Diamond in the Rough G-Cubed

Glenn Chang immigrated to America with his family at an early age from Taiwan. Throughout his childhood, he lived in the diverse city of Torrance, California. Around him, he saw other young immigrants like himself committed to education as it was deemed a stable path to a successful future. Thus, his passion for learning lead him to attend a prestigious college in Los Angeles and obtain an engineering degree. Despite these accomplishments, Glenn and a few of his colleagues had bigger aspirations beyond the occupation of an engineer. They wanted to learn business and simultaneously apply their knowledge of engineering to start their own hardware company: MaxLinear. Although Glenn is heavily invested into his line of work, he still manages to spend time with his family and enjoy a life outside of his job. Ensuring that his work life and personal life are well balanced, Glenn shares how being an immigrant entrepreneur is not just a profession, but a lifestyle. 

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Pastor Jung S. Cho immigrated to the United States as a young child. Growing up in East Los Angeles, Pastor Cho faced various adversities throughout his childhood. Despite these setbacks, he was motivated to succeed as a student-athlete and in life; through hard work and with an optimistic attitude, he was blessed to attend reputable academic institutions for both high school and college. As he grew older, he discovered his true passions as a Christian pastor and an entrepreneur in the bakery franchise business. In this episode, Pastor Cho reveals how his diligence and resilience shaped him to be the accomplished man that he is today. 

Ying Song was born in Shanghai, China. Inspired by her father, a teacher, Ying always knew she wanted to pursue a career in education. In China, she studied Early Childhood Education and worked as a preschool teacher before coming to the United States in 1996. Despite facing numerous adversities during her early years in America, she was always surrounded by people who were willing to support her dreams as an educator. Now, she is the founder of LeapUp Learning, a successful tutoring service based in New York City. In this second episode, Ying Song describes how she was able to combine her passion for education with entrepreneurship and establish a new vision of learning for countless students.

In the first official episode, the podcast invites Aditya Khurjekar who was born and raised in Pune, India. From working a normal corporate job, to kickstarting his own entrepreneurial endeavors in the financial technology (Fintech) sector, Aditya shares his thoughts, ideas, and moments that have attributed to his success. Furthermore, he touches upon the personal connection that he has to his work and the lessons he learned as an immigrant entrepreneur in America. 

In this welcome message, Kyle Baek introduces his latest initiative: 'Diamonds in the Rough' Podcast. For this 1st season, this series features Asian and Asian American Immigrant Entrepreneurs who prove that linguistic and cultural barriers cannot stop them from achieving their ambitions. With a mind full of ideas and a relentless work ethic, this podcast highlights the extraordinary lives of Asian and Asian American immigrants who overcame all odds to create successful entrepreneurial organizations.