Celebrating Asian History Month with the Coralus Community
“Being Asian is about being part of a group and standing out as an individual. It’s about embracing where I come from and making my path. It’s about sharing a rich history of collective experiences and adding my unique touch to this world.”
— Lily Tse, ThinkDirty
May is a time of celebration, as communities around the world come together to commemorate Asian History Month. It’s a time to honour the rich and diverse heritage of Asian cultures and amplify the voices of those who have shaped our world.
In this blog post, we bring you stories from Coralus Venture founders across diverse fields and industries, from technology and finance to fashion and entertainment. Their words shed light on the pivotal roles of…
- Lived Experience: The notion of “by us, for us” resonates deeply among the founders, many of whom draw inspiration from their personal journeys to inform their businesses. They’ve experienced firsthand the gaps and opportunities that traditional systems often overlook, and draw from their own cultural nuances and understanding the specific needs of their communities to craft innovative solutions.
- Humility and work ethic: These entrepreneurs share their thoughts on the power of remaining grounded, self improvement, and staying resilient in the face of challenges.
- Belonging and identity: By incorporating their own heritage and personal narratives into their ventures, these entrepreneurs are creating spaces that celebrate their heritage while also taking the time to reflect on challenges of cultural identity and self-discovery.
Explore their businesses and dive deeper to learn more about their stories.
Suzanne Siemens (she/her): Aisle (Canada)
Aisle creates sustainable menstrual supplies to reduce landfill, improve awareness of climate change mitigation, and donate products to marginalized women and girls so they can fully participate in economic life.
Says Co-Founder Suzanne Siemens:
As the child of immigrants who endured many challenges building a life in North America, I am reminded of the unique history I carry with me and how it affects how I show up. Interestingly, this has changed over time. As a child, I grew up wishing I was more white in order to fit in.
Today, being Asian is about speaking out to ensure my culture is best represented in the community and properly passed on to future generations.
Valerie Song (she/her): AVA Technologies Inc. (Canada)
AVA is the world’s smartest indoor garden that reduces food waste for consumers who want to get growing.
Seema Sanghavi (she/her): Cooks Who Feed Inc. (Canada)
Cooks Who Feed is a social enterprise that ethically produces kitchen textiles with a give-back model, providing meals to fight hunger.
Mayumi Young (she/her): CPA MOMS (USA)
CPA Moms is the first 100% virtual licensed CPA franchise system owned by CPAs that are moms who provide accounting & tax services to entrepreneurs nationwide.
Says founder Mayumi Young:
The words I feel best describe the Asian aspects of me and my upbringing include: honor, respect for elders, pride, and rituals. I remember vividly that I wouldn’t refer to any elder by their first name through my adulthood. It would be Mr., Ms. or Mrs. X. It was tricky and confusing as I became an entrepreneur because I wanted to be seen as a professional/equal, which meant (at least to me) to refer to my counterpart by their first name.
Growing up as one of the only Asians in my small town in Massachusetts, I didn’t have role models or examples or cultural representation beyond my mother who actually tried to remove any of the culture and even the Japanese language from our home. My mother was born and raised in Japan. Though my father was fluent in Japanese (who was born in the US and served in the military), he did not raise me so my mother who spoke very broken English felt that I would have a disadvantage in school if she taught me Japanese. So, she intentionally didn’t teach me the language (a major regret of mine is that I am not bilingual and I am unable to speak to my mother’s family who still reside in Japan).
Though the Japanese culture is deeply prideful, for most of my upbringing I felt I needed to fit in and diminished my Black and Asian heritage. I didn’t feel pride in my multi-cultural Self until I was in my mid 20s and I began my Self discovery process and formed my own identity. It took a few years, but once I fully embraced all aspects of my racial, ethnic and cultural diversity, I began to truly love all of me.
By the time I became an entrepreneur at age 27, I was pretty connected to all aspects of myself, and started learning more about my culture. I still have a LOT to learn about my Asian heritage, but am proud to be a Black Japanese American.
Nita Tandon (she/her): Dalcini Stainless (Canada)
Dalcini Stainless creates stainless steel housewares company creating toxic-free and infinitely recyclable food storage containers.
Says founder Nita Tandon:
Being Asian bring me such a sense of pride. So much wisdom and experience that I soak in as I walk in the footsteps of billions before me.
Some of the many contributions India has made to the world including the decimal system, cataract surgery, yoga, Ayurvedic remedies, USB and fiber optics and of course, my personal favourite — India’s pioneering work in metallurgy.
High quality steel was produced in India almost 2000 years ago, long before it was used in the West. A seamless celestial globe was also invented for the first time in Kashmir, which still today considered one of the most remarkable achievements in metallurgy. Prior to this, it was considered impossible to make a globe made of metal without seams.
Nivatha Balendra (she/her): Dispersa (Canada)
Dispersa is an early-stage CleanTech startup that harnesses the power of microbes to deliver a suite of affordable and fossil fuel-free biosurfactants.
Shazia Khan (she/her): EcoEnergy (USA)
EcoEnergy is a next generation solar energy company providing energy access to communities without grid power.
Nina Kharey (she/her): Folds (Canada)
Folds makes athletic antiviral scrubs from recycled material.
Chenny Xia (she/her): Gotcare (Canada)
Gotcare creates pathways to affordable and accessible home care at scale through technology and partnerships.
Says founder Chenny Xia:
China’s Century of Humiliation (1839 to 1949) defined how I was raised and what “good” looked like. For me, a significant portion of my journey as an Asian-Canadian has been centered around redefining my relationship with shame. There is nothing to “fix”, but rather, it is relearning what it means to be in my body and listen to my inner intuition — from a place of love instead of fear-based assimilation.
Saira Rao (she/her): In This Together Media (USA)
In This Together Media creates children’s and YA books featuring diverse characters' race, gender, sexual orientation & ability.
Minka Park (she/her): Kimchi Club (Australia)
A group of migrant women making healthy & delicious Korean food for Australians, working to be a favourite food brand & provide good work for more women.
Ashley Johnson (she/her): Mohala Eyewear (USA)
We design inclusive eyewear (3 nose bridge options, widths and adjustable frames) and every pair sold sends a girl to school at Room to Read.
Says founder Ashley Mariko Johnson:
I’m Japanese, Chinese, and white, and my ethnic identity growing up shaped me to understand what it feels like to not always feel included in the fashion and beauty world. I discovered that most eyewear was designed to fit a slender Eurocentric “standard of beauty face shape” and that this eyewear design left out BIPOC women, curvy women, and all women that don’t fit the traditional beauty standard. This one size fits all design caused the pain points of eyewear sliding, falling off, leaving imprints on cheeks and hitting lashes. So creating an inclusive eyewear brand completely came out of my identity as a mixed race Asian woman.
Melanie Ang (she/her): Off the Path Provisions (Canada)
Off the Path Provisions makes dehydrated Asian-inspired and vegan meals in 100% compostable packaging.
Sophia Yen (she/her): Pandia Health (USA)
Free online access to reproductive health information and access to modern contraceptives, as well as making #PeriodsOptional.
Says founder Sophia Yen:
I’m proud of my Taiwanese heritage, the political meaning of that = supporting democracy, the right for the people to decide, and self-determination.
As a doctor of Asian descent, I re-realized that medicine has been predominantly based on a 70 kg caucasian male, that the initial birth control research was not done with Asian women or Black women, and that the experience of doctors at academic institutions is based on that research and their patients who are not majority Asian or Black women.
Thus, I developed an algorithm to address the side effects of birth control pills encountered by Asian and Black women, that in the end, benefitted all patients.
I’ve also recognized that in the US, there are few programs focused on helping Asian-Americans with startups — perhaps because we are seen as the model minority?
Kulbinder Saran Caldwell (she/her): REALLIFE Pictures Inc. (Canada)
REALLIFE Pictures Inc. is an integrated production company and boutique literary agency exclusively representing diverse, neurodiverse and LGBTQ screenwriters.
Says founder Kulbinder Saran Caldwell:
Being Asian and specifically being South Asian means identity, culture and traditions. It allows me to be a part of a community rather than being alone. The culture and traditions allow me to have goalposts on what I will teach my children and their children.
Kristin Kagetsu (she/her): Saathi (USA)
Saathi addresses lack of access to menstrual products in a sustainable way by making 100% biodegradable & compostable sanitary pads from banana & bamboo fiber.
Aki Kaltenbach (she/her): Save Da Sea Foods Inc. (Canada)
Save Da Sea Foods is a plant-based seafood company that offers healthy, tasty and planet-friendly products, with the mission to preserve our oceans and their marine life.
Says founder Aki Kaltenbach:
In Japanese culture, it is very important to be humble. This usually serves me well, but it can be a hindrance, especially in a world that often views uber-confidence as a virtue.
Elaine Leung (she/her): Sea Smart (Canada)
Sea Smart is a charity whose mission is to inspire and empower people across the world to love and protect our oceans through innovative education programs.
Says founder Dr. Elaine Leung:
I was born and raised in Vancouver to a very traditional Chinese family. While my parents did everything they could to give me a wonderful upbringing, they were also very strict and instilled traditional values in us like the criticalness of hard work (note: I’m saying criticalness and not importance because, to my parents, there was no other option), always being the best and never giving up.
While it wasn’t always easy growing up with so much pressure and expectations to always be at the top, these values helped me in tackling one of the biggest challenges of my life — starting and running a small environmental charity! And the hard work ethic and perseverance instilled in me from a young age has helped us achieve incredible impact — since 2016 we’ve taught over 40,000 kids through in-person programs and over 700,000 people in over 30 countries through our free online educator resources!
Bethany Deshpande (she/her): SomaDetect (Canada)
Connecting, empowering, and enlightening our dairy system from every cow to every consumer, maximizing resiliency, welfare, and increasing productivity.
Anu Bidani (she/her): STEM Minds Corp (Canada)
STEM Minds is a BCorp certified business focused on STEM education to empower K-12 youth to become fearless learners through online and in-person programs.
Colleen Wong (she/her): Techsixtyfour Ltd. (United Kingdom)
My Gator Watch from Techsixtyfour is a wearable mobile phone/tracker for the ageing and dementia market which comes with services that facilitate living independently, safely and healthy ageing.
Lily Tse (she/her): Think Dirty (Canada)
Think Dirty is a mobile app that enables consumers to shop clean beauty and personal care products that are better for their health and the environment.
Says founder Lily Tse:
Being Asian to me is a journey of self-discovery. It’s something I don’t think about much when I’m at home in Hong Kong when being ‘Asian’ was just part of everyday life. It’s normal. It’s familiar. It’s home.
But when I step into a new country, Canada, my Asian identity stands out. It becomes a part of me that’s clear for everyone to see. It’s like wearing a sign that tells people where I come from before I even say a word.
I know that some people might see me through a set of stereotypes. These stereotypes might be harmless, and sometimes they might even be positive. But they can sometimes hide who I am. They cover up the small things that make me unique and feel like I’m one of many.
So, being Asian is about being part of a group and standing out as an individual. It’s about embracing where I come from and making my path. It’s about sharing a rich history of collective experiences and adding my unique touch to this world.
Sunandita Das (she/her): Urbane Luxury Services Inc. (Canada)
We are not just another xyz cleaning company we ensure our buyers are Mindful & conscious about who we are, minorities.
Says founder Sunandita Das:
I am Asian, but I was raised in multi-cultural family outside of Asian traditional background. It helped me be diverse from childhood, it gave me the right foundation, competence, humility yet assertiveness.
