Seth Sulkin's guest appearances

Seth Sulkin

Now and Zen Japan

Japan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan

Loic Bizel

Jeff Crawford

Timothy Langley

Timothy Connor

Dominic Carter

David Sweet

Tim Sullivan

Ruth Jarman

Arthur Mitchell

Jesper Koll

Rochelle Kopp

David Daniels

Ed Thompson

Aiko Smith

John Flanagan

OwlTail

Seth Sulkin takes us through his journey in Japan from working as a journalist to a civil servant to becoming the leader of three organizations - Pacific Air Capital, Pacific Hotels, and most recently, Food-e. Mr. Sulkin first arrived in Japan in 1987 while working for Wall Street Journal and experienced the economic bubble which he recalls as “an incredible time living in Tokyo [and] a rare experience that only happens every 1000 years.” Having worked as a journalist in New York, London and Tokyo, Mr. Sulkin decided to change his career path and enrolled in graduate school at Stanford University. There, he studied Japanese political economy, specifically on how Japan uses aid, trade and investment to promote economic development in Southeast Asia. After graduation, he worked for Japan Development Institute to build infrastructures all over the word including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Russia and Poland as a Project Manager. Mr. Sulkin then worked for the Clinton Administration working on defence policy related to Japan. Mr. Sulkin decided that working in business and being his own boss was a better fit and started building his own development company, first based in the US with a focus on opening department stores and shopping centres in Japan.   In Japan, Mr. Sulkin started with a team of 10-15 people working with large Japanese partners who wanted to build US style shopping centres. He first developed his network based on the relationships he had established while being in Japan for nearly 10 years. Mr. Sulkin continued to expand his network through introductions, which increased his credibility and ability to build trusting business partnerships. Mr. Sulkin believes that as a small organization, his company was able to bring the overseas real estate expertise the Japanese companies needed at that time, which would have been difficult for larger corporations to provide. He adds: “there aren't that many Japanese who can easily fit into the business world in the US [and] easily send people overseas, figure out [and] learn what they need to and bring that technology back to Japan.”   On hiring his staff, Mr. Sulkin says he always finds quirky talented people by selling them on the vision of his company as well as providing good work life balance with a competitive salary. He says the advantage of being a foreign company is that he is able to hire people who do not fit the traditional Japanese environment or are not given equal opportunities, such as women. Mr. Sulkin has been successful in hiring good managers and leaves the management of the staff to them, as he does not micromanage and instead focuses on key issues where he can add most value. In order to maintain high accountability and trust, Mr. Sulkin follows a ringi system to a certain extent to enable him to delegate day to day decision making to other. Mr. Sulkin also emphasizes the importance of horenso - report, communication and consulting. He explains to his new staff that maintaining an open communication style is critical and this means admitting mistakes honestly before it gets out of control.   To maintain high engagement, Mr. Sulkin is in constant communication with various offices in-person, over the phone and online. He has come to realize during his leadership career that his staff appreciate a good work life balance and freedom at work as well as in their personal lives. Mr. Sulkin encourages people to take time off as well, as he believes this increases work engagement and the well-being of his team. Additionally, during the global financial crises, the 2011 Earthquake and now COVID, Mr. Sulkin has never laid any of his staff off, which is his way of maintaining trust and engagement.   When speaking to many hotel and restaurant owners, Mr. Sulkin discovered they were hesitant to join the online delivery service business because they were not satisfied with the cost and quality of the service. In order to meet these demands, Mr. Sulkin has started a new gourmet restaurant delivery app company called Food-e. With many restaurants struggling to keep their business afloat, Mr. Sulkin has had over 90% prospective restaurants join his delivery service which promises professional delivery of gourmet meals through an app.   On leading in Japan, Mr. Sulkin thinks it is important for international leaders to speak out and express their opinions with suggestions on improvements. On his advice to newcomers, Mr. Sulkin advises to study about Japanese business as much as possible, and if on a short assignment, to hire a good translator and assistant who understands the Japanese business culture. Moreover, he advises to meet people both during one’s personal and professional time. Lastly, he advises to have an open dialogue with one’s team and specifically ask for their ideas. Mr. Sulkin says: “[in doing so] I think you'll have a much richer experience and you'll learn a lot more and you'll contribute much more [to Japan].”

Seth Sulkin takes us through his journey in Japan from working as a journalist to a civil servant to becoming the leader of three organizations - Pacific Air Capital, Pacific Hotels, and most recently, Food-e. Mr. Sulkin first arrived in Japan in 1987 while working for Wall Street Journal and experienced the economic bubble which he recalls as “an incredible time living in Tokyo [and] a rare experience that only happens every 1000 years.” Having worked as a journalist in New York, London and Tokyo, Mr. Sulkin decided to change his career path and enrolled in graduate school at Stanford University. There, he studied Japanese political economy, specifically on how Japan uses aid, trade and investment to promote economic development in Southeast Asia. After graduation, he worked for Japan Development Institute to build infrastructures all over the word including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Russia and Poland as a Project Manager. Mr. Sulkin then worked for the Clinton Administration working on defence policy related to Japan. Mr. Sulkin decided that working in business and being his own boss was a better fit and started building his own development company, first based in the US with a focus on opening department stores and shopping centres in Japan. In Japan, Mr. Sulkin started with a team of 10-15 people working with large Japanese partners who wanted to build US style shopping centres. He first developed his network based on the relationships he had established while being in Japan for nearly 10 years. Mr. Sulkin continued to expand his network through introductions, which increased his credibility and ability to build trusting business partnerships. Mr. Sulkin believes that as a small organization, his company was able to bring the overseas real estate expertise the Japanese companies needed at that time, which would have been difficult for larger corporations to provide. He adds: “there aren't that many Japanese who can easily fit into the business world in the US [and] easily send people overseas, figure out [and] learn what they need to and bring that technology back to Japan.” On hiring his staff, Mr. Sulkin says he always finds quirky talented people by selling them on the vision of his company as well as providing good work life balance with a competitive salary. He says the advantage of being a foreign company is that he is able to hire people who do not fit the traditional Japanese environment or are not given equal opportunities, such as women. Mr. Sulkin has been successful in hiring good managers and leaves the management of the staff to them, as he does not micromanage and instead focuses on key issues where he can add most value. In order to maintain high accountability and trust, Mr. Sulkin follows a ringi system to a certain extent to enable him to delegate day to day decision making to other. Mr. Sulkin also emphasizes the importance of horenso - report, communication and consulting. He explains to his new staff that maintaining an open communication style is critical and this means admitting mistakes honestly before it gets out of control. To maintain high engagement, Mr. Sulkin is in constant communication with various offices in-person, over the phone and online. He has come to realize during his leadership career that his staff appreciate a good work life balance and freedom at work as well as in their personal lives. Mr. Sulkin encourages people to take time off as well, as he believes this increases work engagement and the well-being of his team. Additionally, during the global financial crises, the 2011 Earthquake and now COVID, Mr. Sulkin has never laid any of his staff off, which is his way of maintaining trust and engagement. When speaking to many hotel and restaurant owners, Mr. Sulkin discovered they were hesitant to join the online delivery service business because they were not satisfied with the cost and quality of the service. In order to meet these demands, Mr. Sulkin has started a new gourmet restaurant delivery app company called Food-e. With many restaurants struggling to keep their business afloat, Mr. Sulkin has had over 90% prospective restaurants join his delivery service which promises professional delivery of gourmet meals through an app. On leading in Japan, Mr. Sulkin thinks it is important for international leaders to speak out and express their opinions with suggestions on improvements. On his advice to newcomers, Mr. Sulkin advises to study about Japanese business as much as possible, and if on a short assignment, to hire a good translator and assistant who understands the Japanese business culture. Moreover, he advises to meet people both during one’s personal and professional time. Lastly, he advises to have an open dialogue with one’s team and specifically ask for their ideas. Mr. Sulkin says: “[in doing so] I think you'll have a much richer experience and you'll learn a lot more and you'll contribute much more [to Japan].”

51: Seth Sulkin, CEO, Pacifica Capital, Pacifica Hotels, Food-e

Japan veteran and savvy businessman Seth Sulkin.  He is the founder of Pacifica Capital an international hotel developer and operator. He has also recently become a disruptor in the restaurant food delivery business with the launch of his new gourmet restaurant food delivery app Food-e. In this episode we learn all about this booming industry, why before Food-e high-end restaurants couldn't or wouldn't join delivery apps, and the innovations which convinced these reputable restaurants to sign on. As Seth states, "It's the quickest sell I've done in 35 years of doing business in Japan".  We also discuss developing hotels in Japan and the importance of overseeing all customer touch-points and the Instagram angle.  Other topics we cover:What led to the inception of Food-eThe inside stories of food delivery apps and restaurant economicsThe problems with current food delivery apps and how Food-e solves themHow Seth was able to convince high-end restaurants to join Food-eMy crazy ideas on how to improve the Food-e experienceWhy Pacifica Capital only develops International HotelsThe reason why "chairs" are so important Unique ideas for instagram-able breakfastsFavorite Japanese word (Okamochi)Seth Sulkin: Pacifica CapitalFood-e: https://www.food-e.co.jp The Moxy Tokyo: Moxy Hotel TokyoGreat Sleep Starts Here = gugu Sleep Company: https://gugu.jp Japan Adventures via Camper Van = Dream Drive: https://www.dreamdrive.lifeUse the code word "ZEN" to receive discounts

Japan veteran and savvy businessman Seth Sulkin.  He is the founder of Pacifica Capital an international hotel developer and operator. He has also recently become a disruptor in the restaurant food delivery business with the launch of his new gourmet restaurant food delivery app Food-e. In this episode we learn all about this booming industry, why before Food-e high-end restaurants couldn't or wouldn't join delivery apps, and the innovations which convinced these reputable restaurants to sign on. As Seth states, "It's the quickest sell I've done in 35 years of doing business in Japan".  We also discuss developing hotels in Japan and the importance of overseeing all customer touch-points and the Instagram angle.  Other topics we cover:<ul><li>What led to the inception of Food-e</li><li>The inside stories of food delivery apps and restaurant economics</li><li>The problems with current food delivery apps and how Food-e solves them</li><li>How Seth was able to convince high-end restaurants to join Food-e</li><li>My crazy ideas on how to improve the Food-e experience</li><li>Why Pacifica Capital only develops International Hotels</li><li>The reason why "chairs" are so important </li><li>Unique ideas for instagram-able breakfasts</li><li>Favorite Japanese word (Okamochi)</li></ul>Seth Sulkin: <a href="http://www.pacifica-cap.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pacifica Capital</a> Food-e: <a href="https://www.food-e.co.jp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.food-e.co.jp</a> The Moxy Tokyo: <a href="https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/tyoox-moxy-tokyo-kinshicho/?scid=bb1a189a-fec3-4d19-a255-54ba596febe2&amp;y_source=1_ODcxNzUzMi03MTUtbG9jYXRpb24uZ29vZ2xlX3dlYnNpdGVfb3ZlcnJpZGU=" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Moxy Hotel Tokyo</a> Great Sleep Starts Here = gugu Sleep Company: <a href="https://gugu.jp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://gugu.jp</a> Japan Adventures via Camper Van = Dream Drive: <a href="https://www.dreamdrive.life" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.dreamdrive.life</a><ul><li>Use the code word "ZEN" to receive discounts</li></ul>

Seth Sulkin: Gourmet Food Delivery & Hotel Development Entrepreneur