It was a dare that brought Javon Nicholas, founder and president of Egg Rolls Etc.™, to Taiwan, and the kindness of her new community that inspired her to start a company focused on comfort foods that meld and celebrate cultures.
It was 2010 and a then-29-year-old Nicholas had just lost her mom, with whom she was very close. Her friends knew that she needed to get outside her comfort zone to help her heal. They “dared” her to apply to a two-year language program in Taiwan. Nicholas took the dare, applied, and was accepted.
“I didn’t speak any Mandarin, so when the program asked me where I wanted to go, I just closed my eyes and pointed at the map,” said the Chicago native, who has participated in several of The Polsky Center’s small business education programs.
She had selected Kaohsiung City, in the southern part of the country. She lived in a hostel and became close with the woman who ran the lodgings. The hostel owner would often cook for Nicholas and introduced the newcomer to the wider community. She even helped Nicholas receive her Chinese given name, Chow On, which means “skillful” and “peace.”
“Being there really helped restore my faith in God and humanity,” Nicholas said. “I wanted to share all those fuzzy feelings and comforting memories back home in Chicago in the form of food. That’s how my product line of Egg Rolls Etc. was born.”
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This story was first published by the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
