Ep. 231 - [Pantry Podcasts] How Competitive Fencing Applies to Selling Asian Food with Nona Lim, Founder of Nona Lim

This episode was recorded when I was still living in the Bay Area! This was planned to be another podcast but things fall through. I always had this episode in the back of my mind one, because Nona Lim is just a really cool person, but also her story showcases the tenacity and perseverance of an entrepreneur.

We do this outside in Marin County I would say around August 2019, wow, such a different time where you can go outside, and talk to people with a cough, which Nona Lim has in this interview. I remember it was such a beautiful day by the sea. Nona was around the area after speaking with a mutual friend so I brought my gear, planted it in the middle of the plaza, and recorded. So a disclaimer, this has some background noise.

This is a short episode because we’ll be having a Podcast Showcase later in the week. Tuesday or Wednesday. This will be the After Animals podcast hosted by Ulara Nakagawa and Sharyna Krishna Prasad. I let Ulara borrow my equipment during the Cultured Meat Symposium to talk to an eccentric Japanese cell-based meat scientist.

This is a short episode, so after about 20ish minutes, after the episode, I’ll give you an update on my life and an update on the future of My Food Job Rocks. Enjoy the episode.

Show Notes

Robyn Rutledge Why did you name your company Nona Lim?: Easy to pronounce, and gets to the point LaraBar was a last-minute name Lara Bar sells to General Mills I started in Singapore, did consulting in London, and move to the Bay Area I started a meal kit business but it wasn’t the right timing Then a detox online business How does Fencing help you with business?: The hustle and the stress honestly. You’re worried about your competition but you have to shut it all out. Competition makes you go into winning. For Business, you might not want to set high goals. Risks and comfortability: Accept the fact that it may not be successful and all you have to do is to enjoy the journey. You should want to do it, but it might fail. In 2019, there’s a lot of money (some still argue that there still is) raising money, unfortunately, has an expectation How did you start Nona Lim?: After the detox/ meal kit program, I thought of what food I enjoyed? Noodles. Whole Foods was interested so I created rice noodles and bone broth before bone broth got big I since learned to pace the innovation because some people can’t understand it If you have a  bunch of resources, then you can invest in earlier projects but without money, it might be better to catch tailwind Dave Chang Is it hard to get funding?: It’s mainly timing but it’s always hard Serial founders have it easy to get money What is the best way to grow a food company?: Depends on what you want in life. Some people want to grow it quickly, or a lifestyle business, or even serving the next generation Some categories are faster than others What’s next for Nona Lim?: We pride ourselves on being at the forefront of innovation. We tend to be the thought leaders in Asian food, especially in the fresh area Any advice in starting a food business?: Don’t. Just kidding. Think product. Multiply three to four time the funding and timing What would be your first hire?: It should complement your skillset. If you are good at technical, do a first hire in sales Contact me at Nona@nonalim.com

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