The Power of Building a Company Rooted in Generosity
Sean Harding and Paul Biglins, Spirit Bear Coffee Co-Founders with The Northen Lights Wildlife Shelter team.
The first thing I see is a succession of generous white clouds against a blue background. Sean Harding, President and Co-founder of Spirit Bear Coffee, took my video call while driving across Port Coquitlam, giving me a glimpse of the endless sky and his equally expansive personality.
“What territories are you in?” He asked as soon as we were online. It took me a second to find my answer and realize how Spirit Bear Coffee’s values go way deeper than an inspiring branding.
After chatting for a few minutes, he parked under the sun and said, “Hold on, I’ll give you a tour!” flipping to his front camera. Revealing a little office with the energy of a museum – Indigenous totems, awards, local ceramics, photos of friends, and espresso machines – This is the headquarters of Spirit Bear Coffee. "Anybody that walks through our doors thinking it’s a coffee shop... Well, we'll get them a cappuccino or a latte or an espresso, we don't want to disappoint anyone”, he said with the generous excitement of a kid.
What inspired you to venture into the Coffee Industry?
“You know, a lot of people ask me that. And well, I needed a job. That's always my answer.” Sean laughs. “I needed a job, and my first job experience with coffee was very unique.”
“When I was 17, I was a cementor on the oil rigs and then got laid off and all the boys were going ‘Hey, let’s move to Vancouver. We just came back from holidays there. It's awesome!’ And, I said okay, cool, I'm with you. So I grabbed my wardrobe box and off we went. By the second day I moved there, I got a job lifting coffee.”
We’ve been talking for less than 10 minutes, and I’m already certain of his naturally optimistic, open heart. For most people, the very thought of being laid off could cause fear and stress. Sean, smiling warmly, shares how lucky he feels things unfolded as they did.
What was it like to work there? How did it impact you?
Sean Harding wearing Spirit Bear Coffee’s merch. Still from Journey to the Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter.
“Yeah, so I was a public weighmaster for the New York Stock Exchange. I handled all the green coffee coming into Vancouver for over a decade. I’d receive and offload coffee at my dock, opening these huge sea containers arriving from all over the world; Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Costa Rica, and then Asia, Vietnam, India, Sumatra, then Africa, Kenya, Rwanda. I've basically eaten their dirt for 10 years.
Whether you believe it or not, I just feel such a great connection to the world now. It's just insane.
We don't realize it because on the consumer end you only think about when you have the coffee in the cup or when you're putting it in your machine. I think there's something really transformative about being a part of that journey coffee travelled across the world to arrive here. And then opening the door of the container for the first time. It’s like a new beginning. It's such a physical experience.”
I’d never really thought about the epic journey behind one of my favourite drinks. I realized how easy it is to forget the origin of our daily treats and the amount of work and resources behind a simple cup of coffee.
How did you go from working at the docks to Co-Founding Spirit Bear Coffee?
Paul Biglins with The Northern Lights Wildlife Society during the funding of a GPS collar for the release of grizzly cubs.
"That’s a fun story too. So by 31 years old, I had a broken back basically. I had stopped working on weighing coffee. And one of my colleagues bought a coffee roaster and invited me to invest in this company. We named the company St. City Roasters.
Then, I met my late partner, Paul Biglins (Spirit Bear Co-Founder). He was a chef next to where our roaster was. That's how we became friends. Then Paul and I decided to start Spirit. He's the one who taught me abut the philanthropy. He once spent $5,000 on a radio collar for a bear. I said, Paul, we don’t have five grand for this! He said, ‘No, no, we'll make it happen.’
Sean opens the space with a generous laugh and continues, “All right, let's make it happen, Paul.”
Radical generosity is at the core of Spirit Bear Coffee, and Paul was a huge piece behind this unique approach to running a business. “He is the reason why we give back to organizations like Ocean Alliance and the Northern Lights Wildlife Society. Paul believed that we should leave the world better off than when we arrived in it.”
Pow Wow Dancers with Spirit Bear Coffee cups at at the Squamish Nation Veterans Pow Wow 2024.
Sean & Paul's brother, John, dropping a donation for The OWL (Orphaned Wildlife) Rehabilitation Society.
Hearing about Spirit Bear’s Story, I can’t help but feel everything is interconnected. Curiosity takes over me just by thinking about everything that had to happen, so that we could be here chatting about one of our SSU Food Suppliers.
Spirit Bear Coffee is known for its respect for nature and ethical practices. Was that the plan when creating the brand?
Paul Biglin, Bill Helin and Sean Harding, owners of Spirit Bear Coffee Company, celebrating their 16 years with their company.
“That's the cool thing about it. When we started, there was no business plan written or anything. We just had a vision of creating a company rooted in Indigenous wisdom. That vision took us on a journey and eventually meet our fella, Bill Helene, a world-renowned Indigenous artist who has worked with NASA. He is the one who brought the legends of all the animals of the West Coast, the traditional Tsimshian language, and of course, the most important is the legend of Moskomo: The Spirit Bear.
Of course, nothing happens like that, from one day to another. You take one step, arrive at one spot and take another step to arrive at a different place, you know? So we built Spirit Bear one step at a time.”
After meeting Bill, the three infused the brand with Indigenous storytelling and cosmology. Their coffee blends became the Totem Series. But more than the branding, Spirit Bear Coffee became a platform for giving back: to animal conservation, to Indigenous Veterans, to Residential School Survivors, and other social initiatives.
Is there any specific experience in your life that made you believe in this way of doing business?
“I guess it goes way back to my first job on a farm at 15 years old. I learned how lives can be saved, it’s incredible, but it also can be really harsh when things don’t work out. On one occasion, a female horse died, and I had to take care of her baby, and bottle feed them every four hours. So again, that caring for life, I guess. It’s hard to pinpoint one specific experience because it's just one of those things that builds on who you are.”
Becoming oneself is also a process, and maybe, the things we admire and learn from others are only possible because we carry those same things inside, like a seed waiting to be nurtured.
It’s fascinating to see the result of not only the power of personal experiences and serendipitous connections but also the magic and resilience that each individual can bring to a shared long-term business.
What was the moving force that kept you going when things got hard in the business?
Sean Hardling wearing Spirit Bear Coffee’s merch. Still from Journey to the Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter.
“I think it's my drive. My drive to never fail. Failure is not in my vocabulary. I am very persistent in that sense. I get pushed down, and I keep moving forward. It's been 20 years of one step forward and three back, and I always keep going.”
“During COVID, I was driving 70 trucks across Canada to make money, I had to do anything to make money and keep going. So now, I think I’m in a great position where I can also support other people. I guess what I'm trying to say is that everything that happens for a reason. You just have to keep moving forward.”
Talking with Sean and learning about his drive, optimism, and experiences is deeply refreshing. As a young entrepreneur, I sometimes feel as if success requires compromising your values. But seeing a brand that prioritizes the earth, people, and ethics gives me hope and something to aim for.
Spirit Bear Coffee isn’t just a coffee company. It’s the result of friendship, living with an open heart, and the conviction of practicing indigenous wisdom in an entrepreneurial context: proof that business can choose to be generous, human, and fair.
Honouring Indigenous Voices
At the SSU, we are committed to honouring and supporting Indigenous voices, communities, and ways of knowing, not just during National Indigenous History Month, but all year round. Explore related content or learn more through Sheridan’s Centre for Indigenous Learning and Support:
Explore this curated list of thought-provoking fiction, and non-fiction books found at the Sheridan Library in honour of Truth and Reconciliation.