LEARNING BY EXAMPLE

The young entrepreneurs behind the successful Diamond Grains, a granola brand, never deny the fact that they come from well-to-do families and the existing wealth helped with starting their own business. “Our families have given us financial and moral support,” Wuthikarn Wongdeeprasith said, adding he and girlfriend Chanisara Thothong started with seed money of 3 million baht, most of which went into building a plant and purchasing machinery. He said both families never interfered in their business and neither were they judgemental. Wuthikarn and Chanisara said they are grateful for the trust that their parents placed in them considering they were new graduates who had never worked before. “It’s not just the money or moral support. What we have taken from them is their work ethic and positive attitude towards their work,” Chanisara said. “Our parents were self-made, so are we. They earned everything they have. They love what they do and they strive to make it work. They treat their subordinates well. By example, they have shown us that money isn’t everything,” Chanisara said. She added that a few entrepreneurs might not want to admit that they had financial help at an early stage but she had no problems acknowledging it. “I don’t think we should judge the success of a business based on whether those who pursue it are rich or not. We should be judged based on our own work, what we have done and how far we have come from what we had at the start,” Chanisara said. Wuthikarn said that it is possible for them to take Diamond Grains to the next level and raise funds via the stock market. The young entrepreneur, however, said at this point he believes there are more pros than cons for Diamond Grains to stay the way it is, a company run by two people.