October 4th, 2008, the day of this interview, marks the third anniversary of the founding of Travelstar, a travel agency located in Minato-ku, Tokyo that caters to Japan's expatriate community. Business grew over the past year not only as a result of conventional advertising, but through customers' word of mouth as well. Figures show that sales have more than doubled since last year. Speaking in fluent Japanese, Travelstar President, CEO Glenn Frye explains, "A company's success is intricately related to a strong customer network. That is why I value and cultivate repeat customers the most." Frye previously served as the Japan branch president at Amadeus, the world's largest IT solutions provider for the travel and airline industries. Full of ambition and always moving ahead, he radiates solid confidence and pride as both an individual and entrepreneur. During the interview, we were able to get up close and personal with Frye.
Frye was born and raised in California and also maintains deep ties to Hawaii, where he currently owns a home. Coming to Japan and taking on an international challenge was a perfectly natural choice for him since he was always open to different environments and cultures while growing up. In August 1986, at the age of twenty, he visited Japan for the first time on a college graduation vacation and could not speak a word of Japanese. He didn't have a completely positive impression of Japan since he spent two months in a crowded and dirty youth hostel during a humid Japanese summer.
However, as time passed, things started changing around him for the better at the beginning of autumn. Upon leaving the youth hostel, he decided to extend his stay in Japan a little since he had now started to make friends and landed some part-time work. Later, working as both a part-time English teacher and travel magazine editor, Frye gradually started building a network of contacts, thanks to the many opportunities he had to meet people in the industry.
He then reached a turning point in his life. On assignment in Hawaii for a magazine article he was scouted by a Japanese travel agency to work at their Honolulu branch office.
In 1992, Frye returned to the company's Tokyo headquarters, located in the Roppongi, and spoke with the company president regarding his interest in launching a travel division which would cater to Japan's growing expatriate community. He got to work on the new business, which was completely commission based. The company provided him with a base salary of 80,000 yen a month and free office space. He remembers, "Although excited by the opportunity to be my own boss, 80,000 yen barely covered the rent on my small apartment. I realized I needed to succeed and succeed quickly." The division was a huge success and in two short years Frye had accumulated enough capital to found his own company outright. In 1994 Ebisu-based Starlight Travel was created and is still in business today.
Another life changing turning point came in January of 2000. A headhunter who was also a client of Frye's requested some help locating some qualified travel industry professionals interested in managing the operations for Amadeus' newly created Japan branch. Although not considering the position for himself, after receiving the job spec. Frye commented "They are looking for me!". Out of a large pool of applicants, it was Frye who was chosen and after a lengthy vetting process, received the offer for the job.
As the president of Amadeus Japan, he would contribute to the growth of Amadeus over the next five years by increasing the number of branches in Japan. Looking back, he recalls, "I also really wanted to experience working for a large company, and I am proud that I was able to expand the company's market share drastically during my tenure. Although it was difficult, the challenge was exhilarating an enjoyable experience." After achieving his goals at Amadeus, Frye decided to take the next step. One year after his departure from the company, he became a graduate student at UCLA. More interested in gaining a wide range of knowledge rather than a specific degree, Frye chose several courses in various fields.
After re-charging the batteries, Frye returned to Tokyo and began to create the business plan and launch strategy for Travelstar. He explains, "I founded the new company because I wanted to overcome some of the mistakes I'd made in my former company and saw it as a great opportunity to apply my increased knowledge and experience." He goes on to say, "I wanted to create a work environment where people can take responsibility for the occasional failure and where the happiness felt from hard won success is shared amongst a small group of employees."
Frye has many daily responsibilities as a manager. People may wonder how he deals with such stress. He says, "I personally don't think that stress is necessarily always a bad thing. Stress is good in the sense that it serves as a catalyst for employees to improve situations." However, he is human just like the rest of us and says he gets rid of stress by going out to eat with his friends and tinkering with his vintage American car from the 1950s that he really loves. He says, "Nothing beats cruising down some road in Hawaii with all the windows down and the wind in your face."
In what remains a difficult time for the travel industry, Frye talks about the allure of travel: "Traveling overseas, offers people an opportunity to reflect on their lives and also view themselves in a more objective. Also I strongly feel that experiencing the many wonders the world provides should be a priority for everyone. Go out and see the World!"
Frye does his best everyday to make customers, from individuals to large groups, aware of these benefits of travel. "Can't do" is a prohibited phrase at his company. He says that it is very important to explain the reason why something is may be difficult and then provide alternative options, rather than simply say that it is impossible. He explains, "Although I know I'm generalizing, I feel that in many cases Japanese service personnel do not seek the reasoning behind their own rules or regulations and therefore can seem rather rigid and unaccommodating. At Travelstar 'can't do' is not an option."
Right after first arriving in Japan in the mid 80's, Frye was at a family restaurant and ordered a standard western-style breakfast. However, he requested that the eggs be fried well on both sides. The waiter looked confused and after several trips back and forth to the kitchen, answered, "I'm sorry, but we can only prepare the eggs exactly as they appear on the menu photo (sunny-side up)." This experience served as a large dose of culture shock. He reflects, "Although there have been many changes in Japan since those days for the better, this was a typical incidence of Japanese 'doing it by the book'."
At the end of the interview, Frye was asked to describe in one word what he considers the most important thing in life. He answered, "Life is too intricate and varied to be described in one word, but I would say the constant yearning for knowledge and the drive to move forward are the keys to my life."
Frye has always used the word "star" in all the names of the companies that he has founded. At the age of 14, he was given a 1953 Studebaker Starliner Hardtop. His love for the cars of the '50's soon followed. That link to his past keeps him headed for the future shining brightly.
