42: Loic Bizel, CEO & Founder, Wantomo

<p>Loic Bizel currently leads Wantomo, a premium Japan made recommended dog food company exclusively sold online. Mr. Bizel originally came to Japan from France in his mid-20s as the Export Manager for French shoe brands. As the leader overseeing the Asia branch, Mr. Bizel successfully introduced these shoe brands to Japanese department stores and select shops. Being a young leader, he sought to gain gradual trust from his  team and was heavily involved in recruitment. Mr. Bizel specifically looked for people with international backgrounds who were open-minded and flexible about working in a smaller scale foreign company. Mr. Bizel also notes that the people he hired in Japan are very committed to the nature of their work.</p> <p> </p> <p>In 2001, Mr. Bizel founded his own company, Lebiz Consulting <a href= "http://www.lebiz-consulting.com">www.lebiz-consulting.com</a>, where he provided fashion consulting using his knowledge and connections from his previous company. Mr. Bizel provided consulting to brands who wanted to launch in Japan or brands who already had but were having issues with distribution, positioning, and strategy, and so on. He launched <a href= "http://www.fashioninjapan.com">www.fashioninjapan.com</a>, a street fashion photo collection site. During this time, Mr. Bizel explains that Japanese fashion was becoming globally known, and entrepreneurs from all over the world began to come to Tokyo to understand new fashion trends and concepts. To meet this demand, Mr. Bizel also created <a href= "http://www.tokyofashiontour.com">www.tokyofashiontour.com</a> and organized customized tours to inform visitors of Tokyo fashion. Capitalizing on the Cool Japan boom in the early 2000s, Mr. Bizel gradually gained more media attention and buzz.</p> <p> </p> <p>Mr. Bizel then joined Glamour Sales, a start-up company created by two French entrepreneurs. The company operated a membership-based flash sales business that distributed and promoted brands with excess inventory through pop-up stores and e-commerce webs