After leaving a stable job at one of the United States’ largest investment banks, a Japanese businessman has found himself running a food service startup in Vietnam.

In 2015, Taku Tanaka decided to take a trip through Southeast Asia in order to study the region’s business environment and seek out new opportunities.  It was on that trip that he first realized Vietnam’s budding potential – particularly in the food industry.

“Even though there was nothing to complain about at my job at an investment bank in the U.S., I still feel the passion of the food industry in my veins,” Tanaka said.

A ‘chameleon company’

Almost immediately after, Tanaka settled in Vietnam and began working as the COO of one of the country’s most well known pizza brands, where he spent two years managing the company’s finances, human resources, and sales.

With experience in Vietnam’s food sector under his belt, Tanaka decided it was time to establish Kamereo, a Ho Chi Minh City-based company which supports restaurants and hotels in finding suppliers and ordering from suppliers.

Kamereo is the Japanese word for “chameleon”, a lizard whose most outstanding feature is its ability to change colors depending on the environment.

“That is also the message we want to deliver, that we will always be flexible enough to meet the needs of our customers,” Tanaka explained.

Currently, the company is partnered with over 300 suppliers, restaurants, and hotels in Ho Chi Minh City.

In January, Kamereo received an investment fund of US$500,000. 

But even with his initial successes, the founder still admits that Kamereo is still it its starting stages and there are many parts of his platform that need to be repaired or changed.

“In the long run, we hope to penetrate other markets such as Singapore and Thailand,” he said, adding that he is still on the search for additional investment funds to support his business.

Not without failures

Even though Tanaka had experience working with well-known companies in Vietnam, starting his own venture was not without its setbacks.

“I do not think failure is a negative thing, it challenges you to learn and grow, as long as you do not repeat the same mistakes,” Tanaka says.

Like many startup founders, Tanaka has had his share of struggles, particularly in finding the right people for key positions at his company.

Though young professionals often consider working at startup to be a glamorous career, it is often difficult to find those who understood the challenges of growing a young company and who are willing to stick it out for the long haul, the founder said.

“One of my most memorable failures when starting up my own company was not choosing the right person to work with,” Tanaka said, adding that he and his former co-founder did not share the same goal and perspective,

Even though Tanaka admits that paperwork necessary for a business in Vietnam can be quite time-consuming and should be simplified, he is appreciative of the help he has received from this country.

The Japanese businessman has received a lot of support from Vietnamese authorities who have helped him avoid unexpected costs, many of which can be seriously detrimental to a new company, he said.

On the other hand, he commented that there should be improvements made in regards of support for foreigners like him, especially for problems related to paperwork.

“There are many regulations that are harder to understand and quite outdated compared to other countries,” he admitted.

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