I started my first business when I was 7. You see, I used to buy odds and ends at garage sales and I thrived off of finding the right person who could appreciate the little treasures and trinkets I would find. I suppose I’ve always enjoyed finding something “valuable” and connecting it with someone who could appreciate its value.
I believe I can see value in the unlikeliest of places, and it’s all because my dad had everything taken away from him. When I was young, my dad told me about how he survived a bombing. He had everything taken away from him before he was old enough to read and write. He grew up with nothing, living by finding value in everything that everyone else would throw away.
My dad came to America because he didn’t want us to suffer what he went through. But it was hard for him to find a “job” because his education didn’t come from books and paper. Because of this, my dad had to find his own way. Every failure came directly out of his pocket. Every success went straight to his family. He earned everything we had, and it was his dream to create a business and leave us a legacy of hope through all the hard work he put into his business.
When he started, he saw that there was a large population of Chinese Americans who wanted vegetarian foods, but could not find them locally. He saw an opportunity to offer plant-based foods before anyone else knew how to use plants to satisfy people’s cravings for the different cuts of meat he never had the money to buy for himself when he was a child. He developed a vision to sell vegetarian foods - not just to those in the Chinese community - but to mainstream markets across all of America. Although he didn’t get to live to see the fruition of his vision, I am still so happy to have fulfilled this vision when my sister and I founded Starlite Cuisine, which to this day is found in most major grocery stores across the US.
Fast forward a few years and I am happy to say that I have been fortunate to have met a number of interesting people through my entrepreneurial line of work. From the food business, I’ve been able to expand what I do into operations for the healthcare industry. In 2015, I first met Dr. Liu because I was visiting another old friend for a potluck. Dr. Liu and I instantly hit it off - I think it’s partially because we share a passion for food and health - and we have shared many interests since. From putting together medical missions to creating an international healthcare provider network, my co founders and I have had the opportunity to work together many times, and they are the first people I turn to whenever I have questions about my family’s health.
That is why I will never forget that day in March 2020. I was coughing hard, and I called Dr. Liu for advice. She raced over to my house and told me, “Take this bag of vitamins.” Without counting, I could tell there were more than 20+ vitamins in the bag and I was horrified. She told me that I HAD to do it, and knowing her background in infectious diseases, there was no doubt in my mind that she was right.
Let me tell you something: it felt like I had never swallowed that many pills in my life, let alone in one 5 minute sitting! After I had forced down the second set of ten pills, knowing how vitamins are produced thanks to my background in the food business, I asked her “why can’t I just take this as a powder?” Dr. Liu looked at me incredulously as if what I was saying was a complete waste of her time and said, “You go figure that out.”
So I did.
I called my sister, who still owns and runs Starlite Cuisine, and through connections our family has had in the food business for more than twenty years, we were able to get NACPro+ made in less than 5 months.
This is why I think it’s important for you to know that I come from an immigrant family. Coming here and finding a job was not an easy thing to do. My father earned every penny through hard work and dedication. He taught me how to see value in everything I do, and he gave me a vision for food and nutrition, well before anyone else understood how plants could be used for so much more. So when Dr. Liu gave me that baggy of vitamins that one fateful day back in March 2020, I have worked endlessly with my team to make sure NACPro+ is only sourced from the best ingredients, and made in the USA.
I believe I am very fortunate to be where I am in my life now. I am thankful for everything I have in my life, as well as the people I have met in my life. I am thankful because I know that not everyone has access to an infectious disease doctor or even a doctor they can call on when they want to know what’s the best thing they can do for their family. I know I am fortunate to be a successful entrepreneur in the food industry. And I believe I am blessed to be able to help put together a supplement that helps people, with some of the most essential and important vitamins and antioxidants there are in nature, to help people feel better.
That’s why we put NACPro+ together. So you can feel like you have a doctor looking out for your family.