The Immigrant's Drive: Why I Always Knew I'd Be an Entrepreneur

My story begins not with privilege or connections, but with the fundamental understanding that in America, you control your own destiny—if you're willing to work for it. I moved to the USA at age 5 as an immigrant. My parents didn't have much money, and I grew up without any financial advantages that many of my peers took for granted.

But this wasn't a disadvantage—it was my greatest education. Growing up without money taught me that no one was going to hand me success. I always knew I would want to be an entrepreneur because I understood from an early age that entrepreneurship was the path to controlling my own destiny. When you grow up with nothing, you learn that everything you achieve must come from your own effort, your own vision, and your own relentless execution.

This immigrant mindset—the understanding that you must create your own opportunities rather than wait for them to be given to you—shaped every decision I would make. It's why I started working at such a young age. It's why I was comfortable taking risks that others found terrifying. It's why I could see opportunities that others missed. And it's why I'm comfortable pursuing a dual-engine strategy that others might consider crazy.

"Growing up as an immigrant without money teaches you the most valuable lesson in business: no one owes you success. You must create it yourself, one decision at a time, one day at a time."

The Early Work Ethic: Building Character Through Labor

My understanding of business didn't begin in university classrooms or corporate boardrooms—it began at age 12, working at a baseball card store. While other kids were playing video games, I was learning the fundamentals of customer service, inventory management, and the simple truth that success comes from showing up every day and doing the work.

This wasn't just a part-time job for spending money—it was my introduction to the world where effort directly translates to results, where showing up consistently matters more than natural talent, and where every customer interaction teaches you something about human nature and business dynamics.

"Every entrepreneur's journey begins with understanding that there is no substitute for hard work. You can have the best ideas in the world, but without the discipline to execute them consistently, they remain just dreams."

At 15, I made a decision that would define the rest of my life: I dropped out of high school. For someone who grew up without money, this might seem like a risky decision. But for me, it was the logical next step in controlling my own destiny. Work wasn't just a job—it was my escape, my passion, and my education. I really enjoyed working at a young age, and I discovered something about myself that remains true today: I'm always thinking about my business, and when I'm not working, I'm thinking about working.

The immigrant experience had taught me that traditional paths don't guarantee success—only relentless effort and smart execution do. While my peers were following conventional educational routes, I was getting real-world education in the fundamentals of business, sales, and human psychology as a telemarketer at 15. Every rejection taught me persistence. Every successful call taught me persuasion. Every day taught me that success comes from showing up when others won't.

This obsession with work and business thinking has never left me. It's not a burden—it's a source of energy and fulfillment. The same immigrant drive that made me choose work over traditional education at 15, the same mindset that taught me to create my own opportunities rather than wait for them, is the same drive that fuels our dual-engine strategy today.

When people ask me why I'm comfortable pursuing such an unconventional strategy, the answer lies in this foundation. When you've been creating your own path since age 5, when you've been working since age 12, when you've been thinking like an entrepreneur since you could think at all, pursuing strategies that others consider "crazy" isn't crazy—it's just another day of controlling your own destiny.

By 18, I was working at Keynote Systems, gaining exposure to the technology industry and understanding how innovative companies scale their operations while maintaining quality and reliability. This experience provided early insights into the operational disciplines that would later prove essential for scaling businesses across multiple markets and industries.

At 25, I took my first major entrepreneurial leap by franchising Hui Lau Shan, a dessert chain from Hong Kong to the USA. This wasn't just a business opportunity—it was the culmination of over a decade of learning about work ethic, customer service, operations, and the fundamental principles that make businesses successful.

After running Hui Lau Shan for about four years, I ventured into the hospitality furniture business, importing and exporting from China into the USA. This business taught me about international trade, supply chain management, and working with large-scale commercial projects. Eventually, I had the opportunity to work on the MGM City Center project in Las Vegas, which provided exposure to world-class hospitality operations and the complexities of managing massive construction and design projects.

"The difference between successful entrepreneurs and everyone else isn't intelligence or luck—it's the willingness to start working toward your vision before you feel ready, and to keep working long after others would have given up."

The Franchising Education: Understanding Systematic Growth

The franchising of Hui Lau Shan dessert chains across Asia represented my first serious entrepreneurial venture, an experience that taught me the fundamental principles of systematic business replication and brand building. While the dessert business might seem far removed from our current focus on healthcare and Bitcoin treasury management, the lessons learned about operational excellence, brand consistency, and scalable growth models directly inform our approach today.

"Success in business is not about finding the perfect opportunity—it's about taking any opportunity and executing it perfectly. The skills you develop in one industry become the foundation for success in every industry that follows."

Franchising taught me that successful businesses require more than just good products or services—they need systematic approaches to operations, training, quality control, and customer experience that can be replicated across different markets and cultural contexts. These lessons proved invaluable when we later scaled Groupon across multiple Asian markets and are equally relevant as we build IM8's global distribution capabilities and establish Prenetics' Bitcoin treasury operations.

More importantly, the franchising experience taught me to think in terms of platforms rather than individual locations. The most successful franchise systems aren't just collections of individual businesses—they're platforms that provide infrastructure, support, and resources that enable individual operators to succeed while contributing to the overall system's growth. This platform thinking directly influences our approach to building Prenetics as a dual-engine platform that supports both healthcare innovation and Bitcoin treasury excellence.

The franchising experience also taught me the importance of systematic quality control and brand consistency across diverse markets and cultural contexts. These lessons directly apply to our current strategy of building IM8 as a global supplement brand while maintaining the scientific rigor and quality standards that differentiate us from competitors.