What does it take to build a Korean street food brand from a used food truck into a global restaurant business?
Chef JKP sits down with Dok Kwon, President & COO of CUPBOP, and Junghun Song, Co-Founder & CEO of CUPBOP.
They talk about the early food truck days, Junghun’s journey from dance to hospitality, Dok’s move from Citadel to restaurants, their Shark Tank pitch, why they walked away from the Mark Cuban deal, and how CUPBOP is scaling across the US, Indonesia, the UAE and beyond.
This is a story about Korean food, business, people, and the patience it takes to grow without losing the brand.
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE
• Growing up with Korean food and family traditions • Why Junghun gave up his dream of becoming a professional dancer • Dok’s journey from Goldman Sachs and Citadel to CUPBOP • The story behind the first CUPBOP food truck in Utah • How the two founders met as customer and entrepreneur • Behind the scenes of their Shark Tank experience • Why they walked away from a deal with Mark Cuban • Scaling CUPBOP across the US, Indonesia, UAE and beyond
CHAPTERS
00:00 Childhood food memories and family traditions 08:30 From dance dreams to discovering hospitality 17:00 Wall Street, Citadel and the search for entrepreneurship 28:00 Building the first CUPBOP food truck in Utah 37:00 How Dok and Junghun became business partners 46:00 Shark Tank, $5 million offers and national exposure 01:16:00 Franchising, growth and building the right team 02:03:00 Leadership lessons, entrepreneurship and what’s next for CUPBOP
FOLLOW THE GUESTS
Junghun Song Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cupbop4ever/
Dok Kwon & CUPBOP Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cupbop/
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