Tao Kae Noi

Top: “I feel like I haven’t been giving much thought to my actions.”
Uncle: “If you had thought about things, you wouldn’t have gotten so far.”

Tao Kae Noi means little entrepreneur/boss in thai. It is also the famous brand of crispy seaweed, an immensely popular snack in Thailand and the region. So flammable is its demand that the 7 year old company exports to 27 countries, runs a farm in South Korea, employs 2500 staff, distributes to over 6,000 convenience stores in the country and makes about 1,500 million baht or approximately $61 million SGD in annual revenue!

Yet more remarkable is the story of the founder, Top, who overcame wretched odds to raise a seaweed empire at the young age of 19. At that age, you’ll find most Singaporean young men planked to the floor, giving their next 20 pushups for national security. But Top defied the well beaten path of education-work-success. His school is that of hard-knocks, good ol surivival instinct. I am inspired by his,

1. Teachability – He may not think ahead or even exact much planning, but he responds to criticism and inadequacy, sportingly and enthusiastically, tipping any chance of failure into a slim win. He does so step, by step, steadily.
2. Perseverance – Circumstances and luck may rain on him but quitting never seemed to cross his mind till the exhausting final moments. Yet this is a distinguishing trait, the never-say-die, the raging heart. This is the power of Fail Up, that blesses you with endurance greater than life’s lemons.
3. Guts – Talk about leaping into whatever moves you.  Pouring yourself into beginnings, doing things no one around you has done. Walking the uncharted journey.

Now to turn inspiration into action.