Gillian Liu: How She Built a $10M Company While Working a 9–5

Most entrepreneurship stories start with someone quitting their job and going all in. Gillian Liu did the opposite. Gillian is the co-founder of Kiyoko Beauty, one of the largest Asian beauty retailers in North America. She and her co-founder started Kiyoko as a side project in 2021 and grew it into a $10 million business — all while keeping their corporate jobs. In this episode, Gillian shares why she waited nearly five years to leave her 9–5, how keeping her job actually helped Kiyoko grow, and why she thinks we’ve romanticized the idea that becoming an entrepreneur means risking everything. We talk about immigrant parents and traditional definitions of success, fear and financial security, building a business on nights and weekends, knowing when to delegate, and why you don’t necessarily have to blow up your life to build something big. --- Follow Gillian Here: ⁠  / hi.itsgillian   ⁠  / hi.itsgillian⁠   ⁠   / @hi.itsgillian   --- Follow Kiyoko Beauty Here: ⁠  / kiyoko.beauty⁠   ⁠  / kiyokobeauty⁠   --- Sponsors: Thank you to ⁠⁠Strawberry.Me⁠⁠ for sponsoring this episode. Visit ⁠Strawberry.me/fiveyearplan⁠ for 50% off your first coaching session. Want to partner with us? anna@thefiveyearplanpodcast.com ---- The Five Year Plan Instagram: ⁠⁠  / ⁠⁠   Tik Tok: ⁠⁠  / thefiveyearplanpodcast⁠⁠   Newsletter: ⁠⁠https://substack.com/@thefiveyearplan⁠⁠ Email: anna@thefiveyearplanpodcast.com ---- Timestamps: 00:00 Meet Gillian Liu 00:47 Childhood Goals 01:57 Immigrant Success Mindset 03:38 No Entrepreneurs Around 05:43 Excellence And Pressure 09:07 Resentment To Respect 11:10 Biochem To Business Pivot 16:16 Kiyoko Origin Story 19:56 Bored In Consulting 25:33 Choosing A Co Founder 27:03 When It Got Real 27:54 Mom Becomes COO 28:33 Making It Feel Real 30:03 Balancing Two Jobs 31:54 Toxic Startup Wakeup 35:20 Delegation Over Perfection 40:57 Why Not Quit Yet 46:51 Fear And Monkey Bars 49:13 Owning Entrepreneur Identity 53:33 Kiyoko North Star Vision 54:22 Off Plan Segment 56:51 TFYP Concluding Question Follow TFYP: https://substack.com/@thefiveyearplan...   / thefiveyearplanpodcast     / thefiveyearplanpodcast