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Eddie Huang has, at different times in his life, been an attorney, a drug dealer, sneaker salesman, a TV host, a streetwear clothing designer, and blogger. Today, at 30 years old, he is a bestselling author and the chef and co-owner of BaoHaus, a popular New York City restaurant featuring Taiwanese-Chinese sandwiches, or bao. His partner is one of his younger brothers, Evan. The tiny 475-square-foot shop brings in a million dollars a year selling $3 bao and, says Huang, his own blend of Asian-American culture and hip hop.
Huang's memoir, Fresh Off the Boat, recently hit the New York Times bestseller list, while more than a million people have viewed his Fresh Off the Boat show on Vice.com, which explores food, subcultures, and identity politics. He embodies a new generation of young entrepreneur: unapologetic, unconventional and fiercely unique.
"There's a false choice between getting money and keeping it real," he says. "But keeping it real can be your business. If you have a story to tell, tell it."
Edited interview excerpts follow.
Entrepreneur: You say your business is a vehicle for your
message and your culture. What do you mean by that?
Huang: BaoHaus is about owning your identity and
dictating the messaging of who you are, where you're from, and
what you represent. I saw an opportunity to use a restaurant to
identify a lot of my issues and concerns with being an immigrant
in America, and Asian in America, and a young person in America.
I wanted to inspire people not to work under a bamboo ceiling.
Whatever you are -- yellow, black, white, brown -- you don't have
to allow your skin to define who you are or how you operate your
business. There's not one face to anything.
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Entrepreneur: You grew up in your family's restaurant
business, yet you started a clothing business and pursued law.
Why did it take you so long to open BaoHaus?
Huang: I didn't understand identity for a long time. I
didn't want to do things that stereotypical Asians do, like
drycleaning or restaurants. And I cut off a lot of the world to
myself. But there's Asians in mountains, there's Asians in lakes,
there's Asians flying planes. The world really is your garden to
cultivate, to quote Voltaire. Don't let somebody keep you out of
something by shaming you. I was ashamed of being an Asian in a
restaurant cooking Chinese food. People would tell dog meat
jokes. But there's no one way to do things. BaoHaus is
idiosyncratic, creative, and artistic. My restaurant doesn't look
like a Taiwanese restaurant. I wrote "dericious" on the walls. We
pump hip hop super loud all day long. Our drinks are called "FOB"
drinks. If I parody your racism, I pull the chair out from
underneath what you're doing and you have no power. And that's a
lot what BaoHaus is about, too. It turns stereotypes on their
head.
Entrepreneur: How do you know if an opportunity is worth
pursuing?
Huang: I get calls all the time, and I get excited about
every opportunity. The third meeting is always the make or break.
Do I want to hang out with this person? Do I culturally get along
with them? That's [one] reason we don't have investors. Because
there's not many people I've met that I want to spend time with.
Entrepreneur: People often use the word "hustler" to
describe you and your antics. What does that mean to you?
Huang: Nothing other than just working hard. I always
work hard. Before this interview I was looking at the rough cut
for my show; then I met my trainer; I have this interview, then
another at the restaurant, then I need to go over new equipment.
If I'm not working I'm teaching. I have a lot of trouble when I'm
not doing something.
Entrepreneur: What's your weakness as an
entrepreneur?
Huang: I want everybody to run at the same speed
as me. But some people are more conscientious, they think more
and they plan more. And they're more careful. As a manager you
benefit from having people around you that are very different.
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Entrepreneur: Is that especially true for minority
entrepreneurs?
Huang: My restaurant in the larger sense is about my
community. This is a Taiwanese Chinese American business -- no
ifs, ands or buts about it. It's very important for minorities to
develop businesses that buy from each other and support each
other. As an American immigrant you have a duty to share your
story with America. We definitely have it harder as entrepreneurs
because the dominant culture here is what it is. And when I talk
about dominant culture it's not just white, but people of a
certain socioeconomic class and cultural allegiance. There's much
more of that dollar out there to get. So when you have a business
that is targeted toward [the] immigrant palate and immigrant
experience, there's a smaller piece of the pie available to you.
A lot of people don't like that we have so many cultural
attachments to a $3 sandwich. But that's what we're about.
Entrepreneur: For a minority in a broader sense --
somebody who is on the fringe of society or the economy or just
doesn't fit in -- is being an entrepreneur a better choice than
having a traditional job?
Huang: Oh absolutely. Because if you try to go through
the Ivory Tower, you go through the man's house. They will
sterilize you. There are so many insidious ways of culturally
cleansing you, so you fit what they want. If you're a person who
doesn't fit into dominant culture -- absolutely, entrepreneurship
is a good thing. You want to know the enemy and go peep it out
and experience it. But ultimately remember who you are and know
who you are. Do your own thing and create a place for other
people like you. Life's too short to live your life for other
people.
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