Re-Air of Episode 148 from May 20th, 2022 // Danny Taing, Founder & CEO of Bokksu, shares his journey from academia, tech, and founding Bokksu, a direct-to-consumer snack subscription and e-grocer highlighting snacks from Japan and beyond. Learn more at bokksu.com and @bokksu everywhere.
Meet Danny
Danny Taing is the Founder & CEO of Bokksu, a New York and Tokyo-based D2C snack subscription and e-grocer that delivers authentic Japanese food and lifestyle products to over 100 countries. Providing Japan’s traditional makers with a platform to share their goods with a global audience, Bokksu is helping to support, preserve, and promote their craft, while making it easier for the rest of the world to discover, buy, and love authentic Japanese goods.
The son of Cambodian-Chinese refugees, Danny was born in NYC and raised in NJ. He received a dual Bachelor's in Psychology and Communication, and a Master’s in Sociology, all from Stanford University. He then worked as a marketing strategist at Google HQ. After that, he relocated to Japan for a position at Rakuten. It was there, during the four years he spent living and working in Tokyo, that he developed his deep love of Japanese food and culture (as well as met his wonderful husband).
Following Rakuten, Taing returned to New York to study Computer Science at Columbia University. Inspired by his passion for Japanese culture, Asian-American representation, and entrepreneurship, Taing founded Bokksu in 2015 with $5,000 of his own savings. Utilizing every skill and contact he had, Taing was able to go from concept to launch in just three months, without an additional penny of outside funding. And he sold through his first run of boxes in less than a week. Today, the company is valued at $100M and employs a staff of 50, 80% of whom are BIPOC, female, and/or LGBTQ+; a metric Taing is particularly proud of.
In his spare time, Danny is an avid rock climber, fierce board game competitor, and, along with his husband, anime binge-watcher.
Meet Bokksu
Bokksu delivers authentic Japanese food and lifestyle products to customers around the world. Founded by Danny Taing in 2015, the New York and Tokyo-based D2C company partners with traditional makers throughout Japan to share their craft with over 100 countries via its snack subscription service, curated market of premium lifestyle goods, and online Asian grocery store. By providing Japan’s traditional makers with a platform to share their goods with a global audience, Bokksu is helping to support, preserve, and promote their craft, while making it easier for the rest of the world to discover, buy, and love authentic Japanese goods. Bokksu is a proudly LGBTQ+ and AAPI-owned company.
// Connect with Bokksu
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bokksu/
https://www.instagram.com/bokksu/
https://www.facebook.com/bokksu
https://twitter.com/bokksu
https://www.tiktok.com/@bokksu
Bokksu has some amazing bundles for this holiday season! Learn more: https://www.bokksu.com
// This episode of Dear Asian Americans is brought to you by the Quarter Pounder with Cheese from McDonalds.
It's QPC time. Did your mouth just water?
The QPC is the burger that breaks the norms of etiquette, the burger that napkins were made for, the burger that's saucy, drippy, oozing with flavor, always cooked when you order.
So the next time you want a mouth-watering burger, order the QPC from McDonalds.
// Did you know? There are treatments for covid.
If you or a loved one is 50 or over, or has a chronic health condition, you're at higher risk for severe covid illness.
But early treatment can make covid infection shorter, less severe, and help keep you out of the hospital. It could save your life.
So if you have covid symptoms, talk to a doctor right away and get treatment.
We can do this.
Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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