Welcome To Chinatown

Still feeling inspired and energized from our very first Board of Directors x Associate Board #offsite last month in the Hudson Valley! We had the most fun day of strategy, farm work, and getting to know each other :) After our working session, we headed to Gentle Time Farm, a trans + queer cooperatively-owned, diversified vegetable farm growing culturally relevant East Asian crops for Asian community and diaspora in New York. On a farm tour, we learned about their regenerative practices, and got to taste napa, morning glory, peas and shiso straight from the ground! Our team had a blast helping to weed their crops. We ended the day with dinner at The Aviary, a local restaurant that sources produce from the Gentle Time. We firmly believe in taking ourselves out of the expected and day-to-day. We find it helps us explore new ideas + avoid echo chambers. We intentionally chose the Hudson Valley to see how building Chinatown’s success can be driven by fostering the #B2B ecosystem, which can prevent wealth extraction. And what's a great way to explore this? Seeing how fresh and accessible produce kickstarts the supply chain of Chinatown’s top industry: #foodandbev. Thank you Kaija, Salt and ShanShan for hosting our group at Gentle Time!

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, business owner or just a human being – failure is part of every process. We’re so grateful to Wen-Jay Ying (Local Roots NYC) and Jaclyn Siu (Starcycle) for sharing their journeys with us last night, and to Linus L.T. Li for moderating! The conversation spanned unexpected journeys, family influence, hot takes and internal mottos to keep us going. "If you think of anyone else in your life who has started something new, you'd just simply be proud of them for taking that leap, regardless of outcome. Why not give yourself that grace too?" - Jaclyn Siu "I still cringe at the word 'failing' because my upbringing doesn't allow me to accept that. But I truly think that the only failure is if you don't accept moments to be lessons. And every lesson should lead in extreme moments of growth, and become a catalyst for habit changes." - Wen-Jay Ying This was our first “Failing Forward” panel, and we’re excited for more in the future!

Spent yesterday evening with Welcome To Chinatown in deep, thoughtful conversation with Linus L.T. Li and Wen-Jay Ying about entrepreneurship and failure. It's hard to distill an hour of chatter into bullet points, but some key takeaways: 🫂 You need friends and allies It's easy to rally people around you when things are going well. But when the chips are down, you need people around you: to love you when you aren't able to love yourself, to take admin off your plate and give you room to breathe, to help you see a path forward. 🌱 Give yourself the freedom to fail If you think of anyone else in your life who has started something new, you'd just simply be proud of them for taking that leap, regardless of outcome. Why not give yourself that grace too? ☀️ Your inner voice is your destiny How you talk to, and about, yourself has an outsized influence on any outcome. Be radically optimistic, be ambitious and fierce, but also be kind to yourself. You'd be surprised at how much that inner voice becomes your own lifeline when you need it. Grateful to everyone who came together to hold space for such a vulnerable, difficult conversation.

Congratulations on a great convention and we were honored to have Senior Analyst Ethan Paik participate in a panel and co-present our work with our client Welcome To Chinatown from New York, along with Chinatown Community Development Center from San Francisco, and the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC) from Chicago. Our joint presentation with Welcome to Chinatown focused on our partnership to develop the organization’s Chinatown Impact Study and roadmap for their Small Business Innovation Hub. Thank you to National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD) for having us! #BuildingCAPACD #ourplacesourstories

Snaps from our #Chinatown Walking Tour with Nike NYC last month for #APAHM! We explored some of the neighborhood’s best: Imperial Ballroom, Fong On, Mee Sum, Grand Tea and Imports, and Soft Swerve! If you/your company are interested in partnering on hosting your own walking tour, email us at chinatown@welcometochinatown.com.

Let’s get candid about #failure! Come chat with us about facing setbacks, knowing when it’s time to move on, and making it all a positive part of our journey. Join this Wed (7/10) at Based In NYC Coworking and Event Space for a discussion with Jaclyn Siu from Starcycle, Wen-Jay Ying from Local Roots NYC, and moderated by Linus L.T. Li Light refreshments will be provided by Jumo Soju Seltzer! Space is very limited so RSVP to save your spot: https://lnkd.in/euCZ8quf

Last month we worked with Nike to organize a #Chinatown walking tour, bringing together our community for food and movement. We laced up our Nike Motivas and headed out to explore – we danced with Irene at Imperial Ballroom, shared a meal at Mee Sum, got a sweet treat at Fong On, learned about different teas at Grand Tea Imports, and finished up with dessert at Soft Swerve Ice Cream. Huge thanks to Alexander Huynh and Bruce De Los Reyes and the Nike NYC team for helping to amplify our local Manhattan Chinatown #smallbusinesses!

Join our founder, Jaclyn Siu, on July 10th for Welcome To Chinatown's candid chat on pivoting after a setback. Entrepreneurship is a journey of ups and downs. Hear about how Jaclyn, Linus L.T. Li, and Wen-Jay Ying overcame obstacles and bounced back. 🗓️ Date: July 10th ⏰ Time: 6 - 8:30 PM 💲 Cost: Free Register now: https://lnkd.in/eb_zmAyb ___ 💫 Thinking of closing down your business? Book a free consultation with us to explore your options → https://starcycle.ai

Sometimes your founding journey doesn't work out the way you want it to. I know, because I've been there. It's a difficult topic, but one I'm determined to destigmatize. After all, it's part of the circle of founder life; it's why I'm building Starcycle to help you through these moments. Excited to join forces with Welcome To Chinatown in a candid chat about what it means to fail — and more importantly, how you can get back on your feet. I look forward to an evening of thoughtful conversation with Linus L.T. Li (Dow Jones) and Wen-Jay Ying (Local Roots NYC), and hope to see you there. 🎟️ The event is free to attend, but seats are limited, so make sure to RSVP here → https://lnkd.in/eb_zmAyb ___ 💫 Looking for support? Book a free consultation with Starcycle to explore your options → https://starcycle.ai

Let's get candid about #failure! Most of us have been there (and some of us are deep in it now), but too often we're afraid to get real honest about it. Let's change that because spoiler alert, failure is not a bad thing and often leads to profound growth. Join us for an interactive chat on 7/10 6PM at Based In NYC Coworking and Event Space. We’ll chat about facing setbacks, knowing when it's time to move on, and making it all a positive part of our journey. Our speakers include Linus L.T. Li (Dow Jones) as our moderator, and Jaclyn Siu of Starcycle and Wen-Jay Ying of Local Roots NYC! RSVP (this is a free event but space is limited to reserve your spot asap): https://lnkd.in/euCZ8quf