Entrepreneur Mei Xu started out life in China training to be a foreign diplomat. But the effects of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident derailed her plans and she found herself in America dreaming of starting a business. In this episode, we learn how this Chinese immigrant turned her fascination with Bloomingdale's into a multi-million dollar candle business — Chesapeake Bay Candle.

If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our newsletter at Pushkin.fm.

Entrepreneur Mei Xu started out life in China training to be a foreign diplomat. But the effects of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident derailed her plans and she found herself in America dreaming of starting a business. In this episode, we learn how this Chinese immigrant turned her fascination with Bloomingdale's into a multi-million dollar candle business — Chesapeake Bay Candle.
If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our newsletter at <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/">Pushkin.fm</a>.

Every week on Started from the Bottom, host Justin Richmond interviews successful people who grew up on the outside – people of color, people who weren’t part of the old boys’ network, people who grew up in a world where almost nobody went to college. How did they do it? How did they beat the odds while also beating away the feeling of being an imposter?

Every week on Started from the Bottom, host Justin Richmond interviews successful people who grew up on the outside – people of color, people who weren’t part of the old boys’ network, people who grew up in a world where almost nobody went to college. How did they do it? How did they beat the odds while also beating away the feeling of being an imposter?

Started from the Bottom

Mei Xu: How To Build a $75 Million Candle Business with No Production Experience

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7d9de49d-3433-4bf8-8f79-afcb013eced4/transcript

Ready-to-wear designer Busayo Olupona talks about what it was like to leave her six-figure salaried job as a corporate attorney to pursue her dream of starting a fashion brand. From going broke to seeing her Made In Nigeria labeled clothing in Neiman Marcus, Busayo learned a lot along the way.

If you're into entrepreneurship and/or fashion, here are some books Busayo recommends:

The Fashion Designer Survival Guide by Mary Geller
The Purple Cow by Seth Godin
The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael Singer
Living an Examined Life: Wisdom for the Second Half of the Journey by James Hollis
Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
Native Son by Richard Wright

Ready-to-wear designer Busayo Olupona talks about what it was like to leave her six-figure salaried job as a corporate attorney to pursue her dream of starting a fashion brand. From going broke to seeing her Made In Nigeria labeled clothing in Neiman Marcus, Busayo learned a lot along the way.
If you're into entrepreneurship and/or fashion, here are some books Busayo recommends:
The Fashion Designer Survival Guide by Mary Geller The Purple Cow by Seth Godin The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael Singer Living an Examined Life: Wisdom for the Second Half of the Journey by James Hollis Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin Native Son by Richard Wright

Busayo Olupona: How she Pivoted from Attorney to Fashion Designer

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/04a15d87-3144-41ff-b708-b01b01541808/transcript

Keith Corbin never thought cooking could be his way out of the hood. After a stint in prison, Keith needed a change from a life of hustling, and a series of chance encounters led him into the culinary world. Now a celebrated restaurateur, Keith has made a name for himself through his restaurant Alta Adams and his interpretation of soul food - West African style meets California ingredients.

You can find Keith's book California Soul: An American Epic of Cooking and Survival wherever books are sold.

Keith Corbin never thought cooking could be his way out of the hood. After a stint in prison, Keith needed a change from a life of hustling, and a series of chance encounters led him into the culinary world. Now a celebrated restaurateur, Keith has made a name for himself through his restaurant Alta Adams and his interpretation of soul food - West African style meets California ingredients.
You can find Keith's book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/California-Soul-American-Cooking-Survival/dp/059324382X/ref=asc_df_059324382X/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=564682793895&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=15273544096600504112&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9030953&amp;hvtargid=pla-1698984184207&amp;psc=1&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwyLGjBhDKARIsAFRNgW_gP3tZiwyUd4d4eVFHjAxxxSt_HHyaBuKCEr8Pbv4dOPhETW-ESPwaAsc9EALw_wcB">California Soul: An American Epic of Cooking and Survival </a>wherever books are sold.

Keith Corbin: His Culinary Journey After Prison

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d1a5864e-8f43-420c-b17a-b018017315f1/transcript

Freddie Wong is a YouTube OG. As YouTube transformed from a backwater website to a behemoth media platform, Freddie's career as an indie filmmaker grew with it, logging nearly 2 billion views and over 9 million subscribers on his channel "freddiew." In this episode, Freddie Wong talks about building an online video channel into a real production company, his love for action comedy, and how artists in the digital age can be creative when it comes to making a living.

To watch Freddie's videos, check out Freddie's YouTube channel! For one of our personal favorites try this one.

Freddie Wong is a YouTube OG. As YouTube transformed from a backwater website to a behemoth media platform, Freddie's career as an indie filmmaker grew with it, logging nearly 2 billion views and over 9 million subscribers on his channel "freddiew." In this episode, Freddie Wong talks about building an online video channel into a real production company, his love for action comedy, and how artists in the digital age can be creative when it comes to making a living.
To watch Freddie's videos, check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/freddiew">Freddie's YouTube channel</a>! For one of our personal favorites try <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHQr0HCIN2w&amp;t=2s">this one</a>.

Freddie Wong: From YouTube to His Own Production Company

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a5a03899-33e7-4b0b-bb29-b01201123cf1/transcript

Mei Xu: How To Build a $75 Million Candle Business with No Production Experience

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