Work of the creative variety was always what Vorravit Siripak sought in life, but as luck had it, he regularly ended up in a position with little chance to use his imagination - like when he accepted that studying economics in Canada made good career sense, rather than studying pure art.

That decision helped him become a consultant, working for Deloitte Consulting in Bangkok, Singapore and New York.

He was in New York pursuing that career path when the infamous 9/11 terrorist attack occurred, and it shattered his mindset that he had to keep working hard for today, and all else had to be postponed for some distant tomorrow. Vorravit suddenly saw clearly that things he wanted to do had to be done now; they should never be postponed.

Following the World Trade Centre attack, there came the threat of anthrax-infected mail. It all happened close to his office, and it further impressed upon Vorravit the uncertainty of life and the need to hurry, if he was to follow his dreams.

He left his secure job at that point, and his dream has led him to become the co-founder and marketing director of a company making oriental-styled premium spa products.

The brand is Panpuri, and the firm is Puri Company. It supplies many renowned hotel chains and sells to individual customers through modern trade both domestically and internationally.

Earlier, Vorravit was one of hundreds of people working in the sprawl of buildings in the World Trade Centre area of New York. On that fateful day he was about to began an important presentation to clients when there was a loud crashing sound. He dismissed it as something heavy falling, but shortly afterwards there was another loud crash and the air outside was filled with fluttering pieces of paper. The presentation meeting broke up and everyone left to witness the huge white cloud from the World Trade Centre and the strong fire.

His group walked away from the danger area until they happened to pass a house and learned what had happened.

That night, before taking a ferry home to the New Jersey side of the city, he was required to endure an antiseptic shower because he had been nearby the World Trade Centre. He had to ride the ferry in wet clothes, carrying his gadgets in a plastic bag.

"That morning I wore a well-cut suit and went to work as normal and was about to present an implemented plan for a new project worth approximately Bt500 million to a client," he says. "But all those things were completely gone. It was totally unexpected."

Soon afterwards, he was lucky to get a scholarship to study for a master's degree in luxury-goods management at SDA Bocconi University in Italy, which is funded by globally renowned fashion brands.

"What I like is to combine creativity and business together, and luxury business management offered to complete my dream," he says.

For a while, he was a trainee at the Gucci Group. Then, after he graduated, he began work for the European fashion website operator Yoox.com. The companies impressed him for their establishment and working styles and he planned to build a similarly strong business of his own.

Vorravit returned to Thailand in 2003 and started Panpuri with friends who were good at analysing chemical formulations and sales. At that time there were no spa products with real oriental style because they were made from imported Western raw materials.

Vorravit believes that image and packaging are the keys to selling premium spa products and not production technology because anyone can use a similar technology. The products have to serve consumers' emotional demands as well as focusing on the use of premium Eastern raw materials. Since its inception, Panpuri has linked Eastern wisdom and philosophy with its products.

"The Western world is very advanced and many people want to get back to basics. Oriental-style spa products can be their choice," Vorravit says.

He and his team took about four months to produce prototypes. Today, the brand offers spa products for application from head to toe. Fortunately, one of the original partners had a manufacturing plant, saving huge start-up expenses.

Vorravit's job was approaching corporate clients that fitted the products' position, as well as finding distribution channels that could reach the target group - modern, beauty- and health-conscious people who are willing to spend for wellness, and have great devotion and patience. He realised it could take a year for the company to be accepted by international shopping malls and five-star hotels and resorts.

"We had only one chance to build the brand for customers to precisely understand our position and image. Therefore, we had to make sure we were dealing with the right partners and distribution channels," he says.

Over the past two and a half years, Panpuri has successfully sold to many five-star hotels and resorts as well as spas, including the Mandarin Oriental Dara Dhevi and Four Seasons Hotels in Thailand, hotels in Dubai, spas in Japan, and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel New York.

Panpuri's products also sell in premium shopping malls. In Thailand, it has eight selling points including Gaysorn and the King Power duty-free area in Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Being a business owner, Vorravit says he still has to work just as hard as he worked when he was a consultant in New York, except that his hard-work today is much happier because he is achieving his dream and doing what he enjoys.

He recalls life in New York as a struggle for survival, where people must always achieve their expectations. Life is very serious, is totally devoted to hard work, and it is easy to get angry. Nevertheless, he says his experience in New York has significantly benefited his working perspective today. A good point about New York is that everyone must be given the right to achieve their goals.

"I know what I want to achieve and I know that I can do it. Every career has walls to break through. I always tell my colleagues that I will wait for them at the end of the way. Their job is to find how to break through all the walls along their way. If they cannot make it, I will not be happy to work with," he says.

And to pass through all those obstacles, he adapts a thought that he picked up at university.

"Look at all problems as if you're 30,000 feet above them, and the problems will become just tiny points. You will feel there's no difficulty in overcoming those obstacles at all," he says.

Nitida Asawanipont

 The Nation