Posted Under: Entrepreneurship, Our Heroes

Today we are talking to John-Paul Lee as our next guest under the “Our Heroes” series.  A former Management Consultant, Mr. Lee is now the CEO of Tavalon Tea. John started his company at the age of 26 after discovering the number of tea drinkers during a trip to London. Today, Tavalon Tea is truly an international company as its popularity grows in South Korea and abroad. Let’s dig deeper into his success story…

DD: Who are you and what kind of corporate job were you at?

JL: My name is John-Paul Lee and I’m the CEO of Tavalon Tea.  Prior to launching Tavalon Tea, I worked as a consultant at Accenture straight out of college for about 4 ½ years.

DD: What made you leave the job? When did you realize that you wanted to be an entrepreneur & why?

JL: I spent the majority of my time brainstorming ways to break out of the system and run my company. In 2005, I was sitting in Covent Garden in London, drinking a Caffe Latte and as I looked at the people around my table, I noted that all of them- folks both young and old, from all different walks of life- were not sharing in my coffee-drinking experience, but instead enjoying tea. As an American, used to the frenetically fast-paced life coffee chains have inspired, this struck me as unusual, but amazing. Upon returning to the States, I brought the seed of inspiration of tea with me and quit my corporate job as a consultant at Accenture to start Tavalon Tea at the age of 26.

DD: What did you do to break the corporate jail? How did you prepare for the employee to entrepreneur transition?

JL: Once I realized the opportunity in starting a tea company I had to find a way to fund the project. I entertained the idea of working with VC’s to raise capital but then came across a seasoned entrepreneur who told me that “the closest a man ever gets to experiencing motherhood is when he starts his own company.” I truly subscribe to this theory and I wasn’t about to give up my baby for adoption so I sold my car, my house, pulled out several credit cards, liquidated my stock options and 401K to bring Tavalon Tea to life.

DD: What are your suggestions for aspiring entrepreneurs?

JL: The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up. You need to move on when work feels like work.

DD: How are you doing and how do you feel now?

JL: The Company has gone through major expansion including into the international markets since its inception. In 2009, we launched our first international office in Seoul, Korea and our products are being served in over 130 locations in South Korea. We are currently working on other international offices including Brazil and other parts of Asia. It has been an amazing experience watching this baby grow and I look forward to the next 5 years of aggressive growth.  I feel like a proud father.

DD: That’s John-Paul Lee, founder of Tavalon Tea. His story highlights how different cultures and practices can help us spot opportunities, so observe the society and surroundings especially while travelling and you never know what opportunity you may spot. Going international is also a good idea, not just to expand your market size, but to also utilize resources from multiple countries and not just one.

Success to all!