Takahito Katsuta: Driving Business Forward with Connections and Enthusiasm, Without a Prestigious Title

2018/04/01

At age 40, I resigned from Mitsubishi Corporation, where I had worked since graduating. I declared that developing consumer and media businesses in Asia would be my life's work and established a business entity with a local partner in Thailand.

However, at the beginning, we had no core business or medium-term business plan. Starting from zero, the first few years were a cycle of exploring, implementing, and reviewing various business ideas.

Over the past five or six years, I have deeply felt that personal relationships are my greatest asset, especially without the prestigious "Mitsubishi Corporation" brand behind me. During this time, two businesses have finally taken shape.

The first is a sweets business called "Yufuin Milch." My Thai partner commented, "Yufuin is well-known among the wealthy in Asia as a stylish hot spring resort. The sweets from a place called Milch in Yufuin are delicious and a hot topic on social media."

Someone I knew through another job happened to know the president of that manufacturer. They arranged an initial meeting for me in Yufuin, but I was flatly rejected, being told, "We haven't even expanded to Tokyo yet; expanding to Thailand is premature." Undeterred, I visited again with samples of ingredients that could be sourced in Thailand. The president then said, "No one has ever come to a business meeting so well-prepared. This must be fate, so let's consider it." Today, we are successfully operating four stores in Thailand, including a branch at Bangkok International Airport.

The second is a talent content business called "BNK48." Regarding content such as music and drama, Japan's presence in Thailand was virtually non-existent. In that environment, I heard from an acquaintance at the AKB48 management company that they were looking for a business partner in Thailand. I raised my hand on the spot, but we weren't approved immediately. We had to present our enthusiasm and our network in Thailand, and we were compared against other candidate companies. Despite major Thai entertainment companies also applying, I believe we—who had no prior track record in this type of business—were chosen because they valued our "enthusiasm."

This business also faced numerous trials from the start. However, less than a year after the first-generation members' debut, a single reached over 80 million views on YouTube, the group was appointed as the official cheer squad for the Thailand national football team, and we secured annual contracts with about ten major sponsors. It has become a great success.

While feeling the importance of connections and enthusiasm every day, I intend to continue promoting business development in Asia.

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.