As an international university student living alone at Prinsep Street Residences back in 2009, Jay Lim Jae Won (BBM 2012) would rely on fast food as his staple. Never considering himself a ‘foodie’, he appreciated the accessibility and affordability of the local McDonald’s in between his studies and his internship. Fast forward 10 years, Jay is now the Founder and CEO of GOPIZZA, a pizza chain with over 30 stores in Korea. In March 2019, Jay was recognised as one of Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Asia for revolutionising the pizza industry. Having grown up in America, South Korea, and Singapore, the cosmopolitan entrepreneur is now setting his sights on expanding into India. We catch up with the LKCSB alumnus as he connects the dots back to his SMU days, and relates his vision to grow GOPIZZA into a global phenomenon.
Hi Jay! You graduated with a BBM from SMU in 2012. How was your time in SMU? What was your most memorable experience from university?
Student life in SMU was characterised by being conscientious and hardworking. Thanks to good friends in SMU, I was able to adapt quickly although it was my first time in Singapore. I lived in Prinsep Street Residences (PSR) for a year. The Prinsep Nights and the PSR Resident Seniors helped me to get along with friends quicker. After my freshman year, I was even able to get into the Dean’s list, which was a great honor for an international student like me. My most memorable experience in SMU was when I did my internship in TBWA Singapore (an advertising agency), which I was introduced to through an advertising class taught by Adjunct Professor Jörg Dietzel. I spent almost two years in TBWA, and that experience greatly influenced my career for the rest of my life. It would not have happened without SMU’s programmes and good ties with global corporations. Of course, I also remember the countless meetings in GSRs and on the benches of the Concourse, which make me smile and frown at the same time. ;)
Could you describe your journey after graduation?
I moved back to Korea to pursue my Master’s in KAIST, one of the best universities in Korea. My GPA coupled with the reputation of SMU played a large part in securing my admission into KAIST. After finishing my Master’s, I worked in a start-up for around two years, and became familiar with the Korean start-up scene. It was a logistics start-up that grew from 15 employees to over 200 employees by the time I left.
I thought of applying to big global firms like Google, but I believed that it would make sense for me to do something adventurous whilst I was still relatively young, because it would be relatively safe for me to fail before my 30s. At the beginning of establishing GOPIZZA, I believed that I would eventually fail. However, it would still be a great experience for me to pursue something that others did not. I justified to myself that the experience could help me get into big firms later on.
(Jay had to be hands-on during the initial stages of setting up GOPIZZA, making and selling more than 500 pizzas a day from a food truck near the Han River)
What motivated you to set up GOPIZZA?
“Connecting the dots” would be the best way to answer this question, because I believe all my past experiences led me to set up GOPIZZA. As I Iived alone in Singapore when I was attending SMU, I naturally consumed a lot of fast food, especially since I always lived near McDonald's. I would probably visit McDonald's three to four times a week. I am not a ‘foodie’, so McDonalds seemed to be a good option for me to fill my belly without spending much time, money, and effort. I would finish my meal in under 10 minutes, by myself, and spend less than ten bucks for a meal. It was very accessible.
However, whenever I tried to have pizza in Singapore, I had to spend more than SGD20 and wait for more than an hour for a delivery. I always had leftovers, and it did not seem to make sense. I could only have pizza on special occasions, even though I liked pizza as much as I liked McDonalds'. When I moved back to Korea, I faced that same inaccessibility of pizza. That was why I started GOPIZZA - to make pizza accessible like McDonald's, so that everyone could have pizza whenever they want.
(Incorporating technology, Jay patented the "Goven", which could cook up to six personal pizzas within three minutes)
Could you elaborate more on the challenges you faced along the way, and how you resolved them?
There were different challenges according to different stages of the business. At first, in the ideation stage, the biggest challenge was to not quit. As nothing physically existed, GOPIZZA would vanish any day if I decided to stop dreaming of it. For almost a year, I had to drag myself to do market research, make crappy pizza, and work part-time at Pizza Hut to realize the dream of GOPIZZA.
At the food truck stage, I was physically challenged because I sold more than 500 pizzas a day. I had no experience of managing a restaurant, nor did I have a kitchen to prepare all those ingredients. My mom and I prepared enormous amount of ingredients until dawn, and I would load them into my truck by myself. After frenziedly selling all of them near Han River until midnight, I would come back home around 2-3am, and do that all over again. 2016 was the toughest year of my life, and it made me really hustle on the streets.
After we were incorporated, my challenges nowadays are more of management issues - where and how to be funded for the next round, who to hire, how to optimize our store operations, and so on. I would say it is not as dynamic as before, but I am working harder than ever, because now I am responsible for more than 50 employees' payroll, and the families of more than 20 franchisees.
(Jay outside his GOPIZZA stores. GOPIZZA now has more than 30 stores, and is growing even faster every month)
From a humble food truck in Seoul, GOPIZZA has expanded rapidly into more than 30 stores, and you are aiming to reach 100 stores in 2019, including in India. How did you manage your energy to oversee such a rapid expansion?
I was always driven to create something bigger than me. As a marketer, I wanted to create a physical brand that people could see, touch, eat, and experience. That drive got me to start GOPIZZA, and probably got me through more than 3 years without vacation. As I witnessed GOPIZZA growing faster day by day, I became more motivated. Additionally, I had huge responsibilities to fulfill towards my employees, franchisees, and the investors.
However, beyond that, I believe I might actually be able to create a brand that has a global significance like McDonald's, because pizza is the most global food of all, and its inaccessibility is also a global phenomenon. The mega trend of making pizza more casual is already happening, starting from the US. I believe GOPIZZA can be one of the global leaders in the evolving pizza industry. I think GOPIZZA will thrive especially in the Asian market.
I think this vision to change a global industry lets me keep running, despite the many sacrifices I have to make.
(Jay with the employees of the first GOPIZZA store in Bangalore, India. He credits his experience living in Singapore, USA, and South Korea for his ability to adapt well to different cultures)
How did you feel when you received the news that you were named “Forbes Asia's 30 Under 30”?
I received an email around four months ago, saying that I was nominated for the list. I did not even know what the list was, and I honestly thought it was a scam! However, after few months, I heard I was in the semifinals, then in the finals - and then I won. For about an hour, I felt extremely honored and happy, mainly because it would make my wife and my parents proud.
However, after that I felt rather pressured, because now I would really have to live up to people's expectations and even jealousy. Nonetheless, it was probably the highlight of my life as the CEO of GOPIZZA, and it brought great momentum for my company. Major media approached me and GOPIZZA, and we were covered extensively during March 2019. Thanks to our media coverage, even without any PR budget, we were able to create many new businesses and attract new investors.
(Jay was named one of Forbes Asia's 30 Under 30 in March 2019 under The Arts category, which recognises individuals for creating and designing the future in various industries)
Did your parents support the decision to start a pizza truck?
My parents were the greatest supporters in this journey, and I had to admit that I am greatly privileged. Even though I had good degrees, they encouraged me to experience the real world before the stakes got too high. You learn A LOT of things on the streets, things you would never learn in any school. Therefore, I am really thankful and glad my parents were able to see the bigger picture. Of course, they did not know my truck would come this far, but I think having a supportive family is one of the most important things when you start your own business. I am very lucky that way.
Final question: Do you have any message for your friends from SMU?
As I have not been back to Singapore for a while, I lost contact with many of my friends in Singapore (which is ironic, because I am writing this interview at Changi airport, transiting on the way to India for the first GOPIZZA store opening). I hope they would still remember me, and I would be happy to host them whenever they plan to visit Korea. I would like to thank my groupmates whom I met in my freshmen year especially, as I was pretty lost back then, and they had to cover for me. A LOT. My apologies to them, and I am forever in your debt!
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Timeline of Jay and GOPIZZA
If any of our alumni, staff, faculty or students are visiting South Korea (or Bangalore, India), don't forget to visit GOPIZZA!