Vivian Kong Doctora ’96 takes entrepreneurship to new levels on Redbird Buzz
Vivian Kong Doctora ’96 is no stranger to risk taking. In 2021, she ended a 21-year career in insurance to start her own food business, Bao Destination, and her entrepreneurial endeavors have only expanded from there. In addition to Bao Destination, Kong Doctora is also a partner of Kobe Revolving Sushi Bar, a real estate agent, a cooking class instructor, and children’s book author.
In this episode of Redbird Buzz, Kong Doctora shares the story of how her childhood in Hong Kong and time as a student at Illinois State University with her late sister Eleanor Kong ’97 helped put her on the path to opening and running her own businesses. Kong Doctora shares how her experience as an entrepreneur inspired her to start the Young Entrepreneur Market, a local program for children ages 5-17 to showcase their own businesses and sell their products. Kong Doctora is also featured in this spring’s edition of State magazine.
Redbird Buzz is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music. Transcripts of each episode are available online at Alumni.IllinoisState.edu/Podcast.
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