The Venture Center in Little Rock has launched Arkansas’ first mentorship program dedicated specifically to Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) entrepreneurs, aiming to address a gap in the state’s business development landscape.

The program, dubbed AAPI Achieve, will complete its inaugural year next month and plans to launch its second cohort in September, according to Josh Nguyen, program manager at the Venture Center.

Based on the Venture Center’s VCWoman Achieve program, the program connects emerging AAPI entrepreneurs with experienced professionals for one-on-one mentorship.

Participants in AAPI Achieve receive personal support and guidance, access to a network of professionals and resources to accelerate their business ventures across the 12-month program.

The inaugural cohort paired 10 mentees with 10 mentors, for a total of 20 participants across the state. They represent eight different nationalities — Vietnamese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Indonesian, Laotian, Chinese and Malaysian.

As part of the program, the group meets regularly to cover topics like networking, financial advice, marketing, leadership and exit strategies. Mentors and mentees meet on their own times outside of the group setting.

“We’re sitting around learning about each other’s businesses, our cultural backgrounds, and then we’re picking relevant topics as a group to talk through it,” Nguyen said. “There is just a sense of community that brings a little more transparency to it.”

In addition to managing the program, Nguyen is also its co-founder. Mimi San Pedro, the Venture Center’s former chief strategy officer, now executive adviser, is the other co-founder.

Nguyen said he started the program because he wanted to create something he needed as he was beginning his professional career.

“Instead of waiting for someone to look up to in the AAPI community, why not become it?” Nguyen said. “I didn’t see people that looked like me as often as I wanted, as I should. But when you look around, there’s so many business owners, entrepreneurs and leaders who are of AAPI background.”

AAPI Achieve also brings in monthly speakers to address the cohort, all of whom are of AAPI descent.

Program mentors hold major roles at companies like Walmart, FR8relay, Polk Stanley Wilcox and even the city of Fayetteville, while the mentees have a range of entrepreneurial businesses.

Nguyen said mentees have anywhere from one to eight years of experience, but they’re all looking to grow their endeavors.

“We are AAPI. We’re also Arkansans. We’re also in the community. We’re impacting it, we’re hiring, we’re doing business, but there was never anything formally set before,” Nguyen said. “This is the first mentorship program for AAPI in Arkansas, so I’m happy that we have started this community and this program, but I’m also disappointed that it’s taken this long.”

Cultural Connections

According to the 2024 census, Arkansas residents of Asian descent make up 1.9% of the population, while Pacific Islanders make up 0.5% of the population.

Nguyen said there’s a lot of “big pockets” of Asian Americans throughout the state, so the program’s goal is to connect them and create a community that helps AAPI entrepreneurs grow their business, revenue and hiring.

“Though ethnically and culturally we are different, we’re so similar at the same time,” Nguyen said. “We are seeing these entrepreneurs who are in the C-suite, or are business leaders and community leaders pouring into other Asian American entrepreneurs, who are thriving.”

And even though the numbers are small, AAPI businesspeople have a big impact on the state’s economy. As of 2023, Asian households had the highest median household income among all ethnic groups in the state, at $90,288 per year.

“AAPI Achieve is essential because, as human beings, we naturally seek connections with those who share similarities with us or embody what we aspire to become,” said Yang Luo-Branch, president of the Arkansas Association of Asian Businesses, which has partnered with the Venture Center on AAPI Achieve.

“This program helps elevate growth-minded individuals within the AAPI community through mentorship, providing visibility to those who might otherwise go unnoticed,” Branch said. “Moreover, ‘achieve’ is at the heart of the program’s name. It is crucial to recognize the contributions of AAPI professionals and business leaders to Arkansas’ economy and to continue supporting their success.”

At its core, AAPI Achieve is a business development program, but the community and cultural aspects do play a large role, Nguyen said, especially when it comes to filling a representation gap.

Firsthand Experience

For mentees like Tanushree Dey, owner and CEO of BoardsByT of Little Rock, the program offered avenues for business growth that wouldn’t have been available otherwise. Dey is a caterer, as well as a charcuterie and graze table artist. (A graze table is a highly decorative, large spread of food often used at events so guests can eat while socializing.)

Dey, who celebrated her business’s one-year anniversary in January, credits the program with helping her expand into catering and securing several wedding contracts.

“Now, when I meet people, they already know about my business. They wouldn’t probably know how to pronounce my name, but they know BoardsByT,” Dey said. “They have really pushed my business out there and been there for support.”

Dey’s mentor is Peter Nguyen, the owner and CEO of Healthy Chew, a meal preparation service based in Little Rock. He’s been in business for nearly a decade, and employs around 32 people.

For mentors like him, Peter Nguyen said the program offers a chance to give back while also addressing practical business concerns. He said he’s been able to help Dey as his mentee, while also finding connections for his own business.

“It has benefited me probably the most by just giving back,” Peter Nguyen said. “I’m there for [Dey] and whoever they assign me in the future. I share all my mistakes.”

Dey said the mentor-mentee relationship has been helpful, as Peter Nguyen is “approachable,” fun and has helped her with taxes, marketing, finding clients and other challenges and opportunities.

Both the mentor and mentee also said the program helps break down stereotypes.

“To spread awareness of what we actually do, and a little bit about our heritage is always very important,” Peter Nguyen said. “We’ve come a long way, but there’s still problems here like xenophobia, people stereotyping AAPIs. We’re making a small difference, but it’s a difference no matter what.”

Dey emphasized that the AAPI community contributes significantly to the state’s economy and culture.

“We have contributed a lot to the community, to the state,” she said. “To bring a cultural aspect to your business, introduce the community to something unique, something different in terms of where we come from, that helps not just us, but society, to grow and experience something new.”

As the inaugural cohort prepares to graduate, Josh Nguyen is already planning for the program’s future. He said the format will evolve, moving to a more dynamic group mentorship model rather than strictly one-on-one pairings.

The program will also incorporate quarterly “open houses” to build broader connections, not just for entrepreneurs but for anyone in the AAPI community. “We don’t want it to be exclusive to the cohorts,” he said. The program will also be integrating more virtual meetings to better incorporate the whole state.

“It’s taken this long for something to be built, but we’re currently building it, and I couldn’t be happier of this first cohort and what we’ve seen, what we’ve done, and what we will continue to do,” Josh Nguyen said.