Today we present koh Onozawa, anthropologist, specialized in sociology and current Global Strategic Partnerships of Docuten. Thanks to his entrepreneurial streak and his Loudbasstard product, Koh is among the Forbes under 30 in Asia and it is a great pleasure for us to count on him to achieve our internationalisation goals. Aah! Aah! Besides, he makes good sushi! The rest… he´d better tell us.
1. What is your academic background?
Interesting question! I am actually an archaeologist by training. I majored in Anthropology and minored in Sociology. With this, it allowed me to travel extensively around the pacific islands and the US and learned so much about different cultures, traditions, and people..
2. What was your first job?
My first job out of university was in archaeology. I was sent to the Pacific island of Guam, which used to be a Spanish colony, by the way, to study and excavate an area that the US military planned on building. We made sure that the department of defense knew every cultural and historical aspect of this area so that they can continue on with their construction without disrespecting any ancient Chamorro history.
3. We know that your international experience is very broad and successful. Could you tell us a little about your career?
A few years after working as an archaeologist, I jumped into underwater archaeology where I had the privilege of working for the National Geographic lead by the Unversity of Hawaii. This was my last stint as an archaeologist as I immediately jumped into the world of entrepreneurship! The rest, as they say, is history.
My parents are both entrepreneurs, and my father most especially who was an immigrant from Japan had started from zero in the Philippines. I grew up helping the family business and seeing both my parents work hard.
I knew nothing about running or starting a business other than seeing my parents do it growing up. So what I did was binge watch online business and entrepreneurship classes on iTunesU (University) publicly available by Stanford, Harvard, and MIT.
I read a lot of biographies and stories of entrepreneurs I like and admired, and just started there and followed the advise they wrote on their books.
Things suddently took off.. Next thing I knew we were doing business in Japan, the United States, Switzerland, the Philippines and Hong Kong. It was so much fun!
4. What project did you most enjoy?
Loudbasstard was very fun and it was one of the most life changing experiences.
5. Your Loudbasstard company boomed in Asia. So much so that you are among the Forbes under 30 in Asia, tell us a bit more about your experience achieving this level of success?
To be honest, I credit our success to our solid team or what we used to call, our loudbasstard family. We worked hard day and night and never gave up. We were good to people, and they were good to us. We treated our clients like friends, and they spread the word about us as friends do as well. The media started to take notice, and before we knew it, our products were in the hands of some of the world’s most awesome people.
6. How did you get to know Docuten and what made you interested in the company?
What’s not interesting about this company?? Jeje. I got to know Docuten from a good friend of mine (Javi Pazos). I knew him before he worked for Docuten and saw how he was when working for Docuten. I know Javi well enough to observe there was something about this group of people in Galicia and Madrid that was special. When I got to know Brais and Angel and the rest of the Docuten family, I was immediately drawn to the company, its product and the potential. Of course, its culture, and mostly its people! the Docuten family!
7. What role will you play in Docuten?
Together with the rest team of Docuten, we’ll be working on the brand and business’ internationalization. Forming strategic alliances for the company in and outside of Spain as we work on expanding across the European continent. Of course, there’s a lot of work to be done before we start expanding, so this year, my main focus is to lay the groundwork for our expansion and assist the team in our business in Spain.
8. What do you think you can contribute to the company?
I can make good sushi. Jaja. Just kidding. I’m a very proactive and entrepreneurial person. As the Spanish say, “Busco la vida” muy bien. So if there’s a common goal, I will be giving my all for the team so that we can achieve this goal. Whether it’s through hard work, using our personal networks, and simply offering to help each team member, I believe I can impact this company and help us get to where we want. Other than this, I like making our team members feel comfortable and happy working with me!
9. How do you see the future of Docuten?
Docuten has a bright present and an even brighter future. To be short, we will do all we can to hit our year-on-year (YoY) targets, and Docuten will be able to export this specialness we have to the rest of Europe and our partners. Docuten always strives to give value from the very beginning, and I think that is why it is such a successful company without having to rely on outside investment. Our product is solid, our team is amazing, and we love our clients just as much as they love us. The future can only look good, no? There will be tough times, as in anything in life, but I’m certain we have the right formula to overcome every downfall and get back up stronger than ever.
