Mr. GIOVANNI CHENG: Investing in Japanese Balls, From Gadget Store to Takoyaki Griller

1. Tell us about Octoboy

I had planned to open a restaurant in 2007 but I am not yet certain what food to serve, so I opted to start small with low risk investment and partnered with a friend in acquiring an existing bar / restaurant of a common friend.

I had a year long trial period to see if I wanted to pursue this venture further. Then an idea came after dining in a Japanese restaurant in Makati. The resturant was serving takoyaki balls and I got fascinated with how it was being cooked in a griller.  Then I told my self I want to have my own takoyaki griller.  Then the idea grew from griller to a restaurant.

2. How long has it taken to set up your restaurant business?

The concept to open a restaurant started around 5 years ago, I looked at a number of places in Quezon City. First choice was in Banawe, just a few blocks away from where I reside.

Then I made my own research on how takoyaki balls are made.  Then the trial cooking began and perfecting the recipe became the focus.  The process can be daunting, however, I have a good team and despite some setbacks, we are on our way to the final juncture. No doubt about it, it is exciting, yet stressful too.  Each and every day I find I am motivated with new and challenging goals with something new to learn every step of the way.

I found the most important issue was to find people who you can trust and who can advise you on the industry from their own experiences. They in turn will recommend the team you will need to enable you to start this concept.  I was lucky enough to meet experienced chefs and food consultants.  They helped me out in adding more dishes in the menu..

There are others too who will play their part; eg. Designer, Contractors and local businesses. They all have their roles of responsibility to ensure the team is complete and liaise with each other from concept to opening day.

3. Most people are afraid to start a business from the ground not to mention to take over a business that doesn’t go that well. What made you believe you could do better? 

I had a positive attitude, I learned it from my very first investment venture in selling gadgets. Running a gadget store may not be as complicated as running a restaurant but the discipline needed for both are somewhat the same. I was very motivated and I believed in myself.  The restaurant had been around for a few years and had been underachieving the previous couple years, but I knew it had a lot of potential.

4. You had the money and took over the first restaurant. What where the next steps for say the first half a year? Getting new staff? Improving the location? Better marketing? 

The first steps were to improve the menu, replace the staff, improve on guest service and the accuracy of orders, and market the fact that the location is under new ownership to get customers to come back in and try the restaurant again.

5. What are the things that make a great place to eat? 

The most important things about a great restaurant are friendly, quick service, quality food, and a pleasant atmosphere. We have all of those at Octoboy.

6. After a while you opened 2 more locations. I bet that this required even more work, so how did you manage time between the 3 locations? 

At first it was difficult to manage my time.  When I take over a new location, I like to spend most of my time there to make sure everything is running smoothly and properly.  But now I have achieved a good balance between the three locations.

7. And still talking about time, did you still have time for family and social life? 

The first year I had two locations was a busy year, but after a while I was able to manage my time better and I was able to work a little less, making more time for my personal life.

8. How important is to keep a good balance between the personal life and business? 

It is very important to have a good balance between your personal life and business.  You need to have some time away from work to regain your focus.  When I took over my third location, I worked too much and started to get drained so I had to learn to balance my time between business and personal.

9. And what is the best thing you could eat? 

The best thing to eat at Octoboy are Takoyaki balls and Okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza).  

How did you overcome the “fear of entrepreneurship”? People are usually afraid to start on their own. 

I get that question a lot and I always tell people it was positive thinking and believing in myself.

I bet that the first months you still questioned yourself: will this work? Am I doing the right things? Or not? 

I was extremely nervous during those first few months.  I tried not to doubt myself and stayed positive.  Each location I acquired posed new doubts, but I just continued to do my best and work hard each day.

What was the turning point when you knew you did it? 

I don’t believe I’m there yet.  The fear that something could happen and that I could lose everything is still part of my motivation.  Some people start slacking a little bit when they start thinking they’ve made it, so I just keep working hard.

What could go wrong in this business? What are the most sensible areas? 

A lot can go wrong with any business, especially the food business.  There is a lot of competition out there and new restaurants are always opening up so sales are a major focus.

Any plans for the future that you would like to share? 

I'm always open to the possibility of expanding more. Last month we just opened our fourth branch in NLEX Bulacan.

We are now offering our food carts to franchising. The business model is not yet perfect but we are getting there.

About the entrepreneur:

Name: Giovanni Cheng
Age: 35 years old

Name of business: Octoboy Food Express / Octoboy Food Cart

No. of branches: 4

Nature of business: Restaurant

Industry: Food

Initial investment: 3.8M (Restaurant) / 500K (Food cart)

Payback period: 24 months

For reservations and deliveries, please contact and visit them at:

Octoboy Tomas Morato - (02) 9902367 / 186 Tomas Morato Corner Scout De Guia, QC

Octoboy Banawe - (02) 9987579 / 670 Banawe Street, Sienna, Quezon City

Octoboy Eastwood - level 4 Eastwood Mall, Libis, Quezon City

Octoboy NLEX - Shell Station, NLEX, Balagtas Bulacan