Our Story

Jason Chan
Co-founder
My father was born in Hong Kong in the late 50s. By the 70s, it was clear that Hong Kong would transfer sovereignty from the English back to the Chinese. During this time, many living in Hong Kong decided to emigrant somewhere, in fear that Hong Kong would turn Communist. So with my grandmother, brother, sisters, father, and a minimal knowledge of English, they moved to the United States. Knowing little English, my father slowly learned the language.

My mother was born in Vietnam during the 60’s during the Vietnam War. Born in a family of 7 kids, my mom was the third youngest child. My grandfather owned a bustling paper-mill. But during the Vietnam War, the Communists eventually took over the factory and my grandfather knew that in order to keep his family safe, they needed to leave Vietnam. They eventually found a cargo ship that headed to Los Angeles, California. With nothing but the clothes on their backs and shoes on their feet, my mom’s family of nine boarded the ship and hoped for the best in the United States. On the 30-day ride, there was no food or suite for them. They slept on the floor and gathered their own food. My mom (12 years old at the time) accompanied with her sister (14 years old) were responsible for acquiring food for the family. Instead of asking the other passengers for food, my mom (fearless & willing to look dumb) asked them to teach her how to fish. Arriving in the US with nothing, everyone pulled their weight taking any job they could find and are living comfortably now.

When my brother/partner Brian and I grew up, both of our parents modeled persistence, dedication and hardwork. When we were three, our parents decided to start a business in hopes of attaining the American Dream. Being only three and with a new business that needed a lot of attention, my dad often stayed overnight and my mom often worked passed 7 pm every night. On the weekends, Brian and I went to the office and helped out. From a very young age, our parents showed us how difficult it was to make a living in the world and to save a portion of every dollar we made. They also taught us to always stay humble and to never feel embarrassed to ask questions. They taught us that if we were willing to look dumb and ask for help when we needed it, we’d succeed.

So with their knowledge and persistence, we knew that we needed to pull our own weight and start something. While attending elementary school, we spent $20/month renting a violin. We soon realized that it did not make any sense to spend $20/month renting a violin when you could buy the same violin for $179. Only after 10 months, parents would be saving money by owning the violin. With a school year of 9 months, parents could save $60 per year just by buying a violin.

After starting the business for a year, we realized that giving needed to be an important component to the business. With the initial donation of 3 violins to Mrs. Honecker’s class in Michigan, we decided to give a violin away every five violins sold and pay it forward to society. We later put together a mentorship program where we help individuals realize their potential and achieve their dreams.