“The product will speak for itself,” the entrepreneur herself said. “I am confident that anyone who has tried my product will come back again. They even bring back their friends.”
At The Paw Boba, the latest milk tea is made of crème brûlée foam with whole milk and black sugar boba.
The business owner, Evy Ngo ‘25, shared that the whole idea of putting boba in the real market started with the DePauw Entrepreneurship Group pitch competition from McDermond Center in 2023. Her team won the competition in third place and the business has been kick-started since. However, it didn’t stop there. They grasped, improved and enhanced their business model and quality of their boba and competed again in 2025 and won second place, which rewarded them with funding to start a real-world business, making their dream come true.
At first, Ngo recognized that there was a lack of boba markets within Greencastle when she first came to DePauw as a student and she wanted to start something new here. Milk tea is a well-known drink in Asian countries. She tried to embrace the culture, especially for the international student community.
The Paw Boba is mainly for picking up at the Edinburgh Apartment, Bloomington St, in Greencastle, Indiana, every Tuesday. On Saturdays, the Paw Boba will be held at the Farmers’ Market on a first-come, first-served basis.
With the boba shop, Ngo wants to aim for diversity and inclusivity. Diversity in ingredients: boba pearls from Thailand, matcha powder and soy milk from Japan and cow milk from local dairy farms. Also, inclusivity is where everyone is welcome to enjoy boba. She shared that she strives to treat customers as friends, to share a sense of belonging and closeness.
Ngo said that she would try out new flavors based on customer feedback. “It made me feel like an artist while upgrading to a new recipe,” she said. As of now, she has up to 35 different flavors for the milk tea itself. While she rotates the flavor weekly, she loves trying out new things.
Ngo shared, “I think it’s really fun after I feel happy after a variety of milk tea versions before I put out the product in the market.” She puts a lot of effort into hearing customer feedback and collaborating with the DePauw and Greencastle community. Starting in Sept. 2023, The Paw Boba collaborated with DISA, Math Club, WICs, VSA, Women's Center and many more organizations. Looking into the future, Ngo looks forward to expanding The Paw Boba to neighborhood towns possibly through a food truck.
Still, Ngo expressed her appreciation for where her idea was cultivated. She said, “I want to give back to DEG pitch competition by sponsoring every pitch competition they have because without them, The Paw Boba would not exist today.”
