Authentic Chinese Street Food at Home - Xiao Chi Jie (Full Episode)
Channel: Startup to Storefront
Date: 2022-06-14

You don’t have to look hard to find a national brand that started from a single-family-owned restaurant. There’s In-N-Out: started by the Snyder family, McDonald’s: started by the McDonald brothers, and Chick-fil-A: started by the Cathy family. While we’re on the topic, go ahead and add Xiao Chi Jie into the mix (or XCJ for short). But unlike the previous three brands that spread primarily through new brick & mortar locations, our guest today started with a single restaurant and expanded into a CPG brand. Jen Liao and her then-boyfriend Caleb Wang (now husband) started the business as a way of connecting with their family’s history since they’re both second-generation Chinese Americans. Their modern take on Chinese street food was an immediate hit with the locals of Bellevue, WA, and they knew that their recipes were destined for a much bigger audience. So just like those other family-owned brands that came before her, Jen has her sights set on national recognition. Her goal is for XCJ to become America's default Chinese food company.

So listen in as we cover everything from why most of her customers live in an Asian-food desert, why hiring someone to handle XCJ’s marketing was low on her priority list, and what it means to be a third culture kid.

#entrepreneurship #businessinterview #podcast #podcasts #startup #startupcompany #losangeles

******************************************************************
🥟 Xiao Chi Jie (XCJ) Social Media:
Website: https://thexcj.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_xcj/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thexcj/

******************************************************************
🎙️ Startup to Storefront Social Media: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startuptostorefront/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/startuptostorefront
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-to-storefront/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/startuptostore
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/67EyhF5DGLPucswOrS7LhK?si=IUPguzApRm6nnhlIHUBJxQ
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-to-storefront/id1477095646 
Website: https://www.startuptostorefront.com/

******************************************************************
😎 Our Team:
Diego Torres-Palma: https://www.instagram.com/diego_ventures/
Nick Conrad: https://www.instagram.com/nickgconrad/
Natalya Cappellini: https://www.instagram.com/natalya_curato/
Lexi Jameson: https://www.instagram.com/lexijamesonyt/
Owen Cappellini: https://www.instagram.com/owencapp/

******************************************************************
🎵 Our Music:
https://www.instagram.com/doubletouchofficial/

******************************************************************
⏱️ Timecodes:
00:00 Intro to Episode with Xiao Chi Jie (XCJ)
1:22 Meet Jen, Co-Founder of Xiao Chi Jie (XCJ)
3:13 Dating and starting a business!?
4:13 How big were you thinking?
5:16 The biggest challenge with fast-casual restaurants
6:34 Once you were open, what feedback were you getting?
7:33 WeChat explained
7:51 Did you run out of food?
9:00 Covid hit and restaurants shut down. Then what?
10:48 Diego's Dumpling Review: 10/10
12:01 Eliminating the stigma around frozen foods
13:57 The XCJ Consumer
16:38 Using census data when opening new restaurants 
17:14 Have you been surprised by the success of the product?
18:01 Diego ate 50 dumplings in two days!?
18:32 XCJ Fundraising Goals
19:25 Fixing a 25% failure rate when shipping frozen dumplings
23:57 XCJ Noodles Coming Soon!
24:51 What held XCJ back from hiring a marketing director
28:01 How big is the ideal marketing team?
29:43 Let's build XCJ's future together
30:57 Is there a mix-and-match option?
31:08 Selling noodles that made your tongue tingle
33:02 Are you opening more restaurants soon?
33:16 Are the restaurants separate LLCs?
35:29 Why XCJ Dumplings are the perfect airport food
37:08 XCJ Dumplings at Coachella
37:46 Would you partner with a vegan brand?
39:26 Use the links in the description to purchase
40:46 Third Culture Kids Explained
44:55 How food culture transcends borders
46:36 Educating the customer through content
47:19 Diego's lunchbox v. The World
50:16 Missing out on culture
51:25 The economic impact on XCJ
54:46 Go follow XCJ!