Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathy Ly.
Hi Kathy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
As a second-generation immigrant, I grew up in an assimilating household. I watched my parents work tirelessly to make a living and adapt to cultural norms after immigrating from Vietnam.
After going to school and working a few years in corporate finance, I decided to forge my own path and pursue my dreams of entrepreneurship. My goal was to combine my love of donuts with art to create a meaningful experience that everyone can relate to which led me to build Donut Life Museum.
After a few months of planning, this idea became reality with the help of two good friends who are now my business partners, Brian Ross and Alix Luu. Both are CSUF Alumini’s as well. Together, Donut Life Museum was born and it was made to “Make Life Sweet Again!” and provide guests with the sweetest interactive experience ever.
Donut Life Museum is an immersive, interactive pop-up experience where we have partnered with local artists to create donut-themed rooms for our guests to take Instagram-worthy photos and make sweet memories. Donuts reminded me of the circle of life, so I took some of life’s most significant moments and told them through a creative world of donuts.
2 years after Donut Life Museum, I decided to expand my love for experiential businesses by becoming a serial entrepreneur. I am now co-owner of Selfie Wrld Las Vegas, which is a do-it-yourself photography experience and we have over 23+ rooms with new themes monthly. This experience is located at the Las Vegas Town Center which is about 2 miles from the strip. I am also a co-owner of an escape room in Irvine, CA called No.1 Escapes and we have 2 immersive escape room games called Revolution and Jester’s Revenge. Both games are non-scary and interactive so they are great for large groups, corporate team building, date nights, or just a unique activity to do with your family/friends.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
As ironic as it may sound, this journey to opening our donut museum has been anything but sweet. It was one of the hardest projects I have ever worked on in my life, and I encountered tons of obstacles, countless location moves, and coordinated with many difficult people in order to bring this to life.
With starting a business, there is a never smooth road but it is the struggles that create learning experiences then eventually translate into knowledge. I don’t even know where to begin about our struggles, my team and I encountered people who tried to scam us for money, landlord/city permit issues, delays with opening dates, contract issues with our vendors, social media handles getting stolen, and even friends who tried to steal the idea or create spin-offs to the museum in another form. The list just goes on and is all the growing pains of starting a business.
At one point, this project was so difficult that everyone was telling me to cut my losses and quit, and for a second I almost believed it was the only solution. However, I knew in my heart I was creating something great that I wanted to share with the world, and still believed in the concept. Therefore, I continued work on new strategies, and with perseverance, faith, hard work, tweaks in the concept, and a new location, we were able to slowly expand to more businesses.
Opening this experience during a pandemic was challenging as we were forced to close the business intermittently. I pivoted our business model to private bookings and expanded our retail presence. When we reopened, I partnered up with local businesses to bring back safe, socially distanced events and opened the space as a unique place for content creators. Located inside a traditional mall, we are bringing life back to the center by attracting thousands of guests as we provide safe entertainment in creative ways.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Donut Life Museum is an immersive, interactive pop-up experience where we combine donuts with art to create one-of-a-kind moments for all our guests. We have brought local artists together to create donut-themed rooms for our guests to take Instagram-worthy photos and awesome selfies and make sweet memories in this sugar wonderland.
When I first started this passion project, donuts meant so much more to me than being this delicious sweet treat. This idea also came into my mind after my dad passed away when I was reminded of how short life is and to start chasing after my dreams of entrepreneurship. So why a donut? My goal was to create an interactive experience that everyone can relate to yet also be inspirational so I thought, what if I did allude to the donut’s round shape to the circle of life but used the word “donut” as puns to help tell that story and create different immersive art installations that highlight significant moments of life all through the world of donuts.
Guests can enter an exhibit that illustrates some of life’s most significant moments told through the creative world of donuts and embark on an exciting journey through life. We encourage our guests to be a part of the art and get motivated through donut puns and art installations while leaving the museum feeling inspired to do/be anything in life. Each room will stimulate a feeling that you can relate to. Our rooms create a place where it’s acceptable for adults to be children at heart. It’s a place for everyone to connect, spend quality time and make memories.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I would like to credit this to my family, especially my father. My family immigrated from Vietnam to the United States shortly after the end of the Vietnam War. I grew up seeing how hard they worked to provide a life for my siblings and me, so I always wanted to build something great in order to give back.
My family inspired me to start my own business. It wasn’t until my father passed away from cancer in 2015 that I really sought after my dreams. I recognized that life is short and when we are young we have more time to take risks, fail, and get back up again.
Last but not least, I could not have done this without my amazing business partners, investors, boyfriend, team members, and our customers who support and are the foundation of the business. None of the businesses would be able to operate unless all of these key players are involved simultaneously.
Pricing:
- Adult Tickets $19
- Kid Tickets $15
- Holiday Promo 25% off all tickets using code HOLIGLAZE
Contact Info:
- Website: donutlifemuseum.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donutlifemuseum
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donutlifemuseum
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@donutlifemuseum
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/donut-life-museum-westminster
