The Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs recognizes Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) entrepreneurs and honors our local AAPI businesses. You can help support them by patronizing their businesses throughout the year. To find out more about some of our City’s AAPI businesses that inspired us this year read the interviews below. Plus, head to the San José Public Library for reading lists for every age group from adults to children’s picture books.

Our office is committed to assisting small businesses and helping lay a foundation for entrepreneurs and companies to develop new ideas and foster economic opportunities for generations to come. Are you interested in opening a business in San José? Get started here with our Business Coaching Center!

My Le, Lee’s Sandwiches, 2525 S King Rd, San José, CA 95122
My and her parents came to America in 1978 as refugees. After finding New Mexico too cold, they moved west to Monterey, and then were finally drawn to San José because of the Asian community here. Just a few years later, in 1982, My’s parents started Lee’s Sandwiches on Tully Rd., which was only ¼ of the space they have now. Vietnamese business ownership became more predominant along the corridor as the community was drawn to Eastridge Mall and Lion Plaza. This inspired the owners’ expansion, and business followed.

Her parents worked 7 days a week, 16 hours per day and when My started first grade she was the only Vietnamese child in the class but quickly integrated into the community.

Today, My says it is “my passion to help my parents. My role model is my mom. She always tell me to never give up. Try harder and harder, one day you will succeed.”

And My, a proud SJSU graduate and resident of San José, would do it all over again saying, “I love this profession, love running my own business.”

Can you share any challenges or obstacles you have faced as an AAPI woman in business, and how you overcame them?

 My: [Being a] Woman in general is difficult, when I approach suppliers, they are always skeptical if I can even afford it. But I was able to prove to them I was able to manage my business. Additional hurdles to cross over as a member of AAPI member, approach a bank or festival, feels intimated. I am a firm believer in action speaks louder.

Where do you see your business in five years?

My: Promote my employees, taking more responsibility, want to pass it on to my kids. Want my kids to work along with the wonderful workers. It is my desire to keep the family name and legacy of this business in the family.

What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve received and what’s your advice to aspiring entrepreneurs?

My: Set your mind to fulfill your goals and never give up. Never take no for an answer. The same advice I received and I want to pass it on.

Lauren Burns and Sameer Shah, Voyager Craft Coffee, 87 N San Pedro St. San José

Lauren Burns and Sameer Shah opened Voyager Craft Coffee in 2016, initially as a mobile trailer. They held their first service outside the March of Dimes festival near Kelley Park in San José. By the end of the day, they had netted only $81, but both Lauren and Sameer felt “irrationally optimistic” about the future.

In the years since that magical day, they’ve grown exponentially in Santa Clara County, with four brick and mortar locations featuring a full bakery and coffee roastery, and a fifth on the way.

What inspired you to start your business in San José?

Lauren & Sameer: As a 100% self-funded business and a people first attitude, we've chosen to grow - and continue growing - only within Santa Clara County. As native San José residents, we want to build our brand exclusively in our hometown, and for our community.

Can you share any challenges or obstacles you have faced and how you overcame them?

 Lauren & Sameer: Like all small businesses, we’ve faced our share of challenges. When we operated our trailer we had numerous $0 sales days. After we opened our 1st brick and mortar store, we were so slow that we often made in revenue over 2 days what we sometimes make in 1 hour at 1 store today. Despite the challenges - one cash crunch after another, from being ‘too slow’ to operating ‘too busy’, to expanding without adequate organizational structure, to COVID and everything that entailed - we persevered. We were obsessed with being a better company and better employers, and we worked hard and competed even harder to realize some of our potential.

Any advice to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Lauren & Sameer: As we look back in our company’s history, and chart the course ahead, a common theme of kindness, empathy, and people centricity emerges. We are loving every single moment of this journey. As we scan the marketplace we see an ever growing number of new and energetic entrepreneurs. We encourage them, and those thinking of joining our ranks, to dream big, really get to know our culturally diverse South Bay audience, and reach out for help along the way.

Dr. Smita Garg, Kinder Way Healing, Online

Dr. Smita Garg is a San José based entrepreneur and City of San José Arts Commission representative. She has a BFA in Applied Art, a Doctorate in Arts Education, and is the founder and principal therapist at Kinder Way Healing.

Tell us about your journey to the U.S. Did you face any challenges?

Dr. Garg: I grew up in New Delhi, India, surrounded by parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. My family had a charitable and spiritual bent which left a deep impression on me. The visual and musical arts were an intrinsic part of my upbringing. I moved to the United States to pursue higher education in either art therapy or art education. As it was rare for fine arts students from India to apply to the USA for higher education in the 1990s, it was difficult to find a program I could join. One fine day, I decided to walk into the office of the Arts Education department chair at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. To my surprise, then department chair, Dr. Tina Thompson, greeted me with warmth and welcomed me into the program. The university had a top-rated program in Arts Education, and I excelled as a student, leaving with a Doctorate in Arts Education. I loved working with children, but I loved research equally. I especially enjoyed qualitative research methodologies as they allowed me to develop interviewing skills, taught me to listen, and to collect people’s life-stories. Little did I know that years later in my therapy work, all these skills would come in so handy!

Any advice to the younger generation and aspiring entrepreneurs, especially those who are AAPI and/or female?

Dr. Garg: My advice to the younger generations of AAPI youth and especially women entrepreneurs would be to NOT worry about fitting in but recognizing your unique gifts. It is typical in AAPI communities to gravitate towards the age-old careers of medicine, engineering, or law. It is also not easy for us to speak up because culturally we are programmed to keep our voice down and keep the peace at all costs. I’d like to see our youth and women not hold back and speak loud and clear about what matters to them. I would tell a younger version of me to not be afraid of the world and be okay with failure. Every failure is a doorway to finding out what we are really meant to do. You can be whatever age and give yourself a new start. I am an example of someone who has started her career as a business owner in midlife.

Lanny Nguyen, Lanny Nguyen Photography, 590 North 5th St., San José

Lanny Nguyen is a San José photographer who specializes in branding photography and has over a decade of experience. Her passion is to tell the stories behind the products and services of women owned small businesses so they can flourish and succeed.

What inspired you to start your business in San José, and what advantages or opportunities do you see in being in this city?

Lanny: I grew up in San José, went to SJSU and majored in advertising and marketing. My cousin introduced me to the dark room, and I became interested in Photography. My business allows me to combine passion in art with my background in marketing. I love working in the community I grew up in. I work with local organizations such as San Jose Walls, Sacred Heart Community Service as well as women owned businesses for commercial marketing, and I also do family portraits.

Can you share any challenges or obstacles you have faced as an AAPI woman in business, and how you overcame them?

Lanny: Oftentimes I am the only woman photographer in the room. I will get underestimated, but I let my work speak for itself.

Who is your role model and why?

Lanny: My friend Christine, she is the lawyer for NASA. She is able to navigate between her family, career, and the Vietnamese community. She always shows up for her community.

What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve received and what’s your advice to future aspiring business owners?

Lanny: Surround yourself with good people.

Alex PK Nguyen, Hot Boi Chili Oil, Shop Online and 123 E. Alma Ave Unit 10 B, San José

Alex Nguyen is the CEO and co-founder of Hot Boi Chili Oil, a Vietnamese American, and 2nd generation entrepreneur in his family. Alex always wanted to start a business when he was younger, and he had an intuition to make observations and find ways to improve or make processes better. Hot Boi Chili Oil came to fruition when Alex wanted to make a condiment that was better than what he had found at restaurants and grocery stores.

Of course, none of this would have happened if it weren’t for a dream he had one night of “fried garlic nuggets, floating on clouds”. He woke up and went back to the kitchen to experiment. That didn’t mean that it was really tasty to begin with. It took time to revise what he had created.

Starting his business in San José was a given for Alex. He was born and raised here and felt it was right to stick with his roots to build out their business through the support of the community.

How did you go from the concept/the dream of owning your own business to actually owning and operating your business?

Alex: I think this may be easier said than done, but the first step is to just get down to it. Take that leap of faith because we only live one life. I did some research and learned how to start a business, but the key thing was to ask people who have started businesses before and get their insight on how they started.

Tell us about the challenges your business has faced? How did you overcome these challenges?

Alex: Every single day is a challenge. I can’t really go into detail because there’s just so many, but what I can tell you is that I’ve always taken challenges as an obstacle for me to overcome. Challenges are there to educate and teach us how we can be better entrepreneurs. We’ve failed before and we’ve failed really hard, but as every entrepreneur will tell you–fail fast, learn fast.

But I think this story may have the most value. When I started this business, my parents didn’t support me. My dad flat-out said, “this business is not going to make any money,” so I did not have any emotional support for the longest time. What I realized is that there will be folks who we deeply care about, but at times, they won’t support our journey on who we want to become. There is an answer for all that though. What I’ve learned is to believe in myself. Believe in myself because at the end of the day, only I have control to change the trajectory of our lives.

My dad was a successful entrepreneur as well, so it just didn’t make sense to me. Again, believe in yourself, learn from their mistakes, and keep pushing through because people who are non-believers will change their mind when you make progress and produce results.

Any advice to the younger generation and aspiring entrepreneurs, especially the AAPI entrepreneurs?

Alex: Don’t let anyone tell you who you can’t be. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Find that healthy work-life balance, but understand that the entrepreneurial life is not always glitz and glamor. And most importantly, live your life authentically.

Are you or know of an AAPI-owned business here in San José? Help us add to our list! Contact Executive Analyst Nguyen Pham, Nguyen.pham@sanjoseca.gov or (408) 479-1151.