Meet Esther Lee | Founder, Asian Founded

We had the good fortune of connecting with Esther Lee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Esther, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As a journalist, I’ve always wanted to be involved in covering stories relevant to the API community and highlight Asian excellence. When I realized the practical impact a viral video could make on a business, I wanted to be a part of it and decided to start Asian Founded, a social media agency that works exclusively with Asian-owned businesses and brands.

What should our readers know about your business?
Asian Founded works exclusively with Asian-owned brands and businesses, and as part of our community investment, we feature gifting we love for free on social media. As far as I know, we are the only (do I dare say first?) agency that works specifically with the API community in this way (please let me know if you know of another agency!). We’ve had a brand sell out and another saw a 500% increase in their Shopify visits and hearing results like this make me so happy. As someone who immigrated to the U.S. at age 11, I care deeply for immigrant-owned businesses and wish everyone was equipped with the right social media marketing tools. We are six months deep since the launch of Asian Founded, and I’ve learned so much. I’ve had dark days where I experienced anxiety for the first time or where I simply couldn’t get out of bed because I didn’t know where to start. We are still very young, but I’d love Asian Founded to grow to become a haven of some sort where we, as the agency, can empathize with the business owner. Empathy and compassion is something you definitely don’t find often in this industry where everything can quickly become transactional.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This question is very relevant to me because my childhood best friend moved to Canada, and whenever she come back to L.A., I usually plan an itinerary for us. Food would be a huge part of the day. If you ever visit L.A., I highly recommend trying at least one Mexican and/or Asian spot. My ideal day would involve a hike, Little Fatty or noodles at Hangari Kalguksu for lunch (shoutout to Koreantown, Los Angeles!), and Leo’s Tacos to end the night. For anyone looking for nightlife, I recommend DTLA (Seven Grand) for a classy night and Koreatown for a more down-to-earth, loud and fun evening.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I hate taking risks. Detest it. I’ve always made major life decisions based on whether I could almost certainly guarantee a positive outcome. I’d love to shoutout my husband Harris who pushed me to take a leap of faith. After I told him I wanted to quit my corporate job and go all-in with Asian Founded, he drove me to Costco and I walked out with a new Apple laptop. To have someone believe in you that quickly and fully is an unbelievable feeling and the rarest type of fuel to grow your dreams.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asianfounded/

Other: Personal IG is @esthersaelee

Image Credits
@AsianFounded