On July 19th, 2018, Thailand Theme Night held by STARTBOARD drew people’s attention, not only because of Thailand market’s volatility and attraction to the general public but our keynote speakers’ crucial insights – It’s undoubtedly an enlightening night full of excitement! So, without further ado, let’s review some of the best lines from our keynote speakers!
Mr.Olan Sumananusorn
Culture differences and business development that we cannot ignore
Mr. Olan was born and raised in Thailand; through his 24/7 dedication, he’s had a real good command of Chinese. Believe it or not, he even delivered the speech in Chinese!
Due to his close ties with Thailand, he’s able to walk us through the maze of this overseas bonanza with unique points of view. Take the detailing explanation of its industry for example. Thailand has made the progress by leaps and bounds by focusing on distinguished industry during different period of time; from Thailand 1.0, which essentially made agriculture a focal point, then proceeding to light industry, followed by heavy industry. Nowadays, Thailand 4.0 has been highlighting the significance of creativity as well as innovation, paving the way for “Smart Thailand!”
Given Thailand’s complete supply chain and holistic trade ＆ investment system, in Mr. Olan’s terms, those conditions would rather be attractive, grabbing even more young talents’ attention.
Fiona Lee
A Taiwanese young lady’s laser-like perception ultimately led to her huge success of starting up a business in Thailand
In her early 20s, some thoughts had constantly been tangling with Fiona – She’s always longing for a career success and the lure to expand her visions overseas was never settled. Therefore, she started to think about which country she should go and win a hand. She’s made her point very clearly and precisely “ Since in Western countries or such developed Asian markets as Korea or Japan, things were already heated up, and the environment is also highly competitive,” with firm resolution, as a consequence, she chose Thailand to make her stage debut.
Even though quirky challenges got in the way from time to time, Fiona got the talents to conquer all the obstacles; for those having startup ideas at heart and feeling deeply interested in Thailand market, here’s advice from Fiona if you want a successful case:
Looking into the market
Her “looking into” here doesn’t merely mean the online research but includes your personal immersion into the market. Recalling the memories, Fiona said she used to sit down on the side, observing what Thai fashion is, and which genre of products may be the hits, so on so forth. Yes, when it comes to a business, standing in clients’ shoe is the priority!
Language learning
“If you want to negotiate with Thai people, you definitely need to know their language!” Fiona stated. If in each occasion, whenever we wanna make a deal with Thai people, but instead of direct communication we hired an interpreter, it shows we actually lack the passion to deal with matters! Speaking their language is not just our capability, but also a way to show our concern and respect. Meanwhile, from attending a language school, we can make friends with locals, thus getting deeper insights into what they love, hate, and what their characteristics are! That’s something in terms of building up close social networks.
Understanding of legal concepts
This part might be complicated and tedious, but if we ever want to steer our career life right, the basic understanding of legal concepts is a must! Incorporation, recruitment, taxes, bank accounts and visas etc, there’re various procedures we must bear in mind. Don’t let these quirky challenges steer you wrong, take the initiatives and be a problem solver!
(to be continued)
Professor Chen Chun Shan was sharing his experience with talented students to nurture the dream of building up a startup ecosystem.
