Max Dubiel, Founder of Redemption Roasters

Long Form Questions

Meaningful Business (MB): What are the challenges you are trying to solve, and why do they matter to you? 

Max Dubiel (MD): It’s estimated that reoffending costs the UK £18 billion per year (Ministry of Justice, 2019) and the likelihood of someone reoffending is significantly reduced if employment is secured (Prison Reform Trust, 2024). Redemption Roasters trains prison leavers and those at risk of reoffending (participants) with the skills they need to access secure and meaningful employment within the coffee industry. 

With a coffee roastery at HMP Mount and in-custody barista training programmes, we also employ prison leavers across our twelve coffee shops in London. Participants working in our coffee shops join a team of baristas and managers, are assigned a dedicated case worker, and have access to a hardship fund.   

By utilising a more inclusive and accessible employment model for prison leavers, we are providing a unique solution to the social problem of reoffending. 

MB: How is your work tackling these challenges, and what impact are you having?

MD: Our primary goal has always been to reduce reoffending through coffee and to create more inclusive employment opportunities for prison leavers and individuals with criminal records. Since 2016, we have consistently delivered against this objective. Notably, the reoffending rate among the participants we employ has remained consistently below the national average of 38% (Ministry of Justice, 2024); in fact, this year, it has been 0%, which is an achievement we are all deeply proud of.

Research shows that 59% of prison leavers who are reconvicted within a year of release are unemployed. This highlights the critical role employment plays in reducing reoffending rates. However, prison leavers face significant barriers to securing and finding meaningful employment. 

Redemption Roasters is dedicated to addressing these barriers. By utilising a risk assessment model to evaluate individual applications on a case-by-case basis and adopting inclusive hiring practices, we have delivered positive change for participants and the broader society. 

MB: How do you work with partners in the broader ecosystem to achieve your mission? 

MD: We’ve refined our model over the past ten years and are currently creating employment pathways for participants to transition into other hospitality businesses. Working closely with industry partners, we are broadening the career opportunities available to those who have completed the Redemption Roasters training programme and further reducing reoffending rates in the UK.

MB: What is your ambition for the future of your business, and what support do you need to increase your impact?

MD: Ultimately, the more shops Redemption Roasters opens, the more employment opportunities we can provide to prison leavers and individuals at risk of offending. Alongside this, we are working on the launch of The Redemption Roasters Foundation, following approval from the Charity Commission. 

The Redemption Roasters Foundation will enable us to scale our training programmes, support more prison leavers into employment, encourage other employers to offer second chances, and utilise what we’ve learned to reduce reoffending and create lasting change, both within and outside the prison system.

Quickfire Questions

MB: Can you share a mistake that you’ve learned from? 

MD: Being too bullish after a fundraise and thinking that the money will last forever.

MB: What is something you wish you were better at?

MD: Being patient.

MB: What underrated skill do you wish more impact-focused leaders invested time in?

MD: It is not underrated but often underdeveloped among third sector leaders like myself: commercial acumen. 

MB: What is one book that everyone should read? 

MD: I don’t think there is one book that everyone should read, but we implemented Mark Horstman’s Manager Tools (also available as a book) when we had grown our staff team to thirty people. It transformed our business and has set us up for growth. In my mind, every growing business needs a methodology to manage and hire a team.

MB: What are the podcasts you can’t imagine your day without? 

MD: I enjoy listening to the Acquired podcast and The Rest is Politics.