Entrepreneurship as a lifestyle: interview with Kumiko Matcha
Today, we present the story of Kumiko Matcha - a French brand of matcha tea - and its founder, Valentin Van Nhut.
Valentin founded Kumiko Matcha in 2013 to introduce Japan's authentic organic premium matcha tea while federating a community around this lifestyle.
In this interview, Valentin presents his philosophy of life, the history of his brand and his vision of entrepreneurship.
To begin, tell us your personal journey.
At 17, I had a heart attack that completely changed my life. The doctor told me: "Valentine, we do not know what you have, we do not know how to treat you. We just know that you can have a heart attack anytime. Take your life. My life completely changed because I took medicine every day and wondered: what would I do if today was my last day? And what would not I do? How would I interact with the people around me?
I decided to live as many experiences as possible: I wanted to travel, to see the world and to live all that I could live. At 18, I went to Thai boxing in Thailand because it was my dream.
At 19, I had a second heart attack. When they left the hospital, the doctors told me that they did not know what I had and how they could treat me. I already knew the deal, so I wanted to travel even more, even more to get my dreams, even more enjoy and even live my life thoroughly.
I wanted to travel, so I became a flight attendant for Air France. It was a kind of summer job that I did for 6 months. After that, I traveled for a year in Asia: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Hong Kong, China.
All this time, I was obsessed with a question: how can I live my life best with the time I have, knowing that everything can stop anytime?Online Shoppin in Pakistan
"How to live my life best with the time I have, knowing that everything can stop anytime? "
Have you found an answer to this question?
I started looking for answers by reading hundreds of books. Books about business, productivity, personal development, how to fulfill your dreams and do what you want to do.
One of the great lessons I learned from these books is the importance of finding a mentor. At that time, I lived in China and learned from my father that one of my uncles lived in Shanghai. I went to see him and told him, "I want to be an entrepreneur because I want to make my time my main resource. I wanted to be able to control my time and be freer. I wanted to learn and become an entrepreneur.
Pile by the time I met him, my uncle was launching a brand of French wines in China. He agreed to become my mentor and I worked with him for 3 years. I have experienced incredible things and learned a lot during those years. But, in the end, I did not recognize myself in this world, so I decided to leave and move on.
How was your passion for matcha tea born?
I lived in the Japanese district in Shanghai and that's where I discovered matcha tea. I started to drink it every day and I took a passion for this drink with health benefits.
Matcha tea is produced from tea leaves that are ground until they turn into a very fine powder. This is a technique that comes from Japan: Japanese Zen Buddhist monks brought the Chinese tea tree to Japan more than 800 years ago. Matcha tea is both very old and very new because it is growing in popularity while being anchored in a very old tradition.
Valentin founded Kumiko Matcha in 2013 to introduce Japan's authentic organic premium matcha tea while federating a community around this lifestyle.
In this interview, Valentin presents his philosophy of life, the history of his brand and his vision of entrepreneurship.
To begin, tell us your personal journey.
At 17, I had a heart attack that completely changed my life. The doctor told me: "Valentine, we do not know what you have, we do not know how to treat you. We just know that you can have a heart attack anytime. Take your life. My life completely changed because I took medicine every day and wondered: what would I do if today was my last day? And what would not I do? How would I interact with the people around me?
I decided to live as many experiences as possible: I wanted to travel, to see the world and to live all that I could live. At 18, I went to Thai boxing in Thailand because it was my dream.
At 19, I had a second heart attack. When they left the hospital, the doctors told me that they did not know what I had and how they could treat me. I already knew the deal, so I wanted to travel even more, even more to get my dreams, even more enjoy and even live my life thoroughly.
I wanted to travel, so I became a flight attendant for Air France. It was a kind of summer job that I did for 6 months. After that, I traveled for a year in Asia: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Hong Kong, China.
All this time, I was obsessed with a question: how can I live my life best with the time I have, knowing that everything can stop anytime?Online Shoppin in Pakistan
"How to live my life best with the time I have, knowing that everything can stop anytime? "
Have you found an answer to this question?
I started looking for answers by reading hundreds of books. Books about business, productivity, personal development, how to fulfill your dreams and do what you want to do.
One of the great lessons I learned from these books is the importance of finding a mentor. At that time, I lived in China and learned from my father that one of my uncles lived in Shanghai. I went to see him and told him, "I want to be an entrepreneur because I want to make my time my main resource. I wanted to be able to control my time and be freer. I wanted to learn and become an entrepreneur.
Pile by the time I met him, my uncle was launching a brand of French wines in China. He agreed to become my mentor and I worked with him for 3 years. I have experienced incredible things and learned a lot during those years. But, in the end, I did not recognize myself in this world, so I decided to leave and move on.
How was your passion for matcha tea born?
I lived in the Japanese district in Shanghai and that's where I discovered matcha tea. I started to drink it every day and I took a passion for this drink with health benefits.
Matcha tea is produced from tea leaves that are ground until they turn into a very fine powder. This is a technique that comes from Japan: Japanese Zen Buddhist monks brought the Chinese tea tree to Japan more than 800 years ago. Matcha tea is both very old and very new because it is growing in popularity while being anchored in a very old tradition.
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