Many successful people reinvented themselves in a later period in their lives. Jeff Bezos worked on Wall Street before he reinvented himself and started Amazon. Sara Blakely sold office supplies before she started Spanx. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was a WWE wrestler before he became a successful actor and filmmaker. Arnold Schwarzenegger went from a bodybuilder, to an actor to a Governor. McDonald's founder Ray Kroc was a milkshake-device salesman before starting the McDonalds franchise in his 50s.
How does one reinvent themselves? What hurdles have to be overcome to take life in a new direction? How do you overcome those challenges? How do you ignore the naysayers? How do you push through the paralyzing fear?
In this series called "Second Chapters; How I Reinvented Myself In The Second Chapter Of My Life " we are interviewing successful people who reinvented themselves in a second chapter in life, to share their story and help empower others.
As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jimmy Sun.
Jimmy Sun is the founder of Gleem, an uplifting energy drink featuring Asian-inspired flavors. Jimmy’s entrepreneurial journey started in his teenage years, when he launched an e-comm store selling trading cards, and proceeded to build it into a 7-figure business in his first year. He’s since traded collectible cards for the beverage business, launching Gleem in 2024 to bring a new cultural lens to the energy drink aisle.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, my childhood was definitely interesting. At an early age, I would watch and listen to my parents go over complex business issues. Whether it was how to attract more customers or solve our supplier bottlenecks, my parents asked for my takes on business starting from a very young age. Thanks to their wanting me to be involved with the business, the seeds of starting my own business were planted in childhood.
Can you please give us your favorite "Life Lesson Quote"? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
A quote that I continue to go back to comes from my dad. I remember wanting to succeed in everything, which naturally led to self-doubt and disappointment. I distinctly remember a basketball game that I was dead set on winning, but lost in. After the game, I felt like a failure, but my father was thrilled. I remember him saying, “Why are you so mad at yourself? I saw that you gave it your all and that’s all that matters.” That passing moment has stayed with me, and that quote has become a fundamental part of my life. What’s most important is that I give it my all, regardless of outcome. This perspective has helped me overcome a lot of the self doubt that comes with building a business.
You have been blessed with much success. In your opinion, what are the top three qualities that you possess that have helped you accomplish so much? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
I’d say the top three qualities that help me run a successful business are: empathy, team work, and grit. Empathy is important to me because it’s often hard to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and really understand their perspective. However, you can only go so far by yourself, and with the right team, you’re unstoppable. Lastly, grit is a trait that my parents have always embodied. Watching them risk everything as first-generation immigrants and never give up is truly inspiring.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about ‘Second Chapters’. Can you tell our readers about your career experience before your Second Chapter?
My first real business experience traces back to age 17, selling Pokemon cards. It was during the pandemic, and I was entertaining myself by collecting trading cards. I soon realized that there was a shortage in most retail stores and resellers were often price gouging. So, I decided to start my own online Pokemon card business. There were a lot of struggles at first but with just a little learning and perseverance, I found myself recruiting my friends to pack hundreds of orders until midnight on a school day. Within the year, I grew this to a 7-figure business.
And how did you “reinvent yourself” in your Second Chapter?
After running the trading card business, I found myself craving for something more. I wanted to create something of my own. So, I decided to embark on a journey to create my own beverage brand. During this second chapter, I was able to take both the rewarding and the painful business lessons I learned during my first venture and successfully launch Gleem.
Can you tell us about the specific trigger that made you decide that you were going to “take the plunge” and make your huge transition?
I was at the grocery looking to pick out an energy drink one day when it dawned on me that there wasn’t a single option featuring the Asian fruits I loved growing up. And, as I became more conscious about drink ingredients, I noticed that there wasn’t a happy medium in caffeine content. It’s either sky high or low-caffeine. This sparked my interest, and I decided to take the plunge to start my own energy drink brand.
What did you do to discover that you had a new skillset inside of you that you haven't been maximizing? How did you find that and how did you ultimately overcome the barriers to help manifest those powers?
While building Gleem I realized that I’ve become comfortable identifying the right people for the right jobs. In my previous business, I was doing nearly everything myself, and rarely delegated tasks.
How are things going with this new initiative? We would love to hear some specific examples or stories.
Gleem has been such an amazing experience so far. There were many struggles getting to this point, but getting the product into customer hands has made it all worth it. For our first production run, the MOQ translated to a significant, personal financial commitment from my end. However, after our first successful production run, we were able to quickly get product moving, and are now finding ourselves in need of another manufacturing sprint after just a few months of launching.
Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My parents have been and continue to be my north star. They are endlessly supportive, and motivate me to keep on keeping on.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started in this new direction?
I uprooted from Tennessee to California to start this new venture. I never expected to move to California, but I felt it’s the right backdrop to build an Asian-inspired energy drink company. Starting this company has made California a part of my story.
Did you ever struggle with believing in yourself? If so, how did you overcome that limiting belief about yourself? Can you share a story or example?
Yes, self-doubt has always been a struggle for me. I realized that living a life of regret and missing out on opportunities because I doubted myself was too big a sacrifice. I would rather do the hard thing of overcoming my self-doubt than to live a life of limited experience.
In my own work I usually encourage my clients to ask for support before they embark on something new. How did you create your support system before you moved to your new chapter?
After moving to a state where I knew no one, it helped me realize that a support system was crucial to my mental health. At first it was lonely, but my community back in Tennessee checked in on me often. After a few months of having their support, albeit digitally, I have grown my relationships in California as well.
Starting a new chapter usually means getting out of your comfort zone, how did you do that? Can you share a story or example of that?
In order to start a new chapter, you need to grow. And to grow, you have to get out of your comfort zone. I knew that in order to start Gleem, I had to wipe the slate clean, remove all business baggage, and start from square one.
What are your "5 things I wish someone told me before I started" and why? Please share a story or example for each.
1. Very high startup cost. I realized after our first production run that we had to have cash, ready to deploy, upfront.
2 . Lots of fundraising. This ties into the expensive business of operating a beverage company. Fundraising is a regular part of my day to day as a founder.
3 . Branding is key. Before arriving at the branding we have now, I realized it was crucial to make our customers feel something when they see our product.
4 . Gaining Distribution. I never realized how hard it would be to gain shelf space within the beverage industry. Every day, another beverage brand is trying to get grocery placement, so it is essential to maintain healthy distribution channels.
5 . Community. Starting a business can be lonely. However, I have found people who share in my experience, and other AAPI founders, who are eager to support each out along the way. Being a founder doesn’t have to be a journey to take alone.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I would love to inspire a movement where people get familiarized with Asian-Inspired flavors through Gleem, and are inspired to try the fresh fruit. My goal with Gleem is to bridge the cultural gap within the energy drink market.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them. :-)
I would be thrilled to share a meal with Jeremy Lin. As a lifelong basketball fan, I’ve always been inspired by Jeremy—not only for his talent on the court, but for the pride he’s brought to the Asian American community. Growing up, he helped me embrace my heritage. I believe his insights on life, resilience, and business would be invaluable. He embodies a unique blend of wisdom and humility, and I know he’d be an amazing human to chat with.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Join me on Gleem’s journey on Instagram and snag some uplifting energy of your own through our site.
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
