Martin Berry already had three years of company expertise by the point he graduated from school. From engaged on farms in his early years to getting a seven-figure paycheck in banking jobs, Martin Berry had all of it till he had an opportunity to strive his luck in a bubble tea enterprise.
Right this moment, Berry is the founder and chairman of Gong Cha World, an worldwide bubble tea franchise.
This is Martin Berry’s putting journey from being a banker to turning into the grasp franchiser of a million-dollar bubble tea firm:
Berry was in his 30s when he determined to stop his profitable banking job in late 2013. In response to CNBC Make It, Berry had spent a lot of his profession working in senior government roles, managing multi-trillion greenback stability sheets, he mentioned.
Nonetheless, he discovered that over time, the massive paychecks now not fulfilled him. He mentioned he did not like the company system.
‘I didn’t actually like…’
“I realised after working onerous for fairly an extended time frame that I didn’t actually like the company system. I didn’t like its lack of entrepreneurialism,” Berry informed CNBC Make It.
He mentioned, “It was all about threat administration, not threat taking.”
The ‘entrepreneurial bug’
Berry informed the media outlet that he grew up within the countryside of Melbourne, Australia. Since childhood, he’s had the “entrepreneurial bug,” he mentioned.
He reportedly labored on farm, fed cows and offered Christmas bushes, discovering alternative ways to generate income as a child.
“We didn’t essentially have some huge cash … I began to develop into fairly entrepreneurial from a really younger age, making an attempt to start out companies and several types of issues,” Berry was quoted as saying.
“I used to be simply born with this innate want for earning money,” he mentioned, including, “I feel I used to be very pushed by cash and what it may do for you, and the empowerment that it (may) convey.”
‘Snuck right into a college presentation’
Berry shared an anecdote with CNBC Make It, recalling how he had snuck right into a college presentation and landed a full-time job with a prime tech firm. He was 19 on the time.
“I truly snuck right into a college presentation, which was meant to be for graduates… I used to be listening to all these corporations pitch as to why these graduates ought to be a part of them,” mentioned Berry.
After the occasion, he went to the HR consultant for IT firm Hewlett-Packard (HP) and supplied to work free of charge.
This finally led to Berry touchdown his first summer time internship with the corporate, which finally become a full-time job. He juggled between his new job and college research.
“I simply managed to make it work by finding out (at) evening and weekends to finish the diploma, and by the point I graduated, I already had kind of three years’ value of company expertise,” Berry informed CNBC Make It.
By the point Berry was in his 30s, he was working in high-ranking roles in workplaces world wide, together with Australia, London, Singapore and South Korea.
After about 20 years working within the company world, he knew it was time for one thing else.
The Bubble tea firm
It began the day Berry was getting a haircut at a mall in Singapore. He had seen an extended line forming exterior a store close by.
Curious, he joined the queue. It turned out to be a Gong cha retailer — which was gaining recognition in Asia.
Berry seen a number of inexperienced flags with the store: drinks had been fast to make, shops had been small and leanly staffed, and the product’s easy substances prompt robust margins, CNBC Make It reported.
“I knew nothing about boba or bubble tea, however from a monetary engineering standpoint … (I assumed) this product have to be extremely worthwhile,” he was quoted as saying.
The subsequent step? Berry purchased ten of their best-selling drinks that day, style examined them after which spent the following few weeks visiting totally different shops to watch foot visitors.
Changing into the ‘Grasp’
After a number of unsuccessful makes an attempt to achieve Gong cha’s headquarters, Berry determined to fly to Taiwan and switch up at their door.
Fortunately, the unique founder was there.
Gong Cha was based in Taiwan in 1996 by Wu Zhenhua, and Berry entered the enterprise in 2011 to broaden the model to South Korea and different nations.
The 2 penned a deal and Berry grew to become a grasp franchiser of the bubble tea firm.
Berry mentioned he spent about $2.5 million in life financial savings to convey the corporate into its fifth market, South Korea, and went on to guide the model’s worldwide growth.
‘Opened shops subsequent to Starbucks’
To get his first clients in Seoul, Martin Berry determined to get Starbucks’ assist.
“So my technique was, I’ll put a Gong Cha — the primary 5 shops — subsequent to Starbucks,” Berry informed CNBC. “And if I can get one in 100 people who find themselves going into Starbucks to come back and take a look at a Gong Cha, then I’ve obtained a enterprise.”
In 2024, the corporate introduced in over $500 million in systemwide gross sales, in line with paperwork reviewed by CNBC Make It.
The enterprise lesson
Berry informed the media home, “Once you’re struggling … to start out a enterprise, you assume it’s a must to invent the following mild bulb or the following wheel… however it’s so removed from the reality.”
“It’s actually about in search of one thing that (has) loads of potential, whether or not you may both do it higher than someone (else), or you may put a distinct spin on it,” he mentioned.
“It’s simply by opening up your thoughts and opening up your eyes to what’s on the market on the earth,” he mentioned.
As of January, the chain had about 2,200 shops in 33 nations, together with the US and Canada, the report added.