EP 149 – Taku Tanaka – co-Founder and CEO at Kamereo – I Didn’t Discuss, I Just Decided

by Michael Waitze | Oct 27, 2021

Taku Tanaka has a plan. In a way, it seems like he has always had a plan. Taku is a co-Founder and the CEO of Kamereo. This should not surprise anyone that knows him. Whether it was the challenge of going to the University of Washington as an exchange student or joining Credit Suisse to learn more about Finance and improve his English, Taku has always taken action with purpose.

Some of the topics Taku and I discussed:

A strong belief in yourself is important for success
His family was involved in Food and Beverage (F&B) supply chain business
Always wanting to open his own restaurant
Studied a lot of Japan’s listed F&B businesses while at Credit Suisse
Researched developing countries’ F&B businesses
Determined that emerging markets were a more interesting place to build
Sent a cold e-mail to the founders of Vietnam’s Pizza 4 Peace to try to get a job
At Pizza 4P, Taku became the COO and Pizza 4P grew from 1 shop to 12
In Vietnam, the F&B supply chain is highly fragmented
The founding of Kamereo – Vietnam’s one-stop-shop for F&B supply chain
Kamereo’s potential FinTech opportunities
Raising money during the COVID-19 pandemic

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