Since September in 2023, the Taiwanese startup company Package+ joined in the 1st Batch of LITEON+ Accelerator Program at the X SITE. Package+ previously joined Garage+, NTU Corporate Accelerator Program, TACC+, AAMA, and the collaboration with HAOSHi, also looking forward to collaborating with LITEON. Here are the highlights of this interview.
The Challenges in the Organization & Cultural Strategies
The Application of Service Design
Graduated from the Department of Physical Therapy at China Medical University and a master's degree in International Business at National ChengChi University, Allen was awarded by “2021 Becoming Aces” and “2023 Generation. T list”. He has multiple experiences working for foreign companies, focusing on environmental sustainability and social enterprise issues. Through social entrepreneurship, he hopes to make efforts to the environment in Taiwan and to make it visible to the world.
In the startup realm, Rita excels at translating concepts into viable business opportunities. She have secured early adopter clients, including Shopee, UNIQLO, and FamilyMart, for Package+. Passionate about human and organizational behavior, Rita had served as the strategic HR in the executive team.
Allen Ye: I studied the Department of Physical Therapy at China Medical University during my undergraduate years and pursued a master's degree in International Business at National ChengChi University. I actually started my entrepreneurial journey during my student days, and Package+ is the third startup I have founded. Personally, I have a penchant for new endeavors. In my early years of college, I embarked on a project to develop a restaurant reservation system similar to today's EZTABLE, but it proved unsuccessful after about a year and a half.
Later, I ventured into e-commerce, focusing on selling various 3C-related products, and that went well for over four years. During this time, I recognized the significant environmental issue of excessive packaging waste in online shopping, which inspired me to explore new solutions. I began participating in environmental protection associations and social enterprise accelerator programs. Approaching entrepreneurship from a social enterprise perspective was something I wanted to try, so I started Package+.
Initially, our team consisted of four people, and we participated in a business competition organized by ATCC. The theme of the competition was 'Circular Economy,' and different companies posed challenges for teams to solve. We were assigned the challenge by TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), and we ended up winning the championship in the TSMC category and securing the national runner-up title. As a result, TSMC sponsored us with a grant of approximately one million NT. dollars, providing us with operational funding, and that's how Package+ was established.
Rita Lin: I studied at the Department of Business Management in National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung during my college years. During this time, I met Allen and we participated together in that business competition. However, when Package+ was just established, I felt that the business model might not be sustainable. Considering my lack of work experience, I wasn't sure how I could contribute, so I decided to pursue other full-time employment opportunities.
I ended up working in business analysis at a company called 'The News Lens’ (關鍵評論網), where I had previously interned during university. The role was akin to being a special assistant to the chief of staff because The News Lens primarily grew through mergers and acquisitions. During that time, I helped research potential companies for acquisition. After about a year, I reconnected with Allen. Coincidentally, Package+ had achieved some success by then, and during a crowdfunding campaign with over five thousand supporters, we raised over six million NT Dollars. I thought it was a good time to engage with e-commerce, so I returned to Package+ as a business developer. I spent about two years in that role and now have transitioned into a more administrative position, focusing on organizational culture, management, and optimizing company operations – areas that I have developed a keen interest in over time.
After my two-year stint in business development at Package+, I took a break and joined a program called 'School 28 Social Innovation Talent School’ (School 28社會創新人才學校). During this period, I had the opportunity to intern for six months at ‘Tech for Good’ (若水國際), a social enterprise addressing employment issues for people with disabilities. ‘Tech for Good’ had been in operation for over ten years with around seventy employees, emphasizing a talent pool concept by categorizing and planning the roles of employees, providing a clear direction for career advancement within the organization. This experience provided me with fresh perspectives and ideas.
Allen Ye: Since its establishment, the growth of Package+ in terms of staff has been quite rapid. Personally, I feel that the transition points are around 12 and 25 employees. When the company has fewer than 12 people, everyone tends to do a bit of everything, making it challenging to establish clear functional divisions. After reaching around 12 employees, there begins to be some role specialization, with individuals responsible for specific goals. Beyond the 25-employee mark, mid-level management roles emerge, leading to potential conflicts. This is because existing members may not be accustomed to mid-level managers taking charge, as they were previously involved in all company decisions and may now find their involvement restricted.
Similar challenges are likely faced by other companies, emphasizing the importance of organizational culture. When expanding to a certain size, maintaining alignment in values and decision-making becomes difficult. Currently, our approach involves the establishment of a 'Culture Committee,' wherein individuals from various departments come together to discuss the direction in which our company culture should evolve.
Allen Ye: We once gathered the entire company and asked each person to propose ten different values they considered important. After collecting and organizing these values, we identified areas of decision-making conflict within the company. Each person was then asked to select five values they personally believed in during these conflicts. We divided into six groups and had these groups consolidate opinions, aiming to find unanimously agreed-upon values. We may repeat this process annually to ensure alignment of everyone's perspectives.
The five values we ultimately shaped are as follows:
Rita Lin: Primarily, there are two aspects to this. Firstly, the design of the entire service process involves the application of service design methodology. Whether for consumers or e-commerce, there are new touchpoints that need to be integrated into the process, and this entire system utilizes service design methods, including interviews and testing in real-world scenarios. We have conducted such research with consumers.
The second aspect is focused on e-commerce, making them aware that, in the process of using circular packaging, such as shipping and communication with consumers, additional incentives may be needed to encourage consumers to adopt circular packaging. Thus, we have conducted interviews and even organized workshops to understand the e-commerce needs in terms of shipping. Throughout the business development process, there is a constant need to optimize processes based on different situations. In the early stages, service designers played a crucial role. Now, the job title for this employee is Customer Success Manager, who interacts with e-commerce and consumers to enhance processes.
Allen Ye: We hope to provide more professional packaging material services to businesses, enabling them to receive significant assistance when dealing with future ESG audits or disclosing various data. Additionally, we aspire for Taiwan to transform into a circular island. If someday, the entire Taiwan can adopt circular packaging, we believe it could substantially reduce carbon emissions issues.
Since September in 2023, the Taiwanese startup company Package+ joined in the 1st Batch of LITEON+ Accelerator Program at the X SITE. Package+ previously joined Garage+, NTU Corporate Accelerator Program, TACC+, AAMA, and the collaboration with HAOSHi, also looking forward to collaborating with LITEON. Here are the highlights of this interview.
Allen Ye: I studied the Department of Physical Therapy at China Medical University during my undergraduate years and pursued a master's degree in International Business at National ChengChi University. I actually started my entrepreneurial journey during my student days, and Package+ is the third startup I have founded. Personally, I have a penchant for new endeavors. In my early years of college, I embarked on a project to develop a restaurant reservation system similar to today's EZTABLE, but it proved unsuccessful after about a year and a half.
Later, I ventured into e-commerce, focusing on selling various 3C-related products, and that went well for over four years. During this time, I recognized the significant environmental issue of excessive packaging waste in online shopping, which inspired me to explore new solutions. I began participating in environmental protection associations and social enterprise accelerator programs. Approaching entrepreneurship from a social enterprise perspective was something I wanted to try, so I started Package+.
Initially, our team consisted of four people, and we participated in a business competition organized by ATCC. The theme of the competition was 'Circular Economy,' and different companies posed challenges for teams to solve. We were assigned the challenge by TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), and we ended up winning the championship in the TSMC category and securing the national runner-up title. As a result, TSMC sponsored us with a grant of approximately one million NT. dollars, providing us with operational funding, and that's how Package+ was established.
Rita Lin: I studied at the Department of Business Management in National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung during my college years. During this time, I met Allen and we participated together in that business competition. However, when Package+ was just established, I felt that the business model might not be sustainable. Considering my lack of work experience, I wasn't sure how I could contribute, so I decided to pursue other full-time employment opportunities.
I ended up working in business analysis at a company called 'The News Lens’ (關鍵評論網), where I had previously interned during university. The role was akin to being a special assistant to the chief of staff because The News Lens primarily grew through mergers and acquisitions. During that time, I helped research potential companies for acquisition. After about a year, I reconnected with Allen. Coincidentally, Package+ had achieved some success by then, and during a crowdfunding campaign with over five thousand supporters, we raised over six million NT Dollars. I thought it was a good time to engage with e-commerce, so I returned to Package+ as a business developer. I spent about two years in that role and now have transitioned into a more administrative position, focusing on organizational culture, management, and optimizing company operations – areas that I have developed a keen interest in over time.
After my two-year stint in business development at Package+, I took a break and joined a program called 'School 28 Social Innovation Talent School’ (School 28社會創新人才學校). During this period, I had the opportunity to intern for six months at ‘Tech for Good’ (若水國際), a social enterprise addressing employment issues for people with disabilities. ‘Tech for Good’ had been in operation for over ten years with around seventy employees, emphasizing a talent pool concept by categorizing and planning the roles of employees, providing a clear direction for career advancement within the organization. This experience provided me with fresh perspectives and ideas.
Allen Ye: Since its establishment, the growth of Package+ in terms of staff has been quite rapid. Personally, I feel that the transition points are around 12 and 25 employees. When the company has fewer than 12 people, everyone tends to do a bit of everything, making it challenging to establish clear functional divisions. After reaching around 12 employees, there begins to be some role specialization, with individuals responsible for specific goals. Beyond the 25-employee mark, mid-level management roles emerge, leading to potential conflicts. This is because existing members may not be accustomed to mid-level managers taking charge, as they were previously involved in all company decisions and may now find their involvement restricted.
Similar challenges are likely faced by other companies, emphasizing the importance of organizational culture. When expanding to a certain size, maintaining alignment in values and decision-making becomes difficult. Currently, our approach involves the establishment of a 'Culture Committee,' wherein individuals from various departments come together to discuss the direction in which our company culture should evolve.
Allen Ye: We once gathered the entire company and asked each person to propose ten different values they considered important. After collecting and organizing these values, we identified areas of decision-making conflict within the company. Each person was then asked to select five values they personally believed in during these conflicts. We divided into six groups and had these groups consolidate opinions, aiming to find unanimously agreed-upon values. We may repeat this process annually to ensure alignment of everyone's perspectives.
The five values we ultimately shaped are as follows:
Rita Lin: Primarily, there are two aspects to this. Firstly, the design of the entire service process involves the application of service design methodology. Whether for consumers or e-commerce, there are new touchpoints that need to be integrated into the process, and this entire system utilizes service design methods, including interviews and testing in real-world scenarios. We have conducted such research with consumers.
The second aspect is focused on e-commerce, making them aware that, in the process of using circular packaging, such as shipping and communication with consumers, additional incentives may be needed to encourage consumers to adopt circular packaging. Thus, we have conducted interviews and even organized workshops to understand the e-commerce needs in terms of shipping. Throughout the business development process, there is a constant need to optimize processes based on different situations. In the early stages, service designers played a crucial role. Now, the job title for this employee is Customer Success Manager, who interacts with e-commerce and consumers to enhance processes.
Allen Ye: We hope to provide more professional packaging material services to businesses, enabling them to receive significant assistance when dealing with future ESG audits or disclosing various data. Additionally, we aspire for Taiwan to transform into a circular island. If someday, the entire Taiwan can adopt circular packaging, we believe it could substantially reduce carbon emissions issues.
