Before Lisa Lindsay ’93 became the co-founder and CEO of FruiTea Bubbles Café, she spent years leading technology projects, improving business processes, and designing operational systems in the corporate world. Today, those same skills power one of metro Atlanta’s fastest-growing businesses, earning FruiTea Bubbles Café recognition as a 2025 CUSE50 honoree for its rapid growth.
Lindsay joined the Infoversity podcast to reflect on how her iSchool education shaped her entrepreneurial journey, from launching a business in just four months to building a brand centered on culture, community, and operational excellence.
For Lindsay, running a successful business starts with thinking in systems.
“My education in the iSchool was all about systems,” she said. “Information is power, and systems are what make businesses successful.”
That mindset has influenced nearly every aspect of FruiTea Bubbles Café, from inventory management and staffing to customer flow, recipes, and day-to-day operations. Rather than viewing people, technology, and processes as separate pieces, Lindsay approaches them as interconnected parts of a larger system working toward the same goal.
The technical and analytical skills she developed at the iSchool continue to guide her decision-making today. Process mapping, problem solving, and data analysis have become daily tools as she evaluates labor costs, customer demand, product performance, and operational efficiency.
“The iSchool taught me how to break down complexity,” Lindsay said. “Systems create consistency.”
Long before launching her business, Lindsay was already developing leadership skills on campus. As a co-founder of the Black and Latino Information Studies Support Group (BLISS), she learned how to identify a need, build a community around a shared vision, and create lasting organizational structures.
Those experiences would later influence how she approached entrepreneurship.
“I saw that there was a need,” she said. “I took all the steps necessary to develop that need and implement it.”
More than 30 years later, the relationships she built through BLISS remain an important part of her professional network. Many of her fellow founders now serve in leadership roles across different industries, continuing to support one another by sharing ideas and advice.
Lindsay’s transition from corporate technology to entrepreneurship was driven by another familiar skill: project management.
When the opportunity to launch FruiTea Bubbles Café emerged, she relied on years of experience leading technology initiatives to develop a business plan, identify critical milestones, and execute a tight timeline.
From concept to opening day, the process took just four months.
“I identified the critical path,” she said. “I identified all the potential pain points and all the steps that needed to happen in order to make that successful.”
That structured approach allowed her to launch far more quickly than many restaurant startups while maintaining a clear focus on long-term sustainability.
Leadership has also remained central to Lindsay’s philosophy. Whether managing technology teams in corporate settings or leading employees today, she believes people perform their best when expectations are clear and they have the tools and support needed to succeed.
“What I’ve learned is that people want to do good work,” she said. “They need clear direction.”
That same emphasis on structure extends throughout FruiTea Bubbles Café. Standardized recipes, operating procedures, point-of-sale reporting, and opening and closing checklists help create a consistent customer experience while giving employees confidence in their daily work.
For Lindsay, consistency is one of the foundations of a successful business.
Data plays an equally important role in shaping the company’s decisions.
After opening the business, Lindsay quickly began analyzing customer behavior, seasonal demand, staffing needs, inventory levels, and marketing performance. Those insights helped her adjust everything from store hours to product offerings as the business evolved.
“We truly rely on data to see what works and what doesn’t work,” she said.
That same analytical mindset led her to bubble tea in the first place. After her daughters introduced her to the concept, Lindsay researched the growing industry and discovered a multibillion-dollar market with little local competition. She combined that opportunity with her family’s Caribbean heritage, creating a brand that blends tropical flavors with the customizable experience bubble tea customers enjoy.
Today, FruiTea Bubbles Café is designed to immerse guests in that experience. Caribbean-inspired décor, tropical music, vibrant drink names like Caribbean Sunset and Mango Mommy, and customizable menu options all reflect the brand’s identity while maintaining streamlined operations behind the scenes. Although customers can personalize nearly every drink, the underlying preparation process remains intentionally consistent, allowing the business to balance creativity with operational efficiency.
While Lindsay enjoys the creativity that comes with entrepreneurship, she says one of the biggest surprises has been the responsibility that comes with owning every aspect of the business.
“It’s not as luxurious as it seems,” she said with a laugh.
As the sole owner of a brand she created from the ground up, every decision ultimately falls to her. Building operating procedures, developing systems, and establishing the company’s foundation required far more work than she initially imagined, but it also gave her the freedom to shape the business exactly as she envisioned.
That vision extends well beyond the café itself.
Community partnerships have become a defining part of FruiTea Bubbles Café’s growth. Lindsay works with local schools through work-based learning programs, supports fellow small businesses by featuring their products in the café, and collaborates with neighboring businesses on community events and promotions.
“Without the community, we couldn’t be here today,” she said.
Those efforts have helped the business earn numerous recognitions, including Women-Owned Business of the Year and Minority-Owned Business of the Year from the Cobb Chamber, along with its 2025 CUSE50 honor recognizing one of Syracuse University’s fastest-growing alumni businesses. For Lindsay, the recognition reflects not only the success of the company, but also the education and leadership experiences that prepared her to build it.
Looking ahead, Lindsay sees even more opportunities for growth. FruiTea Bubbles Café already operates a mobile trailer that brings the business to events across metro Atlanta, and she is preparing for expanded activations surrounding the upcoming World Cup while exploring additional locations and the possibility of franchising.
A business that began with systems thinking has grown into something much larger: a community gathering place built on culture, creativity, and thoughtful operations. For Lindsay, entrepreneurship has never been about choosing between technology and people. Instead, her career demonstrates how combining data, process, and purpose can create an experience that leaves a lasting impact, one cup of tea at a time.