Yu’s plan was simple. He wanted to build a global platform to empower restaurants to reach their full potential by encouraging them to reduce their reliance on paid booking channels through a reservation and table management system. 

The system would allow restaurants to focus on crafting quality experiences for their guests which would in turn help them drive more revenue towards their business and create more loyal customers. 

“In the beginning, it was very slow. At that time, there was only one online reservation restaurant system in Japan and online reservations were not yet a standard. So we had to educate the restaurants first,” explained Yu when asked what challenges he faced initially in starting Tablecheck. 

“It took a long time for the market and consumer behaviour to change,” Yu admitted. He added that for the first five to six years of the company’s existence, it struggled with very few inbound sales.

“We had to cold-call restaurants and do walk-ins just to sit down with the management to show them the benefits of our system,” Yu said. He continued by saying that the team was initially only just three people trying to make this project work. 

Today, after much hard work and constant reworking of their system, Yu proudly tells us that the team has managed to make Tablecheck one of the top systems in Asia.

“We now have over 114 people working with us and we have offices in Singapore, Thailand, Dubai, South Korea, China, Australia, and Japan. We also have over 7,000 clients globally in over 25 countries.”

With all the travelling and work he does, Tatler Singapore spoke with Yu to find out how he’s making it in his own words.

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What is a typical morning like for you?

Yu Taniguchi (YT): We launched our Tablecheck “Contactless Pay” feature, our cashless online payment service in 2020 in Japan, and ever since then, I make it a point to check the statistics every morning to see how many diners have been using our service first thing.

It gives me great satisfaction and motivation to start my day when I see the graphs increase because it means we are doing something right and connecting restaurants and diners.

What do you usually have for breakfast?

YT: I have business dinners almost every evening so eating three meals a day is too much because it's usually a full course at night so I tend to skip breakfast.

What’s a standard working day look like for you?

YT: I attend a lot of internal meetings and external meetings every day and also go on many business trips. At Tablecheck, we operate most of the business remotely but I do try to go to the office if I can to meet and talk with our employees.

How would you describe your working style?

YT: We as an organisation are very flexible and give a lot of freedom for people to execute whatever they want to, so this extends to my working style. I aim to be flexible and adaptable.

What time do you usually have lunch? What do you usually have for lunch?

YT: I eat lunch at around 12 pm. Lunch depends on the day but typically I eat soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles) most of the time.

Free time: overrated or underrated? Why?

YT: My philosophy is to work hard and play hard. 

How do you achieve a work-life balance? How do you set boundaries?

YT: My schedule is full the whole week but I make sure that I keep my Sundays free. I don’t book any events on Sundays so I can spend time with my family. It’s when I spend time with my family that I achieve a real sense of work-life balance.

How do you chase your dreams?

YT: My dream is to create a tech company of a global standard. I always remind myself of this vision and I talk often to people or the media about this dream.

Risks: should you take them? Why or why not?

YT: Take risks but you should also understand what these risks are and how they will impact your business. Just be aware of the risks, take acceptable risks and also foresee what your responses will be.

How do you deal with your shortcomings?

YT: I just try to always keep an open mind. Oftentimes, it is more difficult to realize what your shortcomings are than to deal with them and the way to go about it is to be open.

What is the best piece of advice that you have ever gotten?

YT: It’s actually not advice but more of a challenge. When people tell me ‘why don’t you just quit’ or ‘why don’t you just shut your company down?’, I take it both as a challenge and in a way as an encouragement.  When they think you’re not going to succeed or give up, it gives me more fire to keep going to realise my goals for the company.

What is an idea/thought that you heard recently, that you thought was interesting?

YT: There is a Taiwanese company that builds applications for restaurants and they get their new clients from inbound inquiries only. What’s interesting is that they are able to do that not by cold-calling but by providing educational presentations, classes and content to people who are planning to start restaurant businesses.

I thought that was a very interesting idea because, you’re providing free lessons and lectures, but ultimately, in the end, you’re building a community and trust.

How do you unplug?

YT: I unplug by going out to eat with friends and family and also going to the spa.

How do you stay grounded?

YT: I think the best way to stay grounded is by comparing yourself with other big companies that have achieved significant success such as Sony or Google. And yes, until you reach your goal I mean, there’s no time to you know, be proud of what the achievements are for

How do you manage stress?

YT: I like to sleep to manage my stress.

How do you stay motivated?

YT: I keep my focus on my goals.

What is one item that has changed your life for the better?

YT: The pressure cooker. I use it to cook curries and soups.

What would you still like to accomplish?

YT: We haven’t achieved our goal yet to become number one worldwide, so that will be the biggest thing that I would like to accomplish.

What is the last thing you do before you go to bed?

YT: I like to read the news. Specifically, I look at business news. I don’t have a television at home so reading the news is one way I keep up with what’s happening locally and worldwide.

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