Koichi Hara was born in Yokohama in 1946 and graduated from Kanagawa Technical High School in 1965. After working for the Ashidate Group, Dai-Ichi Tsushinsha, and Asatsu Inc., he founded Trout Inc. in 1985. He received the Tokyo ADC Grand Prize for the Suntory PR magazine “SPIRIT” in 1980 and a Tokyo ADC Award for a YMO magazine ad in 1981. He is a member of Tokyo ADC.