Holly Ong is the Co-Founder of Sibeiho. Read our interview with Holly about her experiences with Xcelerate business advising (Capital Readiness, Go to Market Strategy) and peer mentor groups.

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What inspired you to start your own business? 

I was cooking for friends when I had an epiphany that making food for friends truly made me happy. Being here in Portland, I was super inspired by the local produce that's so close to the city and super seasonal. I was also homesick because Singapore is so far from the USA. In conversations here, I always get asked about what my childhood food is because it doesn't exist here in my adopted city home. So I cooked to show friends here what our food is about. It was in that food narrative that  I realized there was a potential to create our food here to tell the story about our multicultural food heritage. 

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What are some of your key goals that you worked with Xcelerate on this year? 

(1) Stabilize my business, (2) Financial operational readiness , and (3) Getting product to market.

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How has your identity as a woman and any and all other intersectional identities impacted your business? 

I feel that the growing awareness of women being capable entrepreneurs and the existence of organizations like Xcelerate creates opportunities for us to stand up;  it shines a light on our capabilities and gives us a chance to succeed and tell the stories about who, where, and what we are to maximize our potential. 

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What were some of the challenges you faced this year and how did working with Xcelerate help you to overcome these challenges? 

(1) Xcelerate helped connect me with a coach to review my numbers and ask the right questions to understand what my needs are to grow my business. (2) I also had help from a pricing guru to validate my cost of goods and pricing process to ensure profitability for my products before I brought them to market. 

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Are there any wins or achievements you have celebrated this year while working with Xcelerate? 

Paying myself! Hiring new employees! 

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Is there anything else you'd like to share about your Xcelerate experience?

Thank you Xcelerate team for the work that you do! I'm very appreciative of everything that the team does because it gives me a lot of assurance that I have someone I can come ask for help! 

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Follow Sibeiho on Instagram: @sibeihosibeiho