Amornched Jinda-apiraksa

Amornched Jinda-apiraksa
MSc in Computer Vision and Robotics
Entrepreneur
Winner at British Council Alumni Awards, Thailand

Heriot-Watt alumnus, Taro Amornched describes himself as “an engineer by training and an entrepreneur by heart,” and credits both for his burgeoning business career.

CEO and co-founder of TakeMeTour - an online platform which matches expert local guides with travellers seeking memorable excursions beyond Thailand's more familiar tourist attractions – Taro's award-winning venture has been widely praised for job creation and improving cultural understanding.

“The original idea for TakeMeTour came from studying abroad,” says Taro (28) from Bangkok. “I was on the Erasmus Mundus scholarship programme which enabled me to study in three different countries: France, Spain and Scotland was the first. Family and friends would come to visit me and it got me thinking: we should link up visitors with the people who actually live there. Because I know that when I travel on my own, I always look for local friends who can show me around. It's good to have that local knowledge because then you don't have to worry about getting lost or where to find the most delicious restaurant and things like that.” 

Graduating with distinction in Computer Vision and Robotics in 2012, Taro started his career as a software engineer before working in digital marketing with Google in Singapore.

TakeMeTour began as a side line but quickly grew into a full-time business and Taro believes his degree contributed to its success: “Heriot-Watt was my first time studying abroad and things were pretty new to me back then: new culture, new friends and new environment. I was the only Thai on my course which was good for me as I couldn't just stick with Thai friends speaking in Thai. I hung out with the international students which helped improve my English. There were about 20 different nationalities including locals in the class, so it was a good chance for me to get to know and understand more and more people. Adapting to the international environment helped me a lot. I was able to look at things from a different perspective and that is something I am very thankful of.”

Although a degree in Computer Vision and Robotics may seem far removed from running a tourist business, Taro believes it gives him the edge: “My studies have been useful both directly and indirectly. Immediately after I completed my degree, I worked as an engineer and used my knowledge from Heriot-Watt directly. At the same time, I started TakeMeTour and got more involved with the business world. The analytical skills I learned from my degree benefitted me a lot. I think that a person from an engineering background is often a very logical person and that can be pretty helpful in the business world.”

Taro reckons a science background can be a distinct advantage: “I treat a business like I'm doing an experiment,” he says. “You set an assumption and you try to find a solution. Then you measure whether the result is right or wrong. If it's wrong you modify your solution and test it again. It's a similar concept to science.”

His methods are proving highly successful: “We have already expanded TakeMeTours into Japan,” says Taro, “and are looking to expand in South East Asia. We are going for global, growing step by step.”

Heriot-Watt helped instil his worldly outlook, Taro believes, and new students should embrace it too: “University is the perfect way to get to know people and understand their cultures. I met people from the Middle East, China, Europe and America and learned how they can look at things differently. It is a very valuable experience. In the travel business I need to understand people from all around the world. For example, when I launched a website a few years ago I wanted to get some early feedback and sent it to a list of my international friends. I got their point of view from their different perspectives and was able to validate my idea pretty quickly. It was awesome. New students should definitely take the chance to socialise and get to know more people because it will be very helpful to them in the future.”

One of the cultural differences Taro noticed while studying at Heriot-Watt was that he felt students were more likely to offer their own opinions in class: “I think the environment for international study is more open in Scotland,” says Taro. “Thailand can be a little conservative and people are shy about giving their opinions. But I think it helps when people are open in their studies. You get more frank and honest feedback as well.”

Perhaps, the secrets of Taro's success in the tourist sector – apart from hard work and entrepreneurial zeal – are his ability to absorb the lessons of his international education and his obvious empathy with visitors abroad.

22 March 2016<