Interning on a farm in Japan changed my view of how to run a business

• Cherie Luo worked on a matcha farm as part of a requirement during her time at Stanford Graduate Business School.
• Luo, 29, said his time at the matcha farm changed his perspective on running a business.
• A year later, Luo started a matcha business with her sister.

This essay, as stated, is based on a conversation with Cherie Luo, a content creator and entrepreneur. Luo spent 5 years working in technology in Silicon Valley. She graduated from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in June. Business Insider verified his employment and education history. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

In June, I graduated from business school with a new career plan: technology out, matcha in.

I grew up on Long Island, went to college in Manhattan, and worked in tech for five years before attending Stanford Graduate School of Business.

To graduate, Stanford MBA students must complete an international program known as the Global Management Immersion Experience. This can be done by taking a class on international business or participating in the work abroad program. I chose the latter.

I am a second generation Chinese American and have traveled to Asia a few times to visit family and as a tourist.

I was eager to explore more and started looking for the internships listed on the Stanford portal. There were opportunities to intern in Hong Kong or a water park in Indonesia. However, the opportunity to work on a matcha farm in Japan for a month it stood out.

Tea was an integral part of my childhood. Growing up in New York, my mother would bring my sister and I to Flushing, Queens every two weeks to enjoy dim sum.

Whenever we sat down at a restaurant, the first question the waiters asked was, “What kind of tea do you want?” It was a way to reconnect with my Asian heritage.

Adapting to farm life

The farm, D:matcha, is located in Wazuka, one hour from Kyoto. It is owned by Daiki Tanaka, a Japanese farmer in his 30s who left his job as president of a donut company to work in agriculture. It is a small business with less than 10 employees.

On my first day at the farm, I remember being startled by the sound of cicadas filling the air. From my farmhouse room I could see vast tea fields. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Room and table were covered during my stay.

Every day on the farm was different. Daiki-san’s farm also offered tea tours and had a bed and breakfast; My project was to determine how to improve guest retention on the farm.

As part of my project, I created guest itineraries, including a marked backyard walking trail and a program of cooking classes.

Working as a content creator since 2020, I was already familiar with content marketing. I helped Daiki-san create videos to post on Instagram. I also posted about my time at the farm on my social media channels, which was meaningful because I could use my platform to shine a light on his small business.

It opened my eyes to a world of business outside the US

Living in Silicon Valley and working at LinkedIn as a product manager for almost five years instilled in me the mindset: How do we grow our revenue? How do we grow?

I’ve always been in hyper-growth mode and that’s how I approach business. When I presented Daiki-san with ideas on how to grow his business, he explained that this was not what he wanted to do.

When I told him he could grow and distribute his tea all over the world, he would say, “That doesn’t sound like fun.”

Daiki-san told me that he is happy with the speed of his company’s growth and said that he prioritizes what gives him energy. For him, that’s focusing on the customer experience.

It was a wake-up call. As a business school student from the US, I was taught to optimize growth. However, I realized that there are different ways of approaching business that prioritize happiness rather than growth.

I am starting a matcha business with my sister

After a month, I formed strongly working relationship with Daiki-san and his team. Much of Japanese business culture is about communication and trust from person to person.

In July, I returned to him. My sister and I had discussed our passions for matcha, which had been on my mind since I left that summer. And now we hit the ground running: we started a matcha business together.

Our business is still in the early stages, but we have opened pre-orders for matcha powder on our website. We charge $58 for 30 gram boxes of tea and the first delivery is scheduled for December.

The internship changed my life. I wouldn’t do it I thought about starting a matcha company if I hadn’t gone to Japan and spent time with Daiki-san. He showed me that while it’s scary to follow your passions, it’s important to focus what makes you happy and what gives you energy.

Do you have a story about going abroad for work that you want to share? Connect with the reporter, Erin: [email protected].