{"id":22491,"date":"2024-09-26T17:58:37","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T10:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trueblog.info\/blog\/?p=22491"},"modified":"2024-09-27T09:05:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T02:05:45","slug":"tdpk-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/en\/tdpk-3\/","title":{"rendered":"How the 6-year-old True Digital Park Serves as a Community Platform for Thai Startups in the Past, Present and Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ranking among the world\u2019s mega cities, Bangkok is strategically located in Southeast Asia. This city is dynamic especially at the time when the waves of transition in the globe are raging. Urban growth becomes a clear evident in Eastern Bangkok where True Corporation via True Digital Group established True Digital Park (TDPK)<\/a> to transform a suburban plot into \u201cthe hub of startups\u201d, aimed at building Thailand\u2019s Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n

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With TDPK now in its sixth year, True Blog interviewed its general manager \u201c<\/strong>Dr. Tarit Nimmanwudipong<\/strong>\u201d <\/strong>who talked about TDPK background, management approach behind neighborhood transformation, and his practical mindset for this fast-changing world.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Experiences expand horizons<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Born to a middleclass Chinese-ethnic family in Thailand, Tarit grew up in Bangkok\u2019s Songwat area where wholesale businesses including his family\u2019s chemicals business mushroomed. Just like most kids in the 80s, Tarit had his own parents as his idols. Inspired by his father, he dreamed of becoming a chemical engineer one day.<\/p>\n

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His studiousness and perseverance took him far. Not only that he successfully entered the Chulalongkorn University\u2019s Faculty of Engineering, but he also won a Fulbright Scholarship just two years after his graduation. He flew to the United States with two years of work experience, accumulated during his time at a Rayong-based factory. Both his master\u2019s and doctorate degrees are in chemical engineering, conferred by the University of California, Davis. His impressive profile paved the way for him to serve as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the lab of world-class energy tech firm Topsoe in Denmark for well over two years.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have set clear life goals from the very beginning. From a young age, I was determined to pursue the highest level of education. I enjoyed learning and studied well. Whenever I got opportunities, I did my best. Such characteristics are typical of a scientist,\u201d Tarit said.<\/p>\n

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His life was so smooth and successful that it seemed certain he would one day work as a university lecturer or a government researcher. But fate had another plan. While he was navigating on his career path, he discovered an interesting \u201cchoice\u201d and successfully enrolled in Boston Consulting Group\u2019s Bridge to BCG program. This eye-opening initiative helped him deeply understand consultancy and realize another aspect of his potential.<\/p>\n

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Following his return to Thailand, Tarit worked as a management consultant at the world\u2019s leading consulting firm Roland Berger. His first project there was to develop a national plan on sports development. Although Tarit had never worked as a consultant before, his potential had been proven. The researcher-turned consultant worked efficiently alongside holders of MBAs. Tarit in fact even had an advantage, with the entrepreneurial mindset acquired from his family\u2019s business. This consultant therefore had \u201cboth theories and practical experiences\u201d to share.<\/p>\n

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Tarit had worked as a consultant for a few years, with a diverse range of projects coming to his desk. Among them was True Digital Park or TDPK. <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Turning ideas into results<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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The project brief was to make TDPK achieve \u201cThailand\u2019s hub of startups\u201d goal in order to fulfill the country\u2019s digital infrastructure via a community hub. It took Tarit and his team nearly a year of research, field trips and educational visits using various overseas facilities as case studies to identify target groups and draw up a blueprint for this project.<\/p>\n

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But the blueprint was just the beginning of more efforts needed. It also required leadership to turn ideas on paper into reality. That\u2019s why Tarit received an offer to work for TDPK, initially as Head of Commercial. His impressive performance led to his eventual promotion to the post of General Manager.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn the beginning, I worked with piles of papers and presentation. So, to me, driving implementation was quite a big challenge. I started working directly at TDPK in 2018 during its pre-leasing phase. My key mission then was to approach prospective tenants targeting tech startups equipped with majority of tech talents such as programmer and data engineer. This will help us forge ahead strategically, meeting target growth. With startup mindset and fast move, TDPK\u2019s first year\u2019s occupancy rate for East Building (Phase 1) rapidly reach 70%, higher than CBD market average,\u201d he recounted.<\/p>\n

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The honeymoon period, so far, didn\u2019t last long. Soon later, Tarit faced a tough test that materialized in the form of \u201cCOVID-19 crisis\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSpatial and temporal uncertainty\u201d, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, posed a big threat. For risk-management purposes, TDPK first focused on \u201cmaintaining good ties with customers\u201d so as to serve peace of mind during the precarious period. Provided to customers were assistance, online seminars, and a vaccination center. During his battle against the crisis, Tarit even noticed new business opportunities. Guided by his vision, TDPK has since tapped into new sources of income with its businesses now covering – 1.Office and retail space leasing 2.Co-working space membership 3.Event space rental and organizing service 4.Workspace design and project management 5. White-label incubation and training service and 6.Ecosystem tour<\/p>\n

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Experiences Beyond a Space <\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Tarit said TDPK was established in response to the vision of True\u2019s telecom-tech ambition, with the aim to differentiate True from its rival brands and underline True\u2019s role as the \u201cleader of the future\u201d. Thus, a deeper customer insights and global climate are mandatorily required, along with keeping a close distance to vendors as well as competitors.<\/p>\n

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TDPK has now worked alongside True as a \u201cplatform\u201d that connects people who shared common values and goals \u2013 high ambition, making dream a reality, growing business innovatively –\u00a0 together under an energetic environment, while a balancing act of life can be maintained. This is aligned with our motto – One Roof, All Possibilities\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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TDPK has truly created a community with dialogues blossoming among customers and tenants. So, this project stands out for being a new-style Center of Gravity. While traditional property development concept focuses on buildings, TDPK places an emphasis on \u201cbuilding a community\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe public may perceive TDPK as a building. But to me, it\u2019s about a campus and people,\u201d Tarit said, \u201cMany more buildings will go up in the capital for sure. But tenants will continue to look for proximity to their partners and friends, which saves their travel time. Importantly, the key component of TDPK is dynamics from human activities at its campus. Simply put, we are building a city for our customers\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Having its community as its strength, TDPK presents multiple functions to its customers. This \u201cselling point\u201d has given TDPK an upper hand, allowing its fees to hover above the market average. Today, TDPK shines as a perfect destination for tech communities, resulting in a vast number of tech-focused events.<\/p>\n

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Previously, TDPK houses hundreds of small to large-sized startups, including four Thai and foreign unicorns. Such records underline the fact that tech startups that accorded importance to a meaningful community chose TDPK as their headquarter. Word-of-mouth has spurred startups\u2019 confidence in TDPK.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe developed TDPK based on a diverse set of perspectives \u2013 project developer, business operator and customer. This was to ensure that TDPK is to serve the real needs of customers, especially communal infrastructure, amid fast-changing trends. Importantly, sustainable business practice must be highlighted, which can be seen though the financial performance.\u201d Tarit reiterated.<\/p>\n

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Next Step of TDPK<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

For several decades, there have been widespread discussions in Thailand on how important research is. Yet, the country has still largely failed to apply research findings for clear impacts. As public access to research is limited, \u201cRole Models\u201d are scarce in the field at the time more youngsters should be inspired to do research that will strengthen their homeland. Indeed, research has crucial importance to Thai economy\u2019s opportunities and survival in the face of the country\u2019s lower competitiveness, inflows of Chinese goods, technological transition, and geopolitical conflicts around the world.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAfter having spent a massive amount of money on technological imports, Thailand should now focus on research,\u201d Tarit said as a man who used to dream of becoming a scientist. Now, he hopes TDPK will play a rival role in driving research on tech and innovations.<\/p>\n

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Conducting research in Europe and the United States for about a decade, Tarit believes \u201cresearch awareness\u201d holds key to the economic success of developed nation. In his view, research leads to fruitful talks at macro and micro levels, fund-raising, lab development, presentations, and business matching.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOur building was built not just to attract tenants. We don\u2019t have any intention to keep grabbing a new plot of land and jumping into a new property project either. This is because we have developed DPK as an Engine for Change for our own organization, our customers as well as the public. These three sectors thus have close ties at TDPK. They are inseparable,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

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TDPK\u2019s role as an Engine for Change is reflected across numerous dimensions. For one, thanks to data-driven space management, TDPK can quickly transform the functional purposes of a zone fast based on its customers\u2019 needs. For instance, office space can be reconfigured as co-working space in a very short time.<\/p>\n

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Key for Thailand\u2019s Startups<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Currently, Thai startups is facing a huge challenge in fundraising, fueled by negative news and sluggish economy. The pessimistic outlook can also be seen among SMEs sector. According to Tarit, this situation has stemmed from the world\u2019s ongoing economic recession, geopolitical conflicts, wars, and startups\u2019 business model that has required huge investments in their early stages, which do not resonate well with the current economic climate.<\/p>\n

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Despite such hostile environment, TDPK remains firmly committed to its positioning as the hub of startups, its mission of maintaining good momentum for their industry, and its intention to attract new talents to the field.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAfter the fire died down, rekindling is difficult. So, it\u2019s best to keep the fire or momentum alive. Maintaining the momentum is now our mission,\u201d Tarit said about what TDPK intended to do.<\/p>\n

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Presently, TDPK has been home to over 260 startups along with 13,000 registered members. More foreign investors are expected to establish their startup bases in Thailand too via the TDPK \u2013 BOI collaboration, which offers Long-Term Resident Visa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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TDPK is now stepping into its sixth year under Tarit\u2019s leadership. Its key three DNAs, just like his, are 1) Balance; 2) Creativity, and 3) Courage. Describing himself as an executive with a scientist\u2019s mindset, Tarit appreciates how his commercial and scientific knowledge have been complementing each other. With insights from both fields, the depth and breadth of his expertise are formidable. They remove loopholes and turn challenges into opportunities by creating \u201cinnovations\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ranking among the world\u2019s mega cities, Bangkok is strategically located in Southeast Asia. This city is dynamic especially at the time when the waves of transition in the globe are raging. Urban growth becomes a clear evident in Eastern Bangkok where True Corporation via True Digital Group established True Digital Park (TDPK) to transform a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22481,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[147,288],"tags":[1980,2514,423,2335],"class_list":["post-22491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-en","category-the-people-en","tag--truedigitalpark-en","tag-tdpk-en","tag-the-people-en","tag-truedigitalpark-en"],"acf":[],"author_data":{"id":2,"name":"True Blog Team","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09ce4bad220763db03bedaef2d0f675dea27f54b224f90103bc7d9e8cf43f1c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22491"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22495,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22491\/revisions\/22495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}