Pursuits

Billionaire’s Dropout Grandson Wants to Kill Work E-mail

A woman uses a laptop at Patata beach in Seychelles.

Photographer: EyesWideOpen/Getty Images
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Korawad Chearavanont’s billionaire grandfather founded Thailand’s biggest agricultural business. Now the 21-year-old who’s put college on hold wants to build Asia’s answer to Slack -- with a little help from the family.

Korawad, a scion of the Charoen Pokphand Group Co. food-to-telecommunications conglomerate, closed a $5.7 million round of funding for Eko Communications Inc., his version of the popular San Francisco-based workplace messaging app.