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The Shattered Ceiling

Johnson Chao

Q&A with Johnson Chao, founder and CEO of Takira

Two years ago Johnson Chao started Takira, with the mission to provide marketing technology solutions to help companies grow their business and expand their brands. Already, Takira’s clients include such large corporations as AT&T and Microsoft. The name Takira is derived from the Japanese word for waterfall, a powerful force. Similarly, Takira believes its marketing technology solutions are a powerful force to reach, obtain and retain customers across online and offline channels.

Age: 29

Background: Chao grew up in San Francisco as the youngest of three boys. He describes his typical Asian American upbringing: playing violin for six years, studying on average 12 hours a day since the age of six. He also loved sports, especially basketball and tennis. Prior to founding Takira.com, Chao worked as a senior consultant for Bain & Company.

Education: Chao received a bachelor’s degree in economics from U.C. Berkeley and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

AsianWeek: How would you describe your company to someone who is not that familiar with technology?

Johnson Chao: Takira provides a technology and professional services solution for companies that want to run digital marketing programs. Our initial product is based on viral or referral marketing, but we have since expanded to other forms of online marketing.

The company has acquired 20 clients including AT&T, Sprint, Microsoft, eBay, CellularOne, NextCard, and iMotors. The key to our success stories has been to partner with our clients to develop compelling, relevant campaigns for consumers. Takira then leverages its proprietary technology to launch, manage, track and report on these digital programs.

AW: Who are your typical customers? It seems Takira offers a number of different services. Which ones are most needed by your clients?

JC: Our typical customers are marketing professionals in large consumer oriented companies. They are all focused on creating and running high, measured return-on-investment (ROI) marketing programs.

We offer a full-service model to our clients. There is no “one” right answer. We work with our clients to develop the best possible programs for their marketing goals and objectives. The one thing that is consistent is we are truly aligned with them on the success of the campaigns.

AW: How much money did it cost to start the company? What kind of funding, if any, did you get?

JC: Five of us started the company in April of 1999. Basically, it was a few former business school classmates and Bain & Company colleagues. We all pooled some money, stopped taking a comfortable paycheck and literally worked out of a living room for the first few months. Fortunately, we were able to secure two future rounds of financing from angel investors and a couple of institutional firms. We now have an official office space, although I do often miss rolling out of bed and walking 50 feet to work in shorts and a T-shirt.

AW: Is the company public or are there plans to go public?

JC: The company is private. There are many more milestones the company would have to reach before a public offering. Although going public would be a great outcome for everyone involved, I tend to prefer focusing on shorter-term goals like growing revenue and reaching profitability.

AW: What advice do you have for young people interested in starting a business?

JC: Young or old, if you’re starting a business, whether it’s a local restaurant or the next worldwide fiber-optic network, you better have more than just a big financial return in your crosshairs. There are more ups and downs than most budding entrepreneurs realize or are prepared for.

However, if you believe in what you’re doing and it’s adding value to your customers and you find a bunch of smart, fun and capable people willing to build the company with you, then you’ve succeeded regardless of the outcome of the venture.

AW: What is the key to your success? And what is the most important lesson you’ve learned as a business student, a consultant, and as an entrepreneur?

JC: Resiliency and hard work. Very few things in life worth having are ever given to you. You have to work at it, and with a lot of persistence and maybe a little bit of luck, you achieve it.

As a business student, I learned the value of a network. My manager at Bain once told me that Harvard Business School would be the best club I would ever join. I didn’t realize what he meant until after I graduated. The alumni network is quite impressive and the administration does a good job of fostering it. Oh, I also learned that Boston is a horrible place to live. No offense to any East Coasters, but I couldn’t wait to get back to California after school.

As a consultant, I learned how to think strategically and communicate ideas effectively in a corporate environment. Bain taught me what “professional” means in professional services. It is a great training ground before business school and a good way to develop management skills after it. I also learned that my body could actually survive on two hours of sleep in three days, though that’s a lesson I’d rather not re-learn.

As an entrepreneur, I learned that being a business student and a consultant does not prepare you to start a company. Seriously, there are too many lessons I have learned at Takira than I could ever do justice to in an interview. I can share that one of the biggest lessons is there are really no business schools or jobs that can prepare you for starting a company. This is one of those things in life that you can only learn by doing.

AW: Did you ever experience the “glass ceiling”?

JC: I have experienced overt racism in my private life, but few barriers in my professional one. There is no doubt in my mind that a glass ceiling does exist in many large corporations. And that the glass ceiling applies whether you’re a certain race, gender, sexual preference or religious denomination.

Unfortunately, most people feel comfortable with the status quo and unless you look, sound and act like 80 percent of general managers in the United States, you have to overcome more obstacles than they do. It’s a fact of most professional environments and although I do not feel it is acceptable, I do feel that the most prudent course is to try to adapt and overcome these barriers instead of dwelling on them.

AW: What is the biggest obstacle you had to overcome, and how did you overcome it?

JC: Honestly, life has been pretty good. I have a great relationship with my family, a wonderful set of friends and I’m doing something professionally that I wouldn’t trade-in for anything else in the world.

The toughest thing that comes to mind is the travel required for the positions I have held. I love to travel personally, but living out of an airplane and hotel for business reasons is difficult. It’s hard to develop and maintain friendships and relationships when you’re out-of-town four to five days a week for months on end. You learn to become very selective in who you spend your time with when you are at home.

AW: Where do you hope to be in 10 years?

JC: On a beach in Bali with a cocktail in one hand, my spouse next to me, and our kids playing in the ocean. When people ask me where I see myself in the future, I never envision something professionally. Family has always been important in my life and although I would enjoy being financially well off, it has never been my number one priority.

AW: What are your hobbies?

JC: I enjoy a variety of outdoor activities including basketball, tennis, golf, mountain biking and snowboarding. Other less aerobic activities include reading and traveling. I hope to take some significant time off traveling around the world at some point in the future.

AW: Are you concerned about the economy? What are your predictions? How is your company preparing in case those predictions come true?

JC: I try not to concern myself too much with things I have very little control over. I don’t mean to come off as being arrogant or thoughtless, but I will not be dictating macro-economic policy or mass consumer spending patterns anytime soon. That being said, since the beginning of financial markets, the economy has been cyclical. As bad as the economy gets, there will be an upturn.

The key for the company is to be financially prudent and stay the course. If we continue to add value to our clients through our products and services, Takira will be fine. We need to stay viable through the trough and we will prosper in the peak.

And if the economy never comes back and the United States is thrust into economic turmoil and political chaos, I think I’ll have more pressing matters in life than the success of the company.

AW: What is your philosophy of life?

JC: Is this the part where I tell you what kind of tree personifies me best or if I really love my parents? Just kidding. Surprisingly enough, I have spent quite some time thinking about life and its many meanings, even with the hours a start-up demands.

Conclusion: Stop thinking about life and start enjoying it. I truly believe you only regret the things you don’t do. So I fully intend to enjoy the start-up life and Takira, regardless of the outcome of the company. And truth be told, there is a lot more to life than building some multi-billion dollar, monolithic corporation.

For instance, lying on a beach in Bali comes to mind.