In 1982, at age 29, Schultz was hired at Starbucks as the director of retail operations and marketing.
Schultz was exposed to Coffee in Italy on a buying trip to Milan, Italy in 1983.
On his return, he worked to persuade company owners Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker to offer traditional espresso beverages in addition to the whole bean coffee, leaf teas and spices.
After a successful pilot of the cafe concept, Baldwin and Bowker were intrigued but, noting the high cost of espresso machines, the relative paucity of expertise for maintenance and repair of the machines in America, and Americans' lack of familiarity with the drink, they decided not to deploy Schultz's idea further and he stepped down from Starbucks to start his own business.
Schultz left Starbucks in 1985 to open a store of his own.
He needed $400,000 to start his business.
Schultz visited over 500 espresso bars in Milan and, with him assuming most of the risk associated with introducing espresso to the American market, Starbucks invested $150,000 in the new venture, with Baldwin receiving a place on its board and Bowker offering unofficial assistance.
Another $100,000 investment from local doctor Ron Margolis.
Of the 242 investors Schultz approached, 217 rejected his idea.
By 1986, he had raised the money he needed to open the first store, Il Giornale, named after the Milanese newspaper of the same name.
The store offered ice cream in addition to coffee, had little seating, and played opera music in the background.
Two years later, the original Starbucks management team decided to focus on Peet's Coffee & Tea and sold its Starbucks retail unit to Schultz and Il Giornale for US$3.8 million.

Schultz rebranded Il Giornale with the Starbucks name, and expanded its reach across the United States.
This type of market strategy received mix reception from both customers and competitors.
The firm's relations with independent coffeehouse chains were strained, while some owners credited Starbucks with educating customers on coffee.
Schultz did not believe in franchising, and made a point of having Starbucks retain ownership of every domestic outlet.
Schultz's positioning of Starbucks as a social hub is widely seen as introducing the second wave of coffee culture in the U.S., particularly in Seattle.
On June 26, 1992, Starbucks had its initial public offering (IPO) and trading of its common stock under the stock ticker SBUX.
The IPO raised $271 million for the company and financed the doubling of their stores.
On June 1, 2000, Schultz stepped down as CEO of Starbucks, moving to the new position of chief global strategist to help the company expand internationally.
He was succeeded by Orin Smith, who worked  with Schultz as his chief financial officer during the 1990s.
After coordinating the first store opening in China in January 1999, Schultz took the following year to develop a customer base for coffee in the region.
Throughout the late-2000s and early-2010s, Schultz directed the company to plan one to two store openings a day in mainland China.
Back in the firm's U.S. market, various coffee wars with McDonalds and Dunkin' left lowered Starbucks' marketshare and the stock price fell 75% from 2006 to 2008.
While revenue was growing broadly, it was largely dependent on new store openings creating unsustainable (or inorganic) growth.

On January 7, 2008,  after an eight-year hiatus, Schultz returned as CEO of Starbucks during the height of the 2008 financial crisis.
He succeeded Jim Donald who took over from Smith in 2005.
The coffeehouse was increasingly criticized for employee work conditions and their internal tipping policies during this time; in March 2009 he and the board approved a $100 million settlement in back tips in a barista-led class action lawsuit in California.
He led a mass-firing of executives, closed down hundreds of stores, and temporarily closed all U.S. locations to retrain employees in making espresso.
Schultz redoubled and enforced the firm's fair trade and ethical source policies for their coffee bean supply-chain in Africa and other coffee-produ
In 1982, at age 29, Schultz was hired at Starbucks as the director of retail operations and marketing. Schultz was exposed to Coffee in Italy on a buying trip to Milan, Italy in 1983. On his return, he worked to persuade company owners Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker to offer traditional espresso beverages in addition to the whole bean coffee, leaf teas and spices. After a successful pilot of the cafe concept, Baldwin and Bowker were intrigued but, noting the high cost of espresso machines, the relative paucity of expertise for maintenance and repair of the machines in America, and Americans' lack of familiarity with the drink, they decided not to deploy Schultz's idea further and he stepped down from Starbucks to start his own business. Schultz left Starbucks in 1985 to open a store of his own. He needed $400,000 to start his business. Schultz visited over 500 espresso bars in Milan and, with him assuming most of the risk associated with introducing espresso to the American market, Starbucks invested $150,000 in the new venture, with Baldwin receiving a place on its board and Bowker offering unofficial assistance. Another $100,000 investment from local doctor Ron Margolis. Of the 242 investors Schultz approached, 217 rejected his idea. By 1986, he had raised the money he needed to open the first store, Il Giornale, named after the Milanese newspaper of the same name. The store offered ice cream in addition to coffee, had little seating, and played opera music in the background. Two years later, the original Starbucks management team decided to focus on Peet's Coffee & Tea and sold its Starbucks retail unit to Schultz and Il Giornale for US$3.8 million.
Schultz rebranded Il Giornale with the Starbucks name, and expanded its reach across the United States. This type of market strategy received mix reception from both customers and competitors. The firm's relations with independent coffeehouse chains were strained, while some owners credited Starbucks with educating customers on coffee. Schultz did not believe in franchising, and made a point of having Starbucks retain ownership of every domestic outlet. Schultz's positioning of Starbucks as a social hub is widely seen as introducing the second wave of coffee culture in the U.S., particularly in Seattle. On June 26, 1992, Starbucks had its initial public offering (IPO) and trading of its common stock under the stock ticker SBUX. The IPO raised $271 million for the company and financed the doubling of their stores. On June 1, 2000, Schultz stepped down as CEO of Starbucks, moving to the new position of chief global strategist to help the company expand internationally. He was succeeded by Orin Smith, who worked  with Schultz as his chief financial officer during the 1990s. After coordinating the first store opening in China in January 1999, Schultz took the following year to develop a customer base for coffee in the region. Throughout the late-2000s and early-2010s, Schultz directed the company to plan one to two store openings a day in mainland China. Back in the firm's U.S. market, various coffee wars with McDonalds and Dunkin' left lowered Starbucks' marketshare and the stock price fell 75% from 2006 to 2008. While revenue was growing broadly, it was largely dependent on new store openings creating unsustainable (or inorganic) growth.
On January 7, 2008,  after an eight-year hiatus, Schultz returned as CEO of Starbucks during the height of the 2008 financial crisis. He succeeded Jim Donald who took over from Smith in 2005. The coffeehouse was increasingly criticized for employee work conditions and their internal tipping policies during this time; in March 2009 he and the board approved a $100 million settlement in back tips in a barista-led class action lawsuit in California. He led a mass-firing of executives, closed down hundreds of stores, and temporarily closed all U.S. locations to retrain employees in making espresso. Schultz redoubled and enforced the firm's fair trade and ethical source policies for their coffee bean supply-chain in Africa and other coffee-produ
Howard Schultz