A banker ditched 7-figure career to build $500M bubble tea company, shares strategy — ‘opened stores next to Starbucks’

Martin Berry already had three years of corporate experience when he graduated from university. Martin Berry had it all in his early years, from working on farms to earning seven-figure salaries in banking jobs, until he got the chance to try his hand at the bubble tea business.

Today, Berry is the founder and president of Gong Cha Global, an international bubble tea franchise.

Here is Martin Berry’s remarkable journey from banking to becoming the main dealer of a million-dollar bubble tea company:

Berry was in his 30s when he decided to quit his lucrative banking job in late 2013. According to CNBC Make It, Berry said he spent most of his career working in senior executive roles, managing balance sheets in the trillions of dollars.

But over time, he realized that big salaries no longer satisfied him. He said he didn’t like the corporate system.

‘I actually didn’t like it very much…’

“After working hard for a long time, I realized I didn’t really like the corporate system. I didn’t like the lack of entrepreneurship,” Berry said. CNBC Awesome.

“It was all about risk management, not risk taking,” he said.

‘Entrepreneurial mistake’

Berry told the media outlet that he grew up in rural Melbourne, Australia. He said he has had the “entrepreneurial bug” since childhood.

He reportedly worked on the farm as a child, raising cows, selling Christmas trees, and finding different ways to earn money.

“We didn’t have to have a lot of money… I started being pretty entrepreneurial from a very young age, trying to start businesses and start different types of things,” Berry was quoted as saying.

“I was born with an innate desire to make money,” he said, adding: “I think I was fascinated by money and what it can do for you and the power it provides. [could] to bring.”

‘I sneaked into the university presentation’

Berry shared an anecdote with CNBC Make It about how she sneaked into a college presentation and landed a full-time job at a top tech company. He was 19 years old at the time.

“I actually snuck into a college presentation that was for graduates… I was listening to all these companies pitch about why these graduates should join them,” Berry said.

After the event, he went to the HR representative of the IT company Hewlett-Packard (HP) and offered to work for free.

This eventually led to Berry landing her first summer internship at the company, which ultimately turned into a full-time job. He was juggling between his new job and his university education.

“I managed to make this work by working [at] I was working nights and weekends to complete the degree, and when I graduated I already had three years of corporate experience,” Berry said. CNBC Did it.

By his 30s, Berry was working in senior roles in offices around the world, including Australia, London, Singapore and South Korea.

After working in the corporate world for nearly two decades, he knew it was time for something else.

bubble tea company

It all started the day Berry got a haircut at a shopping mall in Singapore. He noticed a long queue forming outside a nearby shop.

Curious, he joined the queue. It turns out that there is a Gong cha store that is gaining popularity in Asia.

Berry noticed several green flags in store: the drinks were quick to make, the stores were small and understaffed, and the product’s simple ingredients delivered strong margins. CNBC Awesome reported.

“I didn’t know anything about boba or bubble tea, but from a financial engineering perspective… [I thought] “This product should be incredibly profitable,” he was quoted as saying.

Next step? Berry bought ten of their best-selling drinks that day, tasted them, and spent the next few weeks visiting different stores to observe foot traffic.

Becoming a ‘master’

After several unsuccessful attempts to reach Gong cha’s headquarters, Berry decided to fly to Taiwan and show up at their doorstep.

Luckily the original founder was there.

Gong Cha was founded in Taiwan in 1996 by Wu Zhenhua, and Berry came on board in 2011 to expand the brand to South Korea and other countries.

The two signed an agreement and Berry became the bubble tea company’s primary dealer.

Berry said he spent about $2.5 million of his life savings to bring the company to South Korea, its fifth market, and lead the brand’s international expansion.

‘Stores opened next to Starbucks’

Martin Berry decided to get help from Starbucks to gain his first customers in Seoul.

“My strategy was to put Gong Cha (the top five stores) next to Starbucks,” Berry said. CNBC. “And if I can get one in a hundred people who go to Starbucks to try Gong Cha, then I have a job.”

The company generated systemwide sales of more than $500 million in 2024, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

business course

“When you’re trying to start a business, you think you have to invent the next light bulb or the next wheel… but that’s far from the truth,” Berry told the media outlet.

“It’s actually about searching for something [has] There’s so much potential, what if you can do it better than someone else? [else]”Or you can take a different turn,” he said.

“It’s just by opening your mind and opening your eyes to what’s going on in the world,” he said.

As of January, the chain had approximately 2,200 stores in 33 countries, including the United States and Canada, the report said.