On Tuesday, February 28, Apex for Youth and Deloitte hosted Charting New Paths: A Conversation with Asian American Trailblazers, a panel discussion with four inspiring entrepreneurs who have been at the forefront of their industries, blazing new paths. Moderated by longtime Apex mentor Nin-Hai Tseng, Senior Editor at Fortune, the discussion covered topics such as growing up in an immigrant household, obstacles of starting a business, the importance of mentorship and the current political landscape. The panelists included Ben Sun (Partner at Primary Venture Partners), Charlotte Cho (Co-Founder of Soko Glam), Reshma Saujani (Founder of Girls Who Code and former NYC Deputy Public Advocate) and Wei Soo (Co-Founder of Global Citizen).

Each one of them came with core messages to share with the audience. Ben spoke about finding points of leverage in a business and hiring smart, talented people. Charlotte talked about not being cynical when pursuing your dreams. Reshma offered the advice of “fail fast and fail hard” and not being afraid of making mistakes. Wei went for a big picture take, reminding us that we’re all humans first, and the remaining pieces of our lives are merely incidental. These Asian American trailblazers all had unique stories to tell and advice to share for starting a career and finding a passion.

Thank you Ben, Charlotte, Reshma, and Wei for taking the time to share your experiences, and Nin for being a great moderator. Special thanks to Deloitte for hosting us at their office overlooking Rockefeller Plaza and our sponsors Dos Toros, The Tang NYC and UNICO for the scrumptious food. Shoutout to our Associate Board for doing an awesome job organizing! Our guests left feeling full and inspired.
-Amy Zhou