Derek Chung always wanted to start a business, but never quite got to it.
He messed around with friends in college, trying to start an app that gave food recommendations through pictures. But the idea never turned into a reality.
So, Derek decided to focus on something else that interested him: technology. But a decade after working in tech, his desire to start a business never left. In 2015, while working as a product manager at Yahoo, Derek finally started his own business.
How Pokeatery Began
Derek and his wife co-founded Pokeatery in 2015. It was the Bay Area’s first fast-casual poke restaurant. Since then, it has grown into a franchise with five restaurants across Texas and California.
How was Derek able to actually start this time around?
Derek mainly credits one thing: his wife’s insistence. He has always been more risk-averse, and wouldn’t have been able to start had his wife not pushed him. In particular, it was struggling to find daycare for their three-month old son that made them look for something they could do with their son in tow.
Quitting his 9-to-5
Derek only quit his job a year after starting the business.
Before he quit, he balanced a 9-to-5 with running his business. He even thinks he could have done it for longer. That said, it was intense. He would go to his job for a full workday, go to his business for another full workday, then go home.
He did that every day.
Eventually, he quit his job and prioritized his business. It hit a point where Pokeatery was stable and had room to grow. He was also starting to feel discontent with his role and impact at Yahoo. But the decision still involved uncertainty. Derek notes that decisions like this will never be 100% comfortable, but at that point, it was clear to him that he wanted to focus on his business over his tech career.
9-to-5 vs. Entrepreneur Lifestyle
Some nights, Derek and his wife slept in a sofa bed in the office. They would work at the office from 7:30 in the morning to 9 at night, and decide there was no point going home. Safe to say, running a business takes long hours and hard work.
Derek also thought about his work more frequently as an entrepreneur. Unlike a 9-to-5 where you go into work and then don’t think about it after, he thought about his business 24/7.
Despite this, he didn’t mind the hours and brain space because he was more motivated. It was his own business, so he was motivated to put in the work. After dinner he didn’t mind going back to his business, because it was his own and he wanted to grow it.
Lastly, Derek appreciated the flexibility that came with being an entrepreneur. He was grateful for the freedom it gave him as a parent to be able to pick up his kids from school, and take them to activities during times when he would’ve been at a 9-to-5.
Derek’s Advice for Risk-Averse People
While Derek was always interested in starting his own business, his risk-aversion was a big obstacle. It was truly his wife pushing him that allowed him to do it. Derek has the following advice for risk-averse people:
- Find a great mentor to push you in any capacity
- Find people who help you believe in yourself and can help you bounce ideas
- Don’t let inner you talk you out of something if outside signals tell you to do it
- Jump into your own level of comfort
You can see how Derek followed this advice in his own life. He had his wife, someone who helped him believe in himself and bounce ideas. Despite his fear, once his business was growing, Derek decided to quit his job (in other words, outside signals were telling him to do it). He also made sure to jump into his own level of comfort by not doing his business full-time at the beginning.
You’re Never Stuck
After I left my conversation with Derek, the most important take-away I felt was that you’re never stuck.
He described this mentality of confidence, of knowing “I am confident no matter what area I get into” and “I can be successful in whatever I end up doing.”
Derek talked about his many friends who’ve moved from tech to starting their own businesses. Currently, he works with a former teacher who pivoted into engineering. In all his years of experience and all the people he knows, he’s noticed it’s a common trend: nobody is ever stuck.
In his own life, Derek thought he would be an engineer, so he went to school for electrical engineering. Then, he switched. He became a product manager. He thought he’d be a product manager for the rest of his life, but that didn’t turn out to be true, either. Now, he knows that he could be doing anything in the future.
After hearing Derek’s story, I felt more at ease and less anxious about my own future. I felt more confident in myself, and that the possibilities for my future career are more open than I had assumed. As a computer science major pursuing a career in software engineering, it reminded me that I’m not necessarily choosing the job I’ll have for the rest of my life. After all, take it from someone who left tech to start a poke franchise: you’re never stuck.
