About Us
Our Story
Coffee makes us feel warm inside. So does belonging. ATGC wants to create a space where everyone sees themselves represented, and can feel like they belong.
We faced the challenges of career setbacks and being misunderstood with our invisible disabilities. After enduring prolonged struggles, sharing tales of being overlooked due to our health challenges, we reached a point of exasperation.
We teamed up, and did the most logical thing, founded our very own company so we could share our story, not be judged for it and others could do the same. With Anja’s extensive advocacy work, and Tiffani’s love for good coffee, we want to inspire and show others that taking risks and achieving your goals is absolutely possible, and disability doesn’t define you.
“If you can’t see it, you can’t be it”. We could not see disabled entrepreneurs, or use our dollar to support disability-owned and led businesses with our everyday purchases. We decided that was something we wanted to change. For us, and for you. Because everyone deserves to see themselves represented. And everyone deserves to make a choice with their dollar, to lift people up - while getting a great benefit themselves (in this case, bloody good specialty coffee - we aren’t asking for free money).
Where else do you have the opportunity to fund the dreams of people with disabilities, without it being through a charity (usually managed by non-disabled people)?
ATGC is a Women with Disabilities Entrepreneur Network (WDEN) company, supporting the vision to create an equitable business ecosystem where people with disabilities are empowered to succeed.
By supporting ATGC you are joining us in championing women in business, and disability entrepreneurship, and we pay it forward to create opportunities for more people like us.
Join us in going against the grain.
Anja & Tiffani
About Us
Founders
Tiffani Deguara
A passionate advocate and entrepreneur from Melbourne, Tiffani faced a life-altering struggle with Lyme Disease in her early twenties. Undeterred, she now advocates for invisible chronic illnesses, and challenges disability norms, motivating others to pursue their dreams with her story.
When Tiffani became unwell in her early twenties, she was unaware that her diagnosis would bring with it challenges to treatment access and recognition from the Australian medical profession. Challenges with diagnosis, treatment and management has become Tiffani's driving force to raise more awareness about the debilitating impacts of Lyme Disease and its comorbidities. Tiffani has the perspective of being a healthy, thriving and successful young woman in her early twenties with the world at her feet, to being faced by debilitating illness, requiring her to completely change her lifestyle and outlook, while being unsupported by the medical system. She has insights into rebuilding a career, navigating relationships and empowering others with invisible disabilities and illnesses.
Since becoming unwell, Tiffani founded and created 'Consider Me Box' to provide healthy gift boxes for people with different dietary requirements, because she believes everyone should be considered when it comes to gifting - no one should be left out. A key driver of her business is to raise awareness for chronic invisible illness, and with every Consider Me Box sold, a portion of profit is donated to the Lyme Disease Association of Australia.
Anja Christoffersen
Anja is an award-winning disability advocate and social entrepreneur, based on the Sunshine Coast. Born with a rare and complex disability requiring extensive reconstructive surgeries, intervention and ongoing management, Anja has broken barriers to model, write and speak internationally. Despite being told she could never model due to her scars, Anja went on to walk in Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival Amsterdam at 17 years old, and placed 1st Runner up in Miss Grand Australia in 2019. Speaking in the US, Pakistan and throughout Australia, and writing an autobiography ‘Behind the Smile’ in her teens, Anja challenges perceptions and stereotypes to redefine what it means to be disabled. This resulted in her being awarded the QLD Young Achiever of the Year Leadership Award in 2020.
With a passion for changemaking, Anja has supported people with disabilities and chronic illnesses to find and grow their voice in the health system and business. She is the proud founder of Champion Health Agency—a pioneering 'talent agency for lived experience,' dedicated to representing people with disabilities, chronic illness, and carers to drive positive societal change and the Women with Disabilities Entrepreneur Network (WDEN) to start, build and nurture the business ecosystem for her community.
Anja frequently engages in advocacy and lived experience consulting, co-leading and contributing to transformative projects across diverse sectors, particularly health, research and not-for-profit. Closest to her heart, Anja supports others with disabilities and chronic illness to navigate their experiences that can feel isolating and overwhelming. Hospital is still her second home, her disability is more severe and debilitating than she will ever tell you, and she spends more time unwell than well. But that’s what keeps her motivated to create change for the largest minority and bring you a product that will enable you to rewrite the narrative for people with disabilities.
