Joshy Jin
2014 Marketing and Management BSc graduate Joshy is co-founder of Wowzabox in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Interview
Since graduating, what have you gone on to do?
During my study at Newcastle University. I saw a gap in the market for high-end Chinese restaurants in the North East. I had a goal to establish the best Chinese restaurant in the North East. After I graduated from 2014, I started planning to open my own restaurant in Newcastle. After two years of research and training, I managed to open La Yuan in October 2016. After 6 months of trading, we achieved break even and the business started to grow on a steady rate each year. We have earned the reputation of being the best Chinese restaurant in the North East.
In the first year of trading. La Yuan was selected for Dine on the Tyne Event 2017. This event invited 5 most established restaurants in the region and La Yuan was the only start-up restaurant in the line-up. The restaurant turned profitable quickly and was growing each year. My goal was to have a restaurant franchise and introduce real Chinese food to the UK market.
After three years of trading, I realised the limitation of this plan. The labour market is a big challenge for me. So I decided to move to retail, producing recipe boxes and selling them to the whole UK. I put my restaurant on the market in late 2019. I accepted an offer in 2021 after the lockdown was lifted. Now I am establishing a new brand Wowza. We are selling premium Chinese meal kits online. We are planning to launch in early 2022.
Is the above what you planned to do before starting university?
No, I developed the idea in the second year of University.
What was your favourite thing about your course?
The support that I have received from the local community as well as the academic world. I chose the Business Enterprise module in second year, which is where I got the idea to set up and run my own business in the course with a group of students. I learned so much and met some of the people who helped me greatly later in my career. I loved it.
Did you complete a placement year/study abroad/summer internship during your time at Newcastle?
No. After I had this idea of my own business, I wanted to graduate as soon as possible so I didn't apply for any placement.
How do you see future technologies and new ways of working (future of work) affecting your sector?
I think AI would revolutionise the food industry, in both hospitality and retail. This is because labour becomes increasingly challenging, and it will not get better, especially in the developed world. We are moving to the tipping point where machine and AI will be cheaper than machine and human. The face of the industry will change overnight. I think that will happen a lot sooner than people realise.
Where do you see yourself in five years' time?
I see myself selling my meal kit business and having enough capital to move to the AI/energy sector.
I chose the Business Enterprise module in second year, which is where I got the idea to set up and run my own business in the course with a group of students.