Hidden Gems: Meet Mark Chen of Nature Design Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Chen.

Hi Mark, 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?
I’ve never thought I’d be in business or be an entrepreneur, but here I am, building a business around my passion and calling by making aquariums…?

Even in my childhood memory, I’ve always had a fascination with nature, especially the underwater world. However, that was deemed a useless distraction in the extremely academic-driven school system in China. My life took a sharp turn when I was 13; I came to the States. My mom went to Australia for graduate study in the early 90s, which opened her mind to the world beyond the confines of the ideology she was taught in China. She made up her mind that she will one day help me experience the world as well. A very rare opportunity of exchange study arose, and my parents immediately poured their entire financial resources into making it happen. This was the late 90s; China was still an impoverished country. While my parents’ earnings were considered high income in China, they barely made above the poverty line in the US. Therefore, it was understood from the very beginning that my exchange study would end at any moment when they can no longer support me financially. To my 13-year-old mind though, that was the least of my concerns. I was going halfway around the world, to somewhere with no family or friends, and I didn’t even speak the language! The whole process was a surreal experience. After just 2 weeks of preparation, I was sent off on a plane from Beijing to Philadelphia, where my host family would pick me up and take me to live with them in Delaware. From my memory, it could be described as my parents slapped a “traveling alone” sticker on me and shipped me off like a big UPS package. In my parents’ memory, however, it could well been one of the most difficult and painful experiences they had to endure.

Fast forward to 2018, my 34-year-old self is at a corporate job trying to raise a young family and satisfy an “insatiable” LA mortgage. At this point, I had already grown my passion for aquariums from a simple hobby to a semi-professional aquarist level, with a respectable 50K following on Instagram. My presence on social media enabled me to connect with the professionals and established companies in the aquarium industry, which gave me a rare glimpse into this super-niche market. The idea of turning my passion into a business clawed in the back of my mind like a caged lion, etching down the days to freedom. The will to pursue this idea became so strong, going to my corporate job every day, which was actually a good gig, became a suffocating endurance. It got so bad the stress was manifesting physically. I had daily migraine attacks at the “prison,” I convinced myself an office. But what other choice did I have? Getting paid by setting up fish tanks for people? I had mouths to feed and bills to pay! Although I realized long ago there were many ways to live other than a 9 to 5 lifestyle, reality sat firmly on my chest like a UFC heavyweight champion, grinning, waiting for my taps. Fate would have it, I attended a creative conference, which two of the keynote speakers recommended the same book simultaneously. The book was “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek. I immediately bought the audiobook and started to listen. The proverbial light bulb moment hit me when the book dove deep into the concept of “what is the deeper purpose of a business beyond its monetary value”.

I discovered my life’s calling in my late 20s. The epiphany came during a period of my life when I felt lost and confused, but I had a distinct clarity about my purpose on earth – to be the voice and champion of the freshwater environment. Although the calling was clear, how does one even begin to work on something like that? I had no idea. I thought about being a photographer for National Geographic; however, it was just never compelling enough for me to pursue. So when I was reading “Start with why”, it hit me; that’s how I can fulfill my calling! I’m one of the best aquarium designers in the world; I can bring the beauty of the freshwater environments in front of people’s eyes. Once they see the amazing animals and plants, no doubt they would appreciate it, then conservation just follows, naturally! I even coined the term “conservation through appreciation”. With this epiphany, any shred of doubt in my mind vanished. I knew this was going to be my life’s work, and there would be nothing I’d rather do. Not to get all gangsters, but I’ll succeed or die trying! That’s how and why I started Nature Design Studio Inc, designing, building, and maintaining high-end aquariums and other nature installations such as paludariums, living walls, reptile habitats, and koi ponds!

Flash forward to today, it’s pretty amazing to me that I’m able to not only keep the business alive but it’s actually thriving! I’ve got to work on some really large projects both nationally and internationally. By using my work as content, I have grown my social media following to more than 350K across platforms. With the growth of social media, it then generates more leads for my business, thus creating a positive feedback loop. I have also created a podcast called “Aqua Naturalists”, which I invite aquarium hobbyists, naturalists, explorers, conservationists, wildlife photographers, and other big names in their respective fields to come on the show and share their knowledge and experiences of our natural world, more specifically, the freshwater environments. Just in the past few months, I actually was able to realize a big part of the vision for my calling: I started a non-profit organization called Rivers and Lakes Initiative. My board members and I are working on the education and conservation of freshwater environments. There are many goals we set out for ourselves, but the number one focus for now is to raise funds to support early education schools to be able to set up aquariums or nature installations on their campus! We want to engage kids at an early age, so they can be curious about the freshwater environments and nature in general and develop a love and passion for our environment.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No smooth road here! By exploring an unconventional path, I’ve actually picked to climb a mountain that has no road. As difficult as the climb though, the view is spectacular!

Having enough funding is always a struggle, and that’s the same for almost all businesses at the very beginning. However, my first struggle wasn’t even just money; it was trying to help my family understand what exactly I’m set out to do. The idea of designing aquariums as a business must seemed ridiculous to my parents and relatives. I remember flying all the way to Singapore to pitch the idea to my aunt, who has always been the one family member who understands and supports me the most. However, she just couldn’t understand or see the market, which I can understand. Very few people in the world can imagine paying more than a few thousand dollars for a fishtank, let alone tens, even hundreds of thousands. But instead of wishing me luck, she told me to get a job.

Other struggles have been the difficulty in lead-gen in a super niche market, challenges with sourcing, dealing with high-end clients’ skewed expectations, and etc, but these are common struggles for most businesses.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Nature Design Studio is a comprehensive service company that designs, builds, and maintains nature installations such as aquariums, paludariums, living walls, koi-ponds, and etc. We focus on using natural elements in our designs to create a balanced living energy and a sense of serenity and tranquility that’s unique in our artwork. Many of our clients are successful business owners, who have difficulty “turning off their brains”. Their minds are always working and thinking, they can’t seem to bring it to a quiet place. One of the common feedbacks we get from these clients is when they step in front of their aquarium, their minds quiet down. All the noise and thoughts cease, and it’s quite a meditative experience. They sometimes find themselves staring into the aquariums for hours, all the while forgetting all of their stress. One of the big things that sets us apart from our competitors is that every piece we make is one of a kind. Unlike the “theme park” style aquariums that use a prefabricated artificial decoration inside the tank, we design and build our “aqua-scape” from natural materials like stones, wood, sand, and living plants, thus creating a natural world for the inhabitants and the viewers.

Rivers and Lakes Initiative is an NGO that focuses on the education and conservation of our freshwater environments specifically. We have three directions for our mission:

1. To raise funds to help schools, especially early education schools to install nature exhibits on campus;

2. To connect influencers and content creators with front-line explorers, researchers, conservationists, and other professionals who are working in the rainforests or other freshwater environments. We want to support these front-line professionals and arrange exploration trips or expeditions, where content creators and influencers get to travel and experience these habitats firsthand, and create content on their social media platforms to massively spread awareness of both the good and the bad;

3. To create a physical gallery to exhibit different biotopes and locales of freshwater environments, which there are plenty of awe-inspiring beauty and life.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My wife is my biggest critic and supporter. She believed in me from the very beginning and actually nudged me to quit my job and pursue my dream. I owe a lot of my accomplishments to her hard work. My parents are the foundation for what I do and who I am. Without their sacrifice, wholehearted support, and an extreme level of tolerance, I would not have the luxury to chase my dream. I also have many other people who believe in me; some are close friends, some are clients, some are people who work in the same industry, some are talented creators in other disciplines, some volunteer their time to help, and some are fans of my work.

Pricing:

• We have no ceiling as far as the budget for any project; however, we do have a minimum budget requirement of $15,000

Contact Info:

• Website: www.naturedesign.studio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tmk_aquarist/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tmkaquarist
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-chen-59b1899a/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TMKAquarist
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nature-design-studio-inc-west-covina

Image Credits
Nature Design Studio Inc