How Kelly Mi Li built her own 'Bling Empire' from scratch
Crazy Rich Asians meets Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Welcome to The Quest Digest
Read the mind of Twitch co-founder, Justin Kan 🧠. From startup & business advice, to wellbeing, and everything in between.
Don’t miss out:
In this issue:
Quest Mintues: Kelly Mi Li - executive producer and star of Netflix’s Bling Empire, entrepreneur
The Quest with Justin Kan x Eric Nam
Coinbase IPO, Apple & Monopolies, Neuralink and more: OnlyFriends #3
📽 Quest Minutes: Kelly Mi Li
Bling Empire:
Kelly Mi Li is the star and executive producer of Netflix hit-series, Bling Empire. The fan-favorite reality show is filled to the brim with extravagence, drama, and of course, bling.
While the star power on the big screen can seem larger than life, Kelly has an incredibly human come-up story, one defined by perseverance and grit. From living with walls full of rats, to becoming a successful entrepreneur and Hollywood producer, and having $168 million seized in a messy divorce, Kelly has gone through a lot.
This is the story of how she built her own ‘Bling Empire’ from scratch.
Fear Factor [2:41]
Like a lot of immigrant stories, Kelly’s upbringing was far from a fairytale. Her parents worked multiple jobs, and she slept with walls full of rats - a fear that she carries to this day.
Disillusioned, her father decided to return to China alone. Kelly credits her mother’s perseverance to support the two women as inspiration for her determination to carve her own success.
She started hustling at a young age, from babysitting, working at restaurants to hosting at nightclubs. Eventually, she saved up enough to buy her own retaurant in LA - her first business and the start of her meteoric career.
“My mom's a super woman, you know, she couldn't be a doctor anymore cause she had nobody to support us… I've always been a hustler…I don't think I asked my mom really for money or allowance. So it's definitely like a hustle mentality and ‘just make it work’.”
Alone [25:27]
Having her entire life broadcasted and scrunitized by the public was a difficult time for Kelly, especially as she dealt with her own inner struggles. She credits individual therapy, reading, seizing opportunities to learn, and meditation as helpful tools to understand her own experiences and emotions.
This also meant learning to be comfortable being alone, a rare privilege for someone so engrained in LA’s elite social circle. She discovered and confronted her codependency issues, learned the value of saying ‘no’, and setting boundaries to prioritizing her own wellbeing.
“I was by myself, I was single, kind of living by myself - you really just have to occupy your time. And then, I realized there's so much information, there's so much knowledge and books online, and podcasts, YouTube, and I never had time for that.
I was always just go, go, go, go. I never had time. So I'm just seeking out knowledge and learning.”
Paving Roads [42:54]
“We have power. We have community. So I think all these projects are really great. And then again, hopefully with Bling Empire, it's just another genre to open more doors and pave the way for another all Asian cast.”
Bling Empire has often drawn comparisons to Crazy Rich Asians, from its all-Asian cast and worldwide cult following to its dramatic success. The topic of under-representation of Asian creators has always been at the forefront of entertainment.
Through her own experience as a producer, Kelly recognizes the significance of watershed moments like Crazy Rich Asians and Fresh Off the Boat, as influences that paved the way for modern Asian artists in the mainstream. She credits these as pivotal projects that in have allowed ventures like Bling Empire to exist.
Kelly hopes that she can continue to pay it forward - for the success of Bling Empire to contribute in paving the way for all Asian artists in the future, as countless others have done for her.
Catch the rest of the conversation with Kelly here:
Key Lessons:
Try to pave the way for others with your work. Like Kelly said, the reason why Bling Empire was so successful was because of its predecessors like Crazy Rich Asians and Fresh Off the Boat. And with Bling Empire, that's going to open even more doors for Asians in media. We should appreciate those who came before us, and pave the way with our work for those following our footsteps.
Learn to be alone with yourself. Kelly was a hustler but that 24/7 hustling mentality did not help with her wellness practice. When she learned to say no and spend time with herself, she was able to free up a lot more headspace. That helped her to keep going and not burn out. Learning to be alone with yourself is important, and you need to master this skill in order to go far.
Cutting your burn rate isn't as scary as it sounds. All of us have been trained to think more is better. But excess is not sustainable and you can always live below your means. Kelly cut down her burn-rate from half a million each month to 20k. While that’s admittedly still quite a lot, that's still a 96% decrease! If she can do it, you can do it too.
Justin Kan x Eric Nam
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Who is Eric Nam?
Eric Nam is one of the most exciting powerhouse talents in entertainment. The Atlanta-born talent is a singer, songwriter, TV host, entrepreneur, and K-pop star, garnering over 300 million streams. Alongside his two brothers, he also runs one of the top podcasts in K-pop.
Check out Eric’s music on Spotify:
OnlyFriends #3 - Finding Coinbase Shares
Ever wonder what Justin Kan’s group chat with a bunch of successful people looks like? Check out the latest episode of Justin’s new show, OnlyFriends!
In this episode, Justin and co. cover the HOT Coinbase IPO, Neuralink's wild demo, Apple and monopolies, ISAs, how to pronounce Stratechery, and a fun new game called Friend or Foe, where they make predictions for the future.
Eric nam 😳
Eric nam 😳