A childhood interest in electronics led to Kavipat Laohasiri building a successful business.
Kavipat, 28, is director and founder of Arken Global Co, a creator and distributor of premium gadgets.
Setting up his own company about two years ago, Kavipat dreamed of creating a trendy and premium lifestyle brand that is well recognised by technology buffs all over the world, similar to popular Japanese and Korean brands.
Kavipat took a bachelor's degree in communication arts (advertising) from Assumption University. A son of Nobhanuj Khempinij, his twin brother, Krisadee, died five years ago.
"From a child, I was fond of experiencing new adventures. I used to be on the school table-tennis team. In my free time, I was also interested in various kinds of electronic products and newly invented toys such as recording pens, mini-discs, mobiles, and headsets.
"After graduation, I had the opportunity to work in three leading companies, Unilever Thai Trading, Loxley Trading, and Sony Thai Co. I could say that was my start-off point to where I am now," he said.
Kavipat said that during his career in a marketing field, he took the opportunity to fly to various countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Vietnam.
He learned from and worked with many different cultures, which allowed him to gain experience from international fields.
Although Kavipat did not grow up in a business family, he dreamed of being an entrepreneur.
"It was a childhood dream … deep in my heart ... that one day when I grew up, I wanted to be a businessman so that I could dress up in a business suit and tie and fly in a plane to negotiate with foreigners," he said.
Coming of age in an IT-dominated world, he unavoidably focused on information-technology gadgets. After working in leading companies for more than three years, he thought it was a time to build his own premium gadget brand generated by his own taste and experience.
"It started out in a small room plus experiences abroad. Having met more than 300 foreign business companies, I started to look for my OEM [original equipment manufacturing] partner, which would be able to create the right products to fit the Arken brand," Kavipat said.
"At the start, just as in any other small company, I did all the general jobs such as salesman, administrator, messenger, procurement, marketing, quality control and even shipping and handling."
He said the Arken logo, which is a lion's head with a jewelled crown, was derived from his personal preference. For him, the lion is the king of jungle, whereas its crown implies "top of the top".
The Arken brand therefore reflected the selection of the best products delicately and neatly from outside in, with an international standard.