from class to class, but for the most part, they're the same ones. First semester, I won the innovation project and some of the smaller ones, and realized that I could accomplish this dream.” 

That inspired him to take another risk. Kay decided to fully commit his attention to the Wolff program, quitting his job and living off credit cards to do so. For Kay, it paid off, and he was able to accomplish his goals in the program. 

Fast forward to graduation, Kay decided to take a more traditional route. He moved to Austin for a year and worked in a few business-related roles. As time went on, Kay decided it was time to take another risk and pursue funding for his company. In 60 days, Kay raised $1 million in venture funding through a combination of debt and equity. 

With the help of the funds raised, Kay was able to hit the ground running and build the first RoadRunners location, serving as his own general contractor. The location opened in the Cypress area in early 2025. Kay plans on expanding RoadRunners, raising $4 million to open three new locations. 

“We're expanding to the west of Houston — Katy, Fulshear and Cypress-type areas,” Kay said. “We'll have two locations open at the end of next year, and we're super excited. The plan is 30 locations by 2030.” 

The experiential learning curriculum that Wolff Center cohort students get is tailored to prepare students for real-world entrepreneurship. 

“They get the exposure,” Cook said. “If you want to run a retail business, that’s what Wolffest is. The program prepares them to do an online business or intellectual property. The hope is that when the student leaves here, they'll be able to execute any good idea that they come across.” 

Kay credits the Wolff Center for helping him build the confidence and network that allowed him to make RoadRunners a reality. 

In addition to skills and business acumen, the Wolff Center places an emphasis on developing the students' sense of self and morals. This something Cook says contributes to Wolff alumni success. 

“We want students to leave here with a sense of knowing who they are,” Cook said. “They know their values, they know their dreams, and they're people of character that are trustworthy. They show up.”