Voxcali

Lee Il-joo and Kim Dae-young left a beauty giant and built their own billion-dollar company.

This beauty conglomerate recently hit unicorn status, with a valuation nearing $1 billion. It’s called BENOW and some of their most popular brands are dominating the global skincare market.

BENOW was founded in 2018 by Lee Il-joo and Kim Dae-young. Both attended Seoul National University and were former employees at Amorepacific, one of Korea’s most well known beauty companies. They were insiders who understood the industry and saw its limitations, so instead of climbing the corporate ladder, they decided to build something of their own.

Il-joo and Dae-young’s goal was to give consumers products that were easy to understand, but also results driven, leading them to launch Numbuzin, a brand that simplified skincare by numbering their products. Numbuzin became a hit with its numbered cosmetics system, releasing products like Number 3 Serum and Number 9 Face Masks, each targeting specific skin concerns.

BENOW was making skincare easier and so Il-joo and Dae-young wanted to expand further. They were able to launch more brands like fwee makeup and RIAH haircare which have both made waves across social media platforms, allowing BENOW to reach a more global audience.

And that is exactly what is making BENOW stand out amongst other beauty companies. Their demand is international with over 70% of their revenue coming from overseas markets, including the U.S. and Japan. For a company that hasn’t even been around for 10 years, this stat is impressive.

BENOW has shown extreme growth as they went from earning ₩6.6 billion in revenue in 2020 to over ₩266 billion by 2024. Today, the company is entering the next stage. In 2025 BENOW officially achieved unicorn status with a valuation of over ₩1 trillion, or roughly $1 billion, just seven years after its founding. BENOW is also preparing for a potential IPO, marking a transition from startup to global powerhouse.

Lee Il-joo and Kim Dae-young built a complete brand portfolio that was designed for global consumers. In an industry dominated by legacy giants, BENOW is representing an international, more intuitive beauty conglomerate and with its new unicorn company title, it is no longer just part of the K-beauty wave. It’s helping lead it.

By solving the hardware bottlenecks that plague extract companies, Alex Kwon’s Active has become foundational infrastructure for the modern vape industry.

As the CEO of Active, 41-year-old entrepreneur Alex Kwon leads a $100 million vaporizer business that has become the foundational hardware manufacturer for the global cannabis industry.

Formerly known as Advanced Vapor Devices, the company was initially conceived in 2018 as a side project to support Sungrown – a Washington-based extract brand Kwon founded in 2015 after purchasing and scaling a distressed property.  However, the hardware quickly became the main event, after a vape cartridge produced $1.6 million in revenue in just six weeks.  By controlling the supply chain, this also solved a hardware bottleneck that often plague extract companies.

Kwon’s journey into the Green Rush began in 2009, preceding the wave of modern legalization – seven years before California legalized recreational use and five years before Washington had established its retail landscape.  His early ventures were rooted in infrastructure founding Humboldt Consulting Group to develop land, build greenhouses, and install irrigation systems.  Kwon used the success of this company to buy out a struggling cannabis grower in Washington, which he quickly scaled.

Originally from the greater Chicago area, Kwon’s path to the West Coast was unconventional.  He dropped out of the University of Illinois Chicago while studying computer science and moved to California to help a friend “clear land” – unbeknownst to him it would be for the purpose of growing marijuana.

Today, with Active having established a dominant presence in North America, Kwon is focused on the next phase of growth: a full-scale expansion into the European market.  He’s started this by taking a $3 million majority stake in Denmark-based processor Valcon.  Active now currently controls an estimated 20% of the vape hardware market.

A neurosurgeon's love song.

VERSE 1

I've held a living brain inside my hands,

Mapped every sulcus, traced the gyrus where thought stands.

I know the cortex like a city I designed —

But I cannot find the region where you live in mine.

PRE-CHORUS

The dopamine spikes when you walk through the door,

My anterior cingulate's never ached like this before.

CHORUS

You've crossed the blood-brain barrier I built so tall,

Lit up my limbic system, nucleus and all.

I've resected what was killing me for years —

But I don't have the tools to operate on this.

You are the lesion I would never, ever miss.

VERSE 2

I speak in millimeters, margins, and approach —

I plan each move so loss stays just beyond my reach.

But when you smiled across the scrub sink yesterday,

I nicked an artery — and had to look away.

BRIDGE

The amygdala fires — I know what that means —

Fear and desire dressed in the same chemical dreams.

I've read every atlas, every page, every chart,

But nowhere in neuroscience does it map out a heart.

So I'm standing here, gloves off, for the very first time,

Diagnosing something I can't treat — and it's fine.

OUTRO

I have steady hands that never shake under the lights,

I have held the weight of lives through a thousand long nights.

But I'm trembling now — and I think that you know —

Some things are beyond the surgeon's control.

And I'm glad.

Operative note: Patient presented with acute onset of feelings, etiology unknown. Imaging unremarkable. No surgical intervention planned. Prognosis: hopeful. Attending surgeon recused — conflict of interest confirmed.

The Vietnamese who fled Saigon and sought to rebuild their lives on the Gulf Coast were met with hostility and organized violence, forcing them into a historic civil rights battle.

After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Vietnamese refugees escaped and immigrated to the United States. Many of them were fishermen who resettled near the Gulf Coast in places like Texas and New Orleans because they noticed familiar opportunities that could help rebuild the lives they lost.

Unfortunately, those opportunities were quickly met with hostility, especially amongst local white fishermen. Vietnamese refugees arrived in America with a language barrier, but brought deep knowledge of fishing and shrimping. They worked much longer hours than other fishermen, they pooled family labor and operated with lower overhead. This would allow them to compete in the seafood industry, especially during the 1970s’ economic crisis, but to the local fishermen, the Vietnamese were only seen as a threat.

Tensions escalated and Vietnamese fishermen began to be harassed at the docks, denied access to supplies, and even physically attacked. There were many cases of locals cutting up their nets and burning their boats in order to drive them out of business. In places like Seadrift, Texas, these conflicts turned deadly as the shooting of a Vietnamese fisherman in 1979 sparked fear across the entire community.

In the 80s, the Klu Klux Klan got involved. KKK members aligned with the white fishermen and began organizing rallies along the coast in which they burned down Vietnamese homes and held military-style training sessions with the goal of intimidating the Vietnamese community out of the industry. Instead of responding back with more violence, the Vietnamese fisherman filed a landmark federal case which argued that the Klan’s actions constituted organized intimidation.

The historic case, Vietnamese Fishermen’s Association v. Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, came with a historic outcome as the judge ruled in favor of the Vietnamese community and issued a court order that prohibited the Klan from engaging in threats, harassment, and more. This also led to the court dismantling the KKK’s armed operations in the area, making it one of the first times a civil court successfully shut down a white supremacist group’s actions.

Even though the case was won, Vietnamese fishermen still faced systemic barriers such as restrictive licensing laws and discrimination in seafood markets, but despite everything, they endured.

Today, Vietnamese Americans make up a large portion of the Gulf Coast’s shrimping industry. As of 2025, Vietnamese Americans are the largest Asian subgroup in the state of Louisiana with communities like New Orleans East serving as a cultural and economic hub, proving this fisherman’s tale is not just about conflict, but rather overcoming discrimination to build long lasting communities.

Before stepping into the Netflix spotlight as an actor, the Japanese American built his career as one of Hollywood’s most in-demand choreographers and creative directors.

Before making headlines with his appearance on a hit Netflix series, Bryan Tanaka was already one of Hollywood’s most in-demand figures.

He was born in 1983 in Washington to a Japanese father and American mother. He began his professional dance career during the mid-2000s and got his big break at just 21 years old when he received the opportunity to perform on tour with Destiny’s Child. This exposure allowed him to score appearances in other major artists’ music videos such as Nelly Furtado’s “Maneater”.

From there, Tanaka became the industry’s go-to dancer as he went on to work with stars like Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Jennifer Lopez. Most notably, he stepped in as a creative mind for Mariah Carey’s The Adventures of Mimi’ Tour in 2006, marking a long standing professional relationship with the singer.

He performed on music’s biggest stages and was even nominated for the Best Choreography award at the 2010 Video Music Awards for his work on Beyoncé’s “Video Phone”. Along with being Hollywood’s most popular choreographer, Tanaka worked as an actor and model who was featured in campaigns with Nike, Pepsi, and McDonald’s.

In the mid-2010s, Tanaka’s face became even more familiar as his professional relationship with Mariah Carey turned into a romantic one. The two began dating in 2016, but later split after being together for seven years.

More recently, Bryan Tanaka has stepped into a new chapter in his acting career with a recurring role in Tyler Perry’s Netflix series Beauty in Black. The show broke the platform’s streaming charts after receiving over 1.35 billion minutes viewed during its peak week at number 1 in Top Shows. In the series, Tanaka plays Officer Alex, a Chicago cop who gets caught up in the Bellaire family’s chaotic and often illegal dealings.

Over the years Tanaka has proven his versatility. As he continues to take on acting roles, it is clear that he has more talent to showcase beyond dance and choreography. From live stages to scripted television, Bryan Tanaka has shown himself to be a triple-threat talent as he navigates Hollywood on his own terms.

This classic folk tale of a powerful white snake spirit who falls in love with a kind young man—as told by a grandmother to her young grandchild—offers a glimpse into the traditional Chinese fascination with how supernatural entities infuse magic into human life.

Alright, sweetheart, pull the blanket up to your chin and close your eyes for a moment. I’ll tell you a very old story from China—so old that people were telling it hundreds of years before your great-great-great grandparents were even born.

It’s called The Legend of the White Snake.

Now listen closely.

Long, long ago, near the beautiful West Lake, there lived a spirit who had spent hundreds of years learning about the world. She wasn’t a ghost or a monster, not really. She was a white snake spirit who had grown wise and gentle over many centuries.

Her name was Bai Suzhen.

You see, in old stories, some animals who lived long enough could learn magic and turn themselves into people. Bai Suzhen had practiced for a very long time, and at last she was able to transform herself into a lovely young woman with kind eyes and a soft smile.

But even though she had magic, she felt a little lonely.

So one spring day she decided to walk among humans and see what their lives were like.

Now spring near West Lake is a magical time. The willow trees sway in the breeze, peach blossoms fall like pink snow, and the lake shines like a silver mirror.

It was there, on a rainy afternoon, that Bai Suzhen met a young man named Xu Xian.

Oh, he was a gentle fellow—polite, a bit shy, and very kind-hearted. He worked as a medicine seller and always tried to help people who were sick.

Xu Xian noticed Bai Suzhen standing under a bridge in the rain with her friend, the lively Green Snake, who was another spirit traveling with her.

Being a good young man, Xu Xian offered them his umbrella.

And sometimes, my dear, the smallest kindness can change the course of a whole life.

Bai Suzhen looked at Xu Xian and felt something warm in her heart—something she had never felt before in all her hundreds of years.

Before long the two of them fell deeply in love.

They married and opened a small medicine shop together. Bai Suzhen used her magical knowledge of herbs to help Xu Xian heal the sick. People from all around came to their shop, and everyone said the young couple were the kindest people in the town.

For a while, life was peaceful and happy.

But not everyone trusted spirits living among humans.

There was a stern monk named Fahai who believed spirits and humans should never mix. When he discovered that Bai Suzhen was actually a snake spirit, he decided he must separate her from Xu Xian.

One day he tricked Xu Xian into drinking a special wine that would reveal spirits’ true forms.

When Bai Suzhen saw that Xu Xian had drunk the wine, she knew her magic disguise would fail.

And sure enough—before she could stop it—her body returned to its true shape.

Instead of the beautiful woman he loved, Xu Xian suddenly saw a great white snake.

The poor fellow was so frightened that he fainted on the spot.

Bai Suzhen was heartbroken. She had never meant to frighten him. She loved him more than anything.

So she set off on a long and dangerous journey to find a magical herb that could restore Xu Xian’s life and calm his spirit.

Through storms and mountains she traveled, until at last she found the herb and brought Xu Xian back to health.

But the monk Fahai would not give up.

He confronted Bai Suzhen and used powerful magic to capture her. After a terrible battle of spells and crashing waves, he trapped her beneath Leifeng Pagoda, a tall tower beside West Lake.

Xu Xian was devastated.

And Bai Suzhen’s loyal friend, the Green Snake, swore she would one day grow strong enough to return and free her.

Some versions of the story say that years later, Bai Suzhen’s son grew up to be a great scholar. With love, courage, and a little help from Green Snake, he finally broke the magic that held his mother beneath the pagoda.

And at last, after many years apart, Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian were reunited.

Now, sweetheart, people tell this story for many reasons.

Some say it reminds us that love can cross even the biggest differences.

Some say it teaches us not to judge someone just because they’re different from us.

And some say it simply shows that even magical spirits sometimes wish for the same things we do—a home, kindness, and someone to share life with.

So now you rest your head on the pillow, and maybe when you dream tonight, you’ll see West Lake shining in the moonlight, willow trees swaying in the breeze…

and somewhere out there, a kind white snake spirit still walking quietly among the blossoms. 🌙

A potential championship clash between the Spurs and the Celtics could yield massive betting upside and a historic family milestone.

With the NBA Playoffs tipping off the oddsmakers have made their choice clear: the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder are the team to beat.  Spearheaded by reigning MVP and this year’s frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the squad is primed to repeat with the betting line set at +135.  To an already stacked roster GM Sam Presti made a move at the trade deadline to acquire Jared McCain who had struggled in his return from injury.  Since the Filipino American joined the team, he’s been a key role player averaging 10.8 points per game and shooting an effective 41% from the three.

But Oklahoma City isn’t the only young powerhouse making noise – their budding rivals in San Antonio are right on their heels.  Sitting at +550 the Spurs have been centered around the 7’4” center Victor Wembanyama.  Wemby has come into his own and been complimented by teammates including rookie combo guard Dylan Harper.  This past month Harper averaged 13 points and 4 assists per game while shooting an impressive 59%.

Family bragging rights might even be on the line in a potential Finals matchup – Dylan’s brother, Ron Harper Jr., suits up for the Boston Celtics.  A Finals matchup between the two would be a historic milestone, making the brothers of Filipino descent the very first siblings to square off for a championship.  Predicting the matchup would yield higher upside at +980.  The powerhouse Celtics themselves sit as the third favorites to take home the Larry O’Brien trophy at +600.

Asian chefs are changing the fine dining scene by snagging Michelin stars while blending cultural storytelling and Asian cuisine at the highest level.

Some of the world’s most influential Asian Michelin-starred restaurants reside on America’s East Coast and each one is bringing culture and technique to the forefront.

Starting off with Red Paper Clip, founded by chef Kevin Chen in 2019. Chen is a New York native with Taiwanese roots and his craft specializes in a blend of fine dining techniques and personal storytelling. His journey began working out of his family’s bakery in Queens and now Red Paper Clip is home to one of the best tasting menus in the city having earned a one-Michelin star three years in a row.

Next is Semma, a one Michelin star South Indian restaurant led by chef Vijay Kumar. He has designed Semma’s menu to reflect his upbringing in Tamil Nadu, featuring flavorful home-style dishes, which are rarely seen in Western fine dining. Semma opened in 2021 and is the first Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in New York, earning recognition for its bold authenticity.

Then we have Jeju Noodle Bar in New York City’s West Village, created by chef Douglas Kim in 2017. Jeju Noodle Bar has earned one-Michelin star for the past five years, making history as the very first Michelin-starred noodle bar in the United States. Kim draws inspiration from Korean comfort food, proving something as casual as ramyun can be placed in the fine dining atmosphere.

For a more intimate experience, visit Hirohisa and chef Hirohisa Hayashi. Since 2013, Hirohisa has been known for its perfected omakase and kaiseki dining. Chef Hayashi’s approach is rooted in centuries-old Japanese culinary philosophy. The restaurant has earned multiple one-Michelin stars due to its commitment to traditional techniques at a fine dining level.

Finally, there’s Atomix, a two-starred Michelin restaurant founded in 2018. The restaurant is run by chef Junghyun Park and his wife Ellia and together they have reinvented modern Korean cuisine with a top tier 10-course menu. Atomix has earned global recognition from the 50 Best group as North America’s No. 1 restaurant in 2025, highlighting Korean fine dining on an international stage.

From scene-stealing roles to award-winning stand-up specials, the Malaysian American comic continues his meteoric show-biz rise.

Ronny Chieng has become Hollywood’s go-to comedic talent whose credits across stand-up, film, and television now include some of the industry’s biggest franchises.

Currently, Chieng is balancing his role as a senior correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with a high-profile co-headlining tour alongside Hasan Minhaj.  Titled Hasan Hates Ronny | Ronny Hates Hasan, the 2025–2026 “debate to the death” tour features the two comics on stage simultaneously airing grievances. 

This follows the success of his third Netflix special, Love to Hate It, which was released in 2024 and named the New York Times Comedy Special of the Year.  He previously released two other specials – 2019’s Asian Comedian Destroys America! and 2022’s Speakeasy.

Chieng was cast in Hulu’s 2025 revival of the longstanding franchise King of the Hill as the voice of the Laotian neighbor Kahn.  The move was part of the producers’ commitment to authentic casting, replacing white actor Toby Huss – who inherited the role of Dale.

In 2024 he starred all 10 episodes of the drama series Interior Chinatown and had a voice role in the DreamWorks hit Kung Fu Panda 4.  

He previously added to his film credits with supporting roles in 2023’s Joy Ride, 2022’s viral horror-comedy M3GAN, and 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which grossed $432 million.

These followed his 2018 breakthrough into the American mainstream as the status-obsessed Eddie Cheng in the blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians.

Before his success in the US, Chieng built his foundation in Australia.  He first began performing stand-up while studying in Melbourne and gained regional fame before moving to New York City in 2015 to join The Daily Show.  

The Malaysian-born star had a multicultural upbringing raised between New Hampshire and Singapore.  Before pivoting to comedy full-time, he solidified his legal credentials with a 2010 bachelor of laws and a 2012 master’s degree from Australian institutions.  In April 2025, Chieng officially completed the process of obtaining American citizenship.

The Chinese American journalist has criss-crossed the world covering harsh global realities and uncovering stories overlooked by others.

Lisa Ling has become one of the most respected journalists in the United States by building a career covering the stories other people were too afraid to tell.

She was born in Sacramento to Chinese and Taiwanese immigrants and was primarily raised by her father after her parent’s divorce. Living in a single parent household with a younger sister forced her to become independent early and like other Asian American kids, she felt like didn’t fully belong in her community. This feeling is what would later become her greatest strength.

When Ling was 16, she began gaining experience hosting a teen news program and by the time she was 18, she already had a gig secured at Channel One News as one of their youngest reporters. Among her roles here, she was assigned to report from warzones in Iraq and Afghanistan and even won several awards for her journalism skills.

In 1999, Ling beat out 12,000 other auditionees looking to score the role as co-host on The View and while the platform largely increased her fanbase, she decided it wasn’t enough after nearly four years. She went back to what she did best, international reporting. In 2005, Ling accepted an offer with National Geographic. During her time here, she covered the drug war in Colombia, investigated the MS-13 gang, documented prison culture in the U.S, and traveled to North Korea for a special “Inside North Korea” documentary.

Lisa Ling later became a correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show where she uncovered global tragedies such as bride burning in India and child trafficking in Ghana. Despite all of the horrific stories Ling covered, one of the scariest moments in her life didn’t happen on air. In 2009, her younger sister and fellow journalist, Laura Ling, was captured by North Korean soldiers while reporting near the China-North Korea border. Laura Ling and her colleague were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor and from there, Lisa Ling went from talking about global crises to experiencing one herself.

For months, Lisa Ling worked behind the scenes, doing everything she could to bring her sister home. The story became international and drew attention to the dangers that journalists face in the field. Laura Ling was finally released after 140 days after a high-profile mission led by former President Bill Clinton. This experience fully changed Lisa’s life giving her a much deeper understanding of the human cost behind the stories she had covered throughout her career.

More recently in 2019 Lisa announced a partnership with HBO Max where she is currently working on a series titled Birth, Wedding, Funeral. In 2022 she and HBO released a six-part documentary called Take Out, which explores the world of Asian America’s takeout restaurants and spotlights those who keep them running.

Today Lisa Ling is still considered one of the most impressive and respected voices in journalism, not because she reported alarming global tragedies, but because she made the world care about them and fully understand the realities.