Who we are
Two beliefs. One mission.
Cuppa believes
The people we meet can change how we think, how we act and what we believe is possible.
When we make room for different voices and genuinely listen, those moments can lead to change in our lives, workplaces and communities.
Pick My Brain believes
Conversation is the new currency.
Everyone has knowledge, experience and a perspective worth sharing. Making it easier for people to find each other creates more opportunities to learn, connect and help one another.
The faces behind it
Meet the founders.
Founder · Cuppa
Luke Cook
Luke, also known as Cookie, is a conversation host, speaker and founder of Cuppa. His own experience of loss, starting again and learning from other people shapes the work he does today. He's passionate about helping people have the conversations that change how they see themselves, each other and the world.
Founder · Pick My Brain
Maxine Cunningham
Part economist, part tech founder, part global connector. Maxine founded Pick My Brain in 2017 and has been going after one really big mission ever since: 10,000,000 coffees and conversations between humans. When she's not connecting people, you'll find her playing beach volleyball, on a road bike, or somewhere up a mountain on two wheels.
Coming together
How our paths crossed.
Luke and Maxine met the way we hope you will: over a cuppa.
They connected over a shared belief in what can happen when people give each other their time. Their first collaboration brought Cuppa's speakers onto Pick My Brain's platform. As they worked together, they saw an opportunity to help many more good humans meet.
Cuppa Good Humans brings Cuppa's community and conversations together with Pick My Brain's technology. We make thoughtful introductions so you can meet someone outside your usual circle, online or in person.
The mission
To shift moments to movements.
A conversation can stay with you long after the cups are empty. You might see something differently, take a step you've been putting off, offer someone support or begin a friendship.
Our goal is 10,000 cuppas across Australia in 2027. We want to understand what those conversations make possible, and help more people experience it for themselves.
Goal: 10,000 cuppas by the end of 2027
Your part starts with ten good humans. Bring your curiosity, share your story and make room for theirs.
How it started
Two founders. Two stories.
For Luke and Maxine, this began with conversations that changed how they saw the world.
Australia
Luke's Story
In the months around the start of COVID, I lost my best mate, reached the same age my dad was when he died, and watched the business I'd poured so much into come to a halt. I was feeling lost, and trying to work out what came next.
One morning, with a double-shot latte in hand, I called my business partner, Jill. We started talking about how we could help people begin their day with some positivity and connection when we couldn't meet in person.
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That conversation sparked an idea: a free virtual café where people could come together each morning over a Cuppa. A place to hear someone's story, learn something useful and feel a little more connected.
We got to work. Within two weeks, we'd created Cuppa of Life and lined up our first 20 speakers. People joined us each weekday to listen, ask questions and share in the conversation.
I wanted those conversations to help other people. They changed me too.
Through Cuppa, I met people whose lives and experiences were very different from mine. They challenged things I'd never thought to question and helped me see how much I still had to learn.
At 39, I realised I’d never sat down for a conversation with a First Nations person, someone who had transitioned, or someone living with quadriplegia. When I entered those conversations with a willingness to understand rather than simply waiting to reply, my perspective widened and my love for humanity grew.
That's why this matters so much to me. The people I've met through Cuppa have changed how I think and how I show up in the world. Now I want more people to have that opportunity, and I want the good humans I've met to meet each other.
That's the next chapter of Cuppa: getting the network networking. Making thoughtful introductions, giving people a reason to come together and seeing what happens because they met.
Luke Cook, founder of Cuppa
Canada
Maxine's Story
Maxine Cunningham set herself a challenge: have 100 conversations and ask each person why they do what they do.
By conversation ten, she could feel her life changing. The people she was meeting were opening up new perspectives and possibilities.
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It led to a bigger question: what if a great conversation were as easy to find as a place to stay?
She founded Pick My Brain to help make that possible, building technology that makes it easier for people to share their knowledge and experience through conversation.
Today, that same curiosity is bringing her together with Luke and the Cuppa community.
Our values
What guides every cuppa.
HUMAN is what we hope a conversation can give you.
HHope
A little more hope for the future and a sense of what could be possible.
UUnderstanding
A new perspective and a deeper understanding of someone else's life.
MMeaning
A connection to what matters to you and a stronger sense of meaning or purpose.
AAction
The encouragement to take a next step, try an idea or make a positive change.
NNurture
A space where you can feel safe to be yourself, listened to and heard.
The why
It's easy to spend our days moving between work, routines, screens and the people we already know. Meeting someone outside that circle takes a little intention.
As AI and algorithms shape more of everyday life, we want to keep making time for human connection. Technology helped Cuppa bring people together when we couldn't share a room. Now we're using it to help people find their next conversation.
There might be a fresh perspective, a new friendship, a useful idea or a sense of being understood on the other side of that introduction. You get to discover that together.
Relationship comes before transaction. Come with curiosity. Give someone your attention. Let the conversation find its own direction.
Someone you haven't met yet could change how you see the world.
Let's catch up for a Cuppa.
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