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| Itthipat Kulapongvanich, CEO of TaoKaeNoi |
Secrets of Being An Entrepreneur
The Nation
Published on December 15, 2008
Taokeinoi, Oishi chiefs say it takes more than just money to succeed
"In the past, doing business was easy but it was difficult to grow. But now it's difficult to do but easier to expand," he said.
Tan said in the old days of mainly local players, it was possible that some businesses would not have any competitor for almost a decade. But at the same time, in the past, enterprises did not have the tools and technologies to reach out to wider audiences. Today's entrepreneurs find it is only a matter of clicks to tap information and make sales through the Internet.
"For instance, in the past you didn't have 7-Eleven. With it alone you could be selling to 4,000 outlets," he said.
"So when at 17-18 I was a hauler, he was already doing business," says the Oishi president pointing to Itthipat Kulapongvanich, the 23-year-old chief executive officer of Taokaenoi Food & Marketing who was sitting beside him. They were the speakers invited to share their entrepreneurial experiences to grocery shop owners at a seminar held by the Ministry of Commerce and CP All, the operator of 7-Eleven stores, last month.
Itthipat said after he earned Bt8,000 from an online game at the age of 16, he became confident and expanded to earn Bt200,000-Bt300,000 a month soon afterwards. With money earned from online games, Itthipat did not have to ask for money from his parents for supporting his education while he was studying at the high school level. When Itthipat advanced to his first year at a university, he could hardly depend on online games to finance his education.
With the construction and property businesses of his parents devastated by the 1997 economic crisis at the time, Itthipat did not want to add to their troubles.
"I asked my mother some money and then she had gone in for long ... perhaps 15 minutes, and still did not show up. I creeped up to find out what was happening and saw her crying," Itthipat said.
The 1997 economic crisis that severely hit his parents' businesses became the strong force that encouraged Itthipat to start his own business. Getting an idea from visiting a trade fair, Itthipat began by selling chestnuts. After a failed start because of his choice of a wrong location, he later expanded it into a franchise with 30 outlets. Afterwards, Itthipat got the idea of selling fried seaweed because from the outlets, he found he was selling more seaweed than chestnuts and other products.
Oishi's Tan said it was less important how much of supportive factors one had inherited. It was more important to know what one is doing and be determined to succeed. Tan said while being an employee, he had worked very hard with enjoyment and had never declined challenges and responsibilities assigned by his bosses, because he knew he was destined to become a business owner.
"Don't think being a rich heir will always be good. In fact, they don't know where to find the money since they have only been using the money. Hence, we all have the chance [to do business]," said Tan.
Itthipat said listening and seeking external feedback are very important for businesses. When Itthipat first proposed his Taokaenoi fried seaweed idea to 7-Eleven, he got no response from the company. He kept calling the firm everyday for three weeks. Eventually they took pity to answer his phone and let him know that the packaging was "very ugly".
Two months later Itthipat came back with a new package for Taokaenoi seaweed. The appointment time was 10am but until 1pm nobody came up to see him. Itthipat left 7-Eleven with disappointment but that same afternoon, he had a call.
Itthipat said: "7-Eleven called me and said they were very interest in my product. Would I be ready to sell to their 3,000 branches?
"It took me about 10 seconds to think before replying that I was ready," he said.
Itthipat had only two months to set up the factory, which also had to meet the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standard as required by 7-Eleven. Itthipat did not know anything about food manufacturing and hence he asked everyone and searched every source he could find.
"I didn't know anything about food preservation, GMP or anything about that but I did know three things - asking, asking, and asking," he said.
Itthipat wrote his business plan to seek loans from a bank, which declined to lend despite the promising sales order from 7-Eleven.
"Your plan was not approved because the board of our bank said you're only 19, you couldn't be doing business," Itthipat quoted a bank staff as saying when his Taokaenoi plan was rejected by the bank.
Hence, Itthipat decided to sell his chestnut franchise to finance the seaweed project with 7-Eleven.
"The first thing you need is the right attitude. You must believe that you can do and struggle for it. If I were to wait till I had enough money to start, I might never have the chance in my life," he said.
Itthipat said he did not have financial support from his family but their moral support was crucial. Also, one should start business in what he or she likes because passion will enable the person to do it best.
"Sometimes I could be working for 16-17 hours [a day] because I like doing it. On the other hand, my competitors would be working only 4-5 hours a day," he said.
Meanwhile, speaking last week while receiving the Bai Pho Business Awards from Siam Commercial Bank and Sasin, Itthipat said Taokaenoi had made about Bt500 million in revenues in 2007 and it is well on track to achieve the sales target of Bt750 million this year. The 2008 awards honoured Taokaenoi and four other SMEs for their outstanding track records.
pichaya@nationgroup.com
