Wendy Lieu

Chocolatier Wendy Lieu speaks with guest host Susan Lieu, her sister, about her journey to create her business, Socola Chocolates. ABOUT THE GUEST Wendy Lieu is the CEO and Chief Chocolatier of Socola Chocolatier, an award-winning chocolate company in San Francisco. Born in a Malaysian refugee camp, Wendy embodies the grit and optimism of the American Dream. A self-taught chocolatier, Wendy has been working with chocolate for over 20 years. At 19 years old, she and her sister launched Socola at a farmer’s market in Santa Rosa, California. After graduating college, Wendy became a management consultant but never forgot her love of sweets. After 8 years in the corporate world, she stopped moonlighting and finally took the plunge. Sôcôla, which means “chocolate” in Vietnamese, creates inventive flavors reflective of the diverse flavors of Vietnam, including their iconic Little Saigon Box. Socola’s clients include Ferrari, Cartier, Sephora, YouTube and American Express. Socola has been featured in Forbes, Zagat, HuffPost, NBC Asian America, The San Francisco Chronicle, KTVU, KPIX, KGO, KPFA, and ABC7 Localish. Learn more at: Socola.   Lieu is the recipient of the NAWBO Aspire Award, PAAWBAC Monarch Leadership Award, Renaissance Entrepreneur of the Year, and CAAM Rising Star. She is a UC Davis, Tante Marie Pastry School, Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center alum, and former East Cut Community Benefit District Board Member. This episode is sponsored by AppLovin. AppLovin’s leading marketing platform provides developers a powerful set of solutions to grow their mobile apps. AppLovin’s technology platform enables developers to market, monetize, analyze and publish their apps. The company’s first-party content includes over 200+ popular, engaging apps and its technology brings that content to millions of users around the world. AppLovin is headquartered in Palo Alto, California with several offices globally. Learn more at ⁠⁠applovin.com⁠⁠.